Recent reforms emphasize a shift in how students should learn and demonstrate knowledge of science. These reforms call for students to learn content knowledge using science and engineering practices, creating integrated science knowledge. While there is existing literature about the development of integrated science knowledge assessments, few…

Engaging students in self-reflection about their learning performance is a potentially promising pedagogical approach for supporting math learning. However, it is unclear how models for math learning in regular classrooms translate in a virtual environment. The purpose of this paper is to (a) analyze rich assessment data from virtual schools to…

The significant growth of charter schools in the United States has brought praise for the excellent results achieved by some schools as well as criticism that charter schools may not be serving the most disadvantaged students. Critics of charter schools, in New York City and elsewhere, commonly assert that charters' (often) strong academic…

In recent decades, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts has implemented reforms aimed at improving and controlling the quality of the teaching workforce in public schools. Among those reforms are tests for licensure that assess both general and content-area specific knowledge, requirements for ongoing teacher professional development, and procedures…

The topic of educational spending and its connection to student achievement was long-debated before charter schools entered the conversation. With the rise in government spending on education, particularly charter school funding, the financial debate has strengthened and evoked much controversy. Though the Tennessee Department of Education (TNDOE)…

Khan Academy is a large and popular open educational resource (OER) with little empirical study into its impact on student achievement in mathematics when used in schools. In this study, we examined the use of Khan Academy as a mathematics intervention among seventh grade students over a 4-week period versus a control group. We also compared…

Washington's Charter School Act, Revised Code of Washington (RCW) 28.710 (ESSSB 6194, 2016) went into effect April 3, 2016. The 2016-2017 school year was the first full school year in which charter public schools operated in Washington State. Therefore, this is the State Board of Education's first annual report required by RCW 28A.710.250(1). RCW…

The "2018 Comprehensive Biennial Report on Texas Public Schools" describes the status of Texas public education, as required by §39.332 of the Texas Education Code. The report contains 16 chapters on the following topics: (1) state progress on academic performance indicators; (2) student performance on state assessments; (3) performance…

The Knowledge Is Power Program (KIPP) is a national network of public charter schools whose stated mission is to help underserved students enroll in and graduate from college. As of 2014-2015 the network included 162 elementary, middle, and high schools serving 59,495 students. Questions remain, however, about the ability of charter school…

Online education is unique in part for the relatively high degrees of autonomy afforded learners. Self-direction and self-regulation, along with support, are essential for students to succeed. The site of this action research project was a new, small online public charter school for middle and high school students, Foothills Academy Connected…

The tenth annual Boston Opportunity Agenda Report Card takes a closer look at the impact of two years of pandemic on the achievement of students on key indicators from kindergarten through college and adult education. It finds mixed results for Boston's public and public charter school students, with some areas seeing much larger changes triggered…

This report provides a description of a study conducted by WestEd on behalf of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to examine how the affordances of the technologies in the blended learning environments of three charter schools impacted teaching and learning activities. A particular focus of the work was to examine whether the blended learning…

This year's report examines the critical role community plays in education. Integrating learning that takes place inside and outside of school has always been a powerful strategy to support student success, but it gained special relevance this year, as school closures made family and community members integral parts of students' daily learning.…

"Green Dot Public Schools" is a nonprofit organization that operates more than 20 public charter middle and high schools in California, Tennessee, and Washington. The "Green Dot Public Schools" model emphasizes high quality teaching, strong school leadership, a curriculum that prepares students for college, and partnerships…

Current literature on dual language programs is focused at the elementary school level, while research at the secondary level remains sparse. Hence, this study addresses the literature gap by considering the impact of school organization and instruction on these programs. Specifically, this collective case study examines the effective features of…