The Knowledge Is Power Program (KIPP) is a bold effort to create a network of charter schools designed to transform and improve the educational opportunities available to low/income families. KIPP schools seek to actively engage students and parents in the educational process, expand the time and effort students devote to their studies, reinforce…

There has been a great deal of focus in recent years on high school reform as a way to ensure all students graduate ready for a skilled job or additional postsecondary education. As expectations for a more highly educated American citizenry rise, what happens in the middle grades--the beginning of the secondary-to-postsecondary education…

Congress has required that the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) produce an annual report to policymakers about the progress of education in the United States. "The Condition of Education 2016" presents 43 key indicators on important topics and trends in U.S. education. These indicators focus on population characteristics,…

State and local educators encountered both opportunities and obstacles in their first year of implementing the School Improvement Grants (SIGs) funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). In 2009, the ARRA, better known as the economic stimulus package, provided $3 billion for SIGs to help reform persistently low-achieving…

This report highlights the ongoing discussions between the believers of "online learning" vs. the "not enough proven research" for K-8 cyber schooling. Discussing successful processes and operations in states around the country, the author focuses on Maryland and, in particular, Baltimore schools, and reports that very little…

Over the past decade, charter schools have been among the fastest-growing segments of the K-12 education sector in Chicago and across the country. This report addresses several key issues related to charter schools using student-level data provided by Chicago Public Schools. Students leaving traditional public schools for charter schools in…

This is the first empirical study to examine the effects of Ohio's EdChoice voucher program. Using publicly available data, it measures the program's effect on academic outcomes in public schools where students are eligible for vouchers. The EdChoice program offers vouchers to students who are assigned to chronically underperforming public…

It is paradoxical that many educators and parents still differentiate between a time for learning and a time for play without seeing the vital connection between them. Educators are very serious about education in CES schools. However, in their earnest attempts to engage students in meaningful and thought-provoking work or dialogue, is it possible…

KIPP (Knowledge Is Power Program) offers training for teachers designed to turn them into school principals with an entrepreneur's skill set. Teacher Jason Singer underwent KIPP training and now recruits 5th-grade students for the charter middle school he opened. KIPP, which was founded in 1994 by Teach For America alums Michael Feinberg and David…

The author reports how the Knowledge Is Power Program (KIPP), a widely touted network of mostly charter schools that targets low-income communities, is adjusting both its growth and leadership-training strategies as it ramps up its work around the country. As part of those changes, the San Francisco-based nonprofit organization the week of April…

This Action Research Project is meant to investigate the effects of incorporating research-based instructional strategies into instruction and their subsequent effect on student achievement in the area of problem-solving. The two specific strategies utilized are the integration of manipulatives and increased social interaction on a regular basis.…

This report presents student-level achievement results for Tennessee charter schools that serve elementary grades. The schools had different start-up years as follows: (1) Circles of Success in Learning Academy and Smithson-Craighead Academy (2003-04); (2) Star Academy (2004-05); and (3) Promise Academy and Southern Avenue (2005-06). These three…

The Native American Community Academy (NACA) is demonstrating an example of Indigenous philosophies and practices in education through its holistic, student-centered approach to education. NACA was one school in a large statewide study on Indian education in New Mexico. Focus groups with students, teachers, and community members illustrate the…

The Oregon Statewide Report Card is an annual publication required by law (ORS 329.115), which reports on the state of public schools and their progress towards the goals of the Oregon Educational Act for the 21st Century. The purpose of the Oregon Report Card is to monitor trends among school districts and Oregon's progress toward achieving the…

This report presents selected findings from the school district data file of the 2007-08 Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS). SASS is a nationally representative sample survey of public, private, and Bureau of Indian Education-funded (BIE) K-12 schools, principals, and teachers in the 50 states and the District of Columbia. The public school sample…