How can states and schools use data to support their efforts to improve educational equity? "Building Educational Equity Indicator Systems: A Guidebook for States and School Districts," provides information to help state and school district leaders develop ways of tracking educational equity within their preK-12 systems. The guidebook…

Every 2 years, Education requires nearly all school districts to report incidents of restraint and seclusion. Generally, restraint is restricting a student's ability to move, and seclusion is confining them alone in a space they cannot leave. The House Committee on Appropriations' explanatory statement accompanying the Consolidated Appropriations…

Students who are slow to respond to traditional instruction and intervention require intensified intervention. Visual Activity Schedules (VAS) are an evidence-based type of visual support that provide sequential organization of the steps for an activity or skill. VAS can be aligned with individual student needs, including behavioral support. VAS…

This report explains the work that has taken place over the last decade in Boston to not only improve pre-K, but to build on the successes of pre-K through reform of classroom environments, instructional practices, and curricula in pre-K, kindergarten, and, more recently, in first and second grade. It is a story of reforming from the bottom up, of…

The Big Lift is a collective impact initiative extending from preschool to third grade in San Mateo County, California. The collective impact effort consists of people and organizations from various sectors uniting to tackle a single, complicated societal problem -- in this case, third grade reading achievement. The initiative is a partnership of…

This chapter reviews actionable data use--both as an umbrella term and as a specific concept--developed in three different traditions that data/information can inform and guide P-20 educational practice toward better outcomes. The literatures reviewed are known as data-driven decision making (DDDM), education data mining (EDM), and learning…

This article reports on the wonders of winter weather, as it often inspires teachers' and students' interest in collecting weather data, especially if snow falls. Beginning weather data collection in preschool will introduce children to the concepts of making regular observations of natural phenomena, recording the observations (data),…

As a further step towards maturity, the field of learning analytics (LA) is working on the definition of frameworks that structure the legal and ethical issues that scholars and practitioners must take into account when planning and applying LA solutions to their learning contexts. However, current efforts in this direction tend to be focused on…

This evidence-based practice overview on Parent Implemented Intervention (PII) includes the following components: (1) Overview: A quick summary of salient features of the practice, including what it is, who it can be used with, what skills it has been used with, and settings for instruction; (2) Evidence-base: The "PII Evidence-base"…

Pennsylvania Pre-K Counts (PA PKC) is a state-funded prekindergarten program for 3- and 4-year-old children to help them gain school readiness skills. The goal of PA PKC is to help reduce educational disparities by providing high quality prekindergarten for children who lack opportunities or reside in environments that place them at risk of school…

This article highlights the practices of administrators and master teachers who are trying to balance the needs for accountability, prescribed curriculum, and learning standards with a broader view of education that gives equal importance to skills not so easily quantified by standardized tests. The author makes a case for the use of careful…

Teacher educators recognize that teacher candidates must have authentic, scaffolded opportunities to transform knowledge into practice. This study explores teacher candidates' engagement with teacher inquiry as a method for supporting professional development. Findings suggest teacher candidates differ tremendously in their responses to the…

Collaborating with parents in documenting and reflecting on children's learning is important not only because it provides teachers with richer and more accurate information but also because it helps parents understand the role assessment can play in student learning and motivation. Moreover, when parents are provided with opportunities to observe,…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the educational pathways of a group of children with and without special educational needs from the last year in preschool to 1st grade. Fifty-six children participated and 65 educational settings were visited. A longitudinal and mixed method approach was adopted. Data was collected via observations,…

Pennsylvania Pre-K Counts (PA PKC) is a state-funded prekindergarten program for 3- and 4- year-old children to help them gain school readiness skills. The goal of PA PKC is to help reduce educational disparities by providing high quality prekindergarten for children who lack opportunities or reside in environments that place them at risk of…