This research project was a study that was based on a prior dissertation study that analyzed student success, as measured by achievement tests, within local communities with high poverty rates. Two Title 1 Reward high schools in the Phoenix area were examined through qualitative case studies to determine what had been implemented to help eliminate…

This report presents findings on the numbers and types of public elementary and secondary schools in the United States and other jurisdictions in the 2010-11 school year, using data from the Public Elementary/Secondary School Universe Survey of the Common Core of Data (CCD) survey system. The CCD is an annual collection of data that are reported…

Since the release of the Coleman Report in 1966, studies (such as Sirin, 2005; Radford, Berkner, Wheeless, & Shepherd, 2010) have continued to find an association between socioeconomic status and educational attainment. Wyner, Bridgeland, and Diiulio (2007) observe that a progressively lower proportion of low-income, high achieving students…

The "Seventh Annual Report Card" provides the most up-to-date information available on Boston's education pipeline, from kindergarten through college graduation, including measures for school readiness, 3rd-grade reading proficiency, 6th-grade mathematics proficiency, 10th-grade academic proficiency, high school completion, dropout…

In this paper, we present a closer look at the student achievement trends in the District of Columbia between 2006-07 and 2012-13. We have three main conclusions. First, we find that overall, math scores in the District have improved. The improvements in reading scores during this time frame, however, were primarily limited to the first year after…

KIPP Delta College Preparatory School (KIPP: DCPS), an open-enrollment charter school, opened in 2002 in Helena, Arkansas. Since its opening, KIPP: DCPS students have consistently outperformed their peers in the Helena/West Helena School district, and moreover, recent test scores suggest that white students and minority students are achieving at…

Mobile technology is increasing its presence in the educational environment. The public school district in this study has made great strides improving technology usage in schools with updated hardware, extensive district-wide infrastructure, a technology plan, and professional development. While the district has been successful in some areas, like…

This study was designed to determine if differences in student achievement existed between traditional public and charter high schools in the District of Columbia. The study examined student outcomes on the standardized state test in reading and math from 2006 to 2010 utilizing descriptive statistics, crosstab analysis, chi-square tests…

The USC School Performance Dashboard, now in its seventh year, draws on California school data from 2003-2012 to rate charter schools on academic and financial measures of performance. It also provides an accompanying interactive site at www.uscrossier.org/ceg/. Unlike other school databases, this one assigns values--high, medium, low--to the…

In the later part of the twentieth century, the continued growth in high school and college dropout rates led to the development of educational reform measures that would address an education model that was seen as applicable to a disproportionate percentage of the nation's students, thereby leaving the majority of schools and their students…

Over the past five years, both DC Public Schools (DCPS) and public charter schools (PCS) have seen significant growth in secondary reading and math scores on the state test known as the District of Columbia Comprehensive Assessment System (DC CAS). However, scores have not improved as much at the elementary level. Reading and math scores for DCPS…

The study featured in this What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) Quick Review examined the effect of charter school attendance on annual student achievement growth in math and reading. The study analyzed data from a large sample of students in grades 4 through 9 in Indiana from 2004 to 2008. The study found that charter school students' annual math score…

We need to come together as a team and become one system of total quality improvement regarding the education of our nation's children. In order to achieve a gold standard in the education of our nation's children, leadership has to be willing to go against the status quo and build bridges for long-term sustainable change. In order to survive,…

Drawing on interview and informal observation data collected from eight adolescent African-American boys residing in an urban community and attending an urban charter school, this paper describes and explores their relationships with African-American male school personnel. This paper highlights how adolescent African-American boys' experience and…

Over the past 15 years, federal, state, and local officials have pursued a broad range of reforms aimed at ensuring that the nation's public school system is more accountable--that it delivers a rich, full education for children in communities across the country. New research from the Kettering Foundation and Public Agenda suggests that there are…