Students with emotional and behavioral disabilities (EBD) show low academic growth and are most likely to be placed in restrictive learning environments. This research study explored correlations between class settings and the academic achievement of middle school students with EBD. The academic achievement measures are based upon California's…

In California, computers are needed for students to participate in the annual state assessments, the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP). Public school districts across the state of California are required to formulate Local Control and Accountability Plans (LCAPs) each year. This mixed-method study first conducted…

Purpose: Recent attempts to measure schools' influence on students' social-emotional learning (SEL) show differences across schools, but whether these estimated differences measure the true effects of schools remain unclear. To better understand these measures, we examine the stability of estimated school-by-grade effects across 2 years using…

This study estimates the causal impact of 8th grade English learner (EL) reclassification on high school English language arts (ELA) standardized test scores, SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Test) reading, and on-track to graduate status. I apply a regression discontinuity design to rich administrative data from a large district in California. The…

This brief applies value-added models to student surveys in the CORE Districts to explore whether social-emotional learning (SEL) surveys can be used to measure effective classroom-level supports for SEL. The authors find that classrooms differ in their effect on students' growth in self-reported SEL--even after accounting for school-level…

Objective: To assess the relationship of moderate and late preterm birth (32[superscript 0/7]-36 [superscript 6/7] weeks) to long-term educational outcomes. Study Design: We hypothesized that moderate and late preterm birth would be associated with adverse out- comes in elementary school. To test this, we linked vital statistics patient discharge…

Researchers have shown that receiving suspensions is associated with negative educational outcomes. However, existing studies fail to control for unobservable differences between those students who received suspensions and those who did not. In this study, I compare achievement for a given student across school quarters with varying types and…

Assessments of developmental spelling, also called spelling inventories, are commonly used to understand students' orthographic knowledge (i.e., knowledge of how written words work) and to determine their stages of spelling and reading development. The information generated by these assessments is used to inform teachers' grouping practices and…

Teachers play a critical role in establishing classroom and school environments that contribute to students' social and emotional development. This paper explores whether we can estimate a classroom-level measure of student growth in SEL by applying value-added models to students' [social-emotional learning] SEL. We analyze data from the 2016 and…

School value-added models are increasingly used to measure schools' contributions to student success. At the same time, policymakers and researchers agree that schools should support students' socialemotional learning (SEL) as well as academic development. Yet, the evidence regarding whether schools can influence SEL and whether statistical growth…

Using mixed methods, we investigated (a) the association of the extent of English learner (EL) classroom-level segregation (proportion EL) and number of EL English proficiency levels with elementary EL academic achievement, using 2 years of administrative data, and (b) school staff--reported opportunity to learn-related advantages and…

This study explores the influence high-stakes testing has on Latina/o student aspirations and subsequent college enrollment. It quantitatively examines the critical juncture of high school exit and college entry at a school district serving a predominately Latino population. Findings confirm a strong correlation between the math and English…

This brief summarizes the practices of successful, instructionally engaged leaders and the ways districts develop these leaders. These practices are drawn from "positive outlier" districts in California that have excelled at helping African American, Latino/a, and White students achieve at high levels on assessments of academic standards…

Despite wide achievement gaps across California between students from different racial and socioeconomic backgrounds, some school districts have excelled at supporting the learning of all their students. This analysis identifies these positive outlier districts--those in which students of color, as well as White students, consistently achieve at…

The explosion of knowledge and the growing complexity of modern life are changing expectations for what young people need to learn and be able to do. Success in the 21st century does not depend solely on what people know, but also on what they can do with what they know. In this report, the authors summarize the results of a quantitative analysis…