New Leaders is a nonprofit organization with a mission to ensure high academic achievement for all students by developing outstanding school leaders to serve in urban schools. Its premise is that a combination of preparation and improved working conditions for principals, especially greater autonomy, would lead to improved student outcomes. Its…

New Leaders is dedicated to promoting student achievement by developing outstanding school leaders to serve in urban schools. RAND Corporation researchers conducted a formative and summative external evaluation of the New Leaders program, its theory of action, and its implementation from 2006 through 2013. This document presents technical…

In 2006, New Leaders contracted with RAND to conduct an independent evaluation of its principal-preparation program. The analysis included all principals who have been prepared by New Leaders since the inception of the program, comparing outcomes of their students and outcomes of similar students in other, comparable schools in the same districts.…

Recent evidence on the large variance in teacher effectiveness has spurred interest in teacher labor markets. Research documents that better qualified teachers typically work in more advantaged schools but cannot determine the relative importance of supply versus demand. To isolate teacher preferences, we document which schools prospective…

The purpose of this study was to discover what school leaders considered during the decision-making process when adding a transitional kindergarten program and how the decision was made. This study investigated the decision-making process for superintendents and principals by examining decisions made by rural, suburban, and large school…

This case study explored a high-achieving elementary school on Chicago's far South Side that fosters academic success for its African American students who come from predominately low-income homes. Tyler School serves a demographic group that historically underperforms. Yet multiple measures of evaluating student achievement indicate that Tyler is…

Schools and districts rarely have a fair distribution of teacher talent. Poor children and black children are less likely to be taught by the strongest teachers and more likely to be taught by the weakest. Several districts have implemented programs to reduce the teacher quality gap. Hamilton County, Tennessee, launched an initiative that included…

This document describes the education legislation adopted by the 1985 Illinois General Assembly session on educational reform. An introductory overview (1) describes the process of reviewing state education mandates, beginning in 1981, which laid the foundations for the public policy discussions of the 1985 General Assembly, and (2) summarizes the…

THIS REPORT OF THE U.S. OFFICE OF EDUCATION (OE), PREPARED IN RESPONSE TO COMPLAINTS BY CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, COMMUNITY GROUPS ABOUT EDUCATIONAL DISCRIMINATION, DISCUSSES SOME SERIOUS CONDITIONS IN THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS WHICH MAY BE VIOLATIONS OF TITLE VI OF THE 1964 CIVIL RIGHTS ACT, AND WHICH OE ORDERS THE CHICAGO BOARD OF EDUCATION TO RECTIFY. THE…

The Teachers Infusing Technology in Urban Schools project (TITUS) at the University of Illinois at Chicago is developing an approach for addressing the shortage of opportunities for teacher candidates to experience technology being used effectively in high-need urban schools in the course of their field experiences. Beyond recruiting mentor…