For more than two decades, the New York Performance Standards Consortium, a coalition of 38 public high schools, has steered clear of high-stakes testing, which superficially assess student learning. Instead, the consortium's approach relies on performance-based assessments--essays, research papers, science experiments, and high-level mathematical…

This study investigates the effects of widely advocated organizational reform for secondary schools, namely the small school model, on the collective efficacy of teachers and students who did not share the school's common vision. Themes that emerged during the study linked the students' academic engagement to faculty dispositions, the physical…

This technical report provides information about the sample, survey instrument, and resultant data for the American Instructional Resources Surveys (AIRS) that were administered to principals and teachers in spring 2019 via RAND's American Educator Panels. The AIRS focused on instructional resources used and supported in English language arts,…

The Literacy Design Collaborative (LDC) and the Mathematics Design Collaborative (MDC) are strategies designed to improve how teachers teach and students learn. The designs encourage teacher collaboration and creativity and offer flexible frameworks for building lessons in all disciplines. Their purpose is to engage students to read challenging…

What keeps students engaged in high school? Persisting to high school graduation is becoming more difficult for many students with the increased rigor of American high school graduation requirements. While many factors that contribute to students not completing high school have been explored, and while many interventions have been developed to…

A holistic education linked to creativity, innovation, critical thinking and local/global citizenship is increasingly marginalized in the United States as schools continue to struggle with the impact of high-stakes testing regimes. In particular, urban youths' access to an education that furthers their ability to choose lives they have reason to…

Great strides have been made by community school initiatives across the nation in their efforts to impact student achievement, attendance, student engagement, graduation rates, parent involvement and more. Data on community schools is growing and the authors encourage readers to review research reports and syntheses on results. The results…

The urban inclusive high school classroom is a challenge for both students with disabilities and their teachers. Pressure is intensified when a year long course of study ends in a mandated state examination in English Language Arts, required for student graduation. This article highlights the experiences of two teachers in a New York City…

Schoolwide support for higher achievement is essential. Students need a nurturing environment where they feel secure about learning, where the goal is success for every student and where students are confident they will receive mentoring and encouragement to prepare for their futures. Many schools are reinventing themselves to motivate students to…

Graduation rates are a fundamental indicator of whether or not the nation's public school system is doing what it is intended to do: enroll, engage, and educate youth to be productive members of society. Since almost 90 percent of the fastest-growing and highest-paying jobs require some postsecondary education, having a high school diploma and the…

This publication focuses on curriculum integration. Integrative curriculum focuses on a theme or themes upon which two or more disciplines is organized. Curriculum integration has been proposed as a way of organizing the life skills, or "common learnings," considered essential for citizens in a democracy. The curriculum is organized…

In September 2002, 17 New Century high schools opened their doors to students as part of an ambitious, citywide initiative to make the high school experience relevant, engaging, and productive for New York City youth. Deliberately sited in Department of Education-designated low-performing high schools, these schools enroll students who are often…