High-quality K-12 instructional materials can meaningfully improve teaching practice and student achievement, especially when paired with professional learning support. Yet state policymakers have usually left ultimate authority for textbook selection to school district leaders. Consequently, the quality of materials across U.S. classrooms and…

The impact of the pandemic on student learning was significant and widened pre-existing achievement gaps for historically disadvantaged students. To provide insight on the most effective strategies that teachers and leaders can adopt, educators in three partner districts that have invested in improving classroom instruction as their primary lever…

This study investigated teachers' perceptions of the nature of support, or lack thereof, while teaching deaf students with additional disabilities (DSAD). A total of forty teachers, from five schools in four states in the United States, participated in the study. A content analysis of written responses to four open-ended questions, using a…

Much research has noted the misalignment between kindergarten through 12th grade (K-12) academic standards and curriculum materials used in classrooms. Many states and education organizations have been pushing for greater use of standards-aligned curriculum, especially during the past several years. In this report, the authors share results…

This publication highlights how state policies and guidance are supporting the transformation to personalized learning through digital instructional materials. Specifically, the report includes personalized learning approaches and the policies and processes around the selection, curation, procurement, professional learning and funding of digital…

In an ongoing study, RAND researchers are evaluating the effectiveness of Carnegie Learning's Cognitive Tutor Algebra I (CTAI) curriculum, a technology-based curriculum that combines classroom instruction with individualized instruction by a computer-based tutor. While the effectiveness of the curriculum in raising student achievement is the main…

The Literacy Design Collaborative (LDC) incorporates challenging literacy standards into middle grades and high school content areas within a variety of academic disciplines, not just English/language arts courses. The Mathematics Design Collaborative (MDC) provides schools with instructional tools needed to help teachers understand and implement…

Discusses results of a Green Index, published by the Institute for Southern Studies, that ranks the 50 states on the basis of 256 environmental indicators. Explores how and why the deep South states are all at the bottom of the list. A vignette provides a comparison between state hazardous waste generation and spending on waste management. (MCO)

This study examined the effects of children's pre-kindergarten literacy environments away from home on their knowledge of print-related concepts. Data were collected at eight sites in Mississippi, Texas, and Louisiana--either day care centers with no established curriculum or formal instruction, or classrooms with adopted curricula within…

The Southwest Educational Development Laboratory (SEDL), with support from The American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education through its Inter-Institutional Program Development Project, has prepared this report as phase 2 of a three-phase project designed to improve the educational approach to disadvantaged children. This report reveals…