The purpose of this technical appendix is to share more detailed results and to describe more fully the sample and methods used in the research included in the brief, "The Widening Achievement Divide during COVID-19." The authors investigated two main research questions in this brief: (1) To what degree have students' reading and math…

A vast gulf in academic achievement separates public schools in Washington, D.C.'s poorest neighborhoods from those in its most affluent. Achievement Prep, which serves 4th-8th graders in D.C.'s impoverished 8th Ward, is an outlier. Yet in 2011, 60% of Achievement Prep's "scholars" scored proficient or advanced in reading on the DC-CAS…

The Apollo 20 project was launched during the 2010-2011 school year to accelerate Houston Independent School District's (HISD's) efforts to improve student performance in every school and close the achievement gap districtwide. This partnership with EdLabs at Harvard University incorporates best practices from successful public and charter schools…

Previous studies on the role of the school in influencing attainment in South African schools have concluded that the inequalities which are known to exist in these are still largely due to the legacy of the Apartheid system. More recently, policy focus has been on narrowing the gap between the attainment of different socio-economic groups by…

This Information Capsule answers the most frequently asked questions about M-DCPS' academic performance during the 2011-2012 school year. Over the past year, the Florida Department of Education made over 28 changes to the school grading formula, including the transition to new, more rigorous assessments, new accountability components, and…

Lilla G. Frederick Middle School in the Dorchester area of Boston doesn't just train neighborhood parents how to use technology--it offers families who complete the training a new laptop practically free (for $50.00). What's more, students and parents participate in training sessions at the school together, with students often acting as teachers.…

On January 17, 2008, the Japanese Central Education Council submitted a newly revised set of official curriculum guidelines to the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) in Japan. These guidelines for elementary schools will become effective in the 2011 academic year and include a controversial new policy: the…

Schools and communities across Montana are working hard to ensure that students receive the best education and graduate ready for college and careers. One of the most important components in this effort involves understanding where students are and how schools and communities can best help them achieve at the highest levels. Data is an invaluable…

The Maryland School Assessment (MSA) is administered annually to students in grades 3-8 in reading and math. MSA data are used to meet federal No Child Let Behind (NCLB) requirements. This paper presents how Maryland students' reading and mathematics MSA scores continued to improve in 2009, and the achievement gaps among special services and…

Greg is 13 years old, and currently in seventh grade; he entered an unnamed District ("the District") school in fourth grade as a student with a specific learning disability; he had been identified as eligible for special education programming and services during second grade. During fifth and sixth grade Greg was provided services…