Large-scale learning assessments can be used to generate performance and contextual data on student learning outcomes. They can be national, regional, or international; school based or household based. The UNESCO International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP-UNESCO) has conducted a qualitative study to explore both how and why learning…

In Fall and Winter 2022-2023, the NSCAS assessments were administered in ELA and mathematics for grades 3-8. In Spring 2022-2023, the NSCAS assessments were administered in English language arts (ELA) and mathematics for grades 3-8 and in science for grades 5 and 8. The purposes of the NSCAS assessments are to measure and report Nebraska students'…

In this practice brief, we describe several current examples of approaches that are aimed at improving outcomes for students entering high school. Additionally, we present strategies to disrupt the negative trajectory for students with EBD, who seldom receive coordinated, individualized supports during the critical transition from middle to high…

This brief summarizes a 2019 study of educator supply, demand, and quality in North Carolina conducted by the Learning Policy Institute in collaboration with the Education Policy Initiative at Carolina and WestEd. That study supported the state's ongoing efforts to meet the standard set in the North Carolina Supreme Court's decision in…

This article describes a professional development project for teachers that aimed at developing innovative teaching with ICT in a 21st-century understanding of the term innovative. The article describes the result of the intervention and the practice-based method used for this professional development project. Data from teacher planning,…

In the current context of high stakes testing, school literacy is often defined by standardized literacy assessments--most state tests require students to demonstrate proficiency on specific kinds of writing tasks and reading material. Today, where schools and teachers exist in an environment of increased accountability, stakeholders who…

Packed with ideas for both new and veteran teachers of K-8 students, this book touches on a variety of topics that are especially relevant to the first week of school. The author provides critical information that includes arranging and navigating the classroom, setting basic expectations, communicating routines, and understanding your students'…

This field report is the third in a series produced by the Center on Innovations in Learning's League of Innovators. The series describes, discusses, and analyzes policies and practices that enable personalization in education. Issues of the series will present either issue briefs or, like this one, field reports on lessons learned by…

To succeed in college, career, and life, students need to become financially literate. But understanding the basics of a long-term investment or a short-term loan is not enough without the math skills to make financially sound choices. In the already full curriculum of middle schools today, how can teachers find room to include financial literacy?…

This report describes how five states -- Alabama, Kentucky, Maryland, Tennessee and Texas -- made exceptional progress in student achievement during the first decade of the 21st century. State leaders in these states all realized early in the decade that they had a problem they wanted to address. They established a "plan" at the state…

Westside Middle School, located in Omaha, Nebraska, serves 950 seventh- and eighth-grade students. Over the last few years, the school's teachers and administrators have evaluated its technology status and needs. As part of this process, the staff members engaged in many activities, including developing a building-level technology plan, organizing…

The learning landscape is changing quickly, and education institutions are hard-pressed to make sure their academic facilities are meeting the evolving needs of teachers and students. Within a universe of continual change, though, school facilities still need furniture. Furniture selection goes beyond color or size. Furniture must be flexible and…

In the 2007 edition of "Diplomas Count", "Education Week" reported that nationally more than one-third of the students lost from the high school pipeline fail to make the transition from the ninth to the 10th grade. This explains why, for more than two decades, schools and districts across the country have struggled to develop freshman transition…

In July 2006, Senate Bill 130 was passed by the Kentucky legislature. The bill amended KRS 158.6453 to include the provision that "no later than the 2007-2008 school year, and each year thereafter" the Commonwealth's assessment program shall include a high school readiness examination in grade 8, a college readiness examination in grade…

Many students with disabilities entering the 9th grade express concern about getting lost in the larger high school environment, being picked on by older students, and having more challenging academic classes. The transition from middle-to-high school process for students with disabilities at Westminster High School in suburban Los Angeles is a…