"Head Start" is a national, federally funded program that provides services to promote school readiness for children from birth to age 5 from predominantly low-income families. Based on a review of the research, the WWC found "Head Start" to have potentially positive effects on general reading achievement and no discernible…

The Apollo 20 Program is a "turnaround" initiative with an emphasis on improving student performance in math. The key strategies of the turnaround initiative include having effective principals and effective teachers on the campus, more instructional time, using data to drive instruction, creating a campus culture of high expectations,…

Our district reading data at the secondary level has remained stagnant over the last decade with respect to grade-level reading ability. We knew we wanted to find a way to engage students in reading and strengthen their literacy skills. In response to this, we sought to examine if we were hindering literacy development through our instructional…

This brief focuses on whether outcomes are being reported for English Learners (ELs), and compares outcomes for ELs on select indicators (graduation rate and postsecondary enrollment) because the outcomes data being reported across states on certain indicators vary so widely that it makes cross-state comparisons challenging, if not impossible.…

This article describes the grim sentiments from the U.S. Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, when reviewing the poor results from the U.S. performance on the 2012 Program for International Student Assessment (PISA). He noted a straightforward and stark picture of educational stagnation--that fifteen-year-olds in the U.S. today are average in…

Today's children are our nation's hope for building a strong future economy and thriving society. One of the key milestones on the path to success is learning to read in the early grades. As documented in the Casey Foundation's reports "Early Warning: Why Reading by the End of Third Grade Matters" and "Early Warning Confirmed,"…

A recent study, "The Effects of Cognitive Strategy Instruction on Math Problem Solving of Middle School Students of Varying Ability," examined the effectiveness of "Solve It!," a program intended to improve the problem-solving skills of seventh-grade math students. During the program, students are taught cognitive strategies of…

Initial teacher education (ITE) serves as a bridge between prospective teachers exiting the school system to enrol in teacher education faculties, on the one hand and newly qualified teachers (NQTs) who are embarking on a career in schooling on the other. The present paper describes the language and thinking skills student teachers bring to their…

The Innovation Schools Act of 2008, (§ 22-32.5-102, C.R.S. et.seq) was created in response to district and school leaders' interest in finding a way for districts to develop and implement innovative practices in a wide variety of areas for the purpose of improving student outcomes. The Act provides a formal process that allows schools to petition…

"Leveled Literacy Intervention" ("LLI") is a short-term, supplementary, small-group literacy intervention designed to help struggling readers achieve grade-level competency. The intervention provides explicit instruction in phonological awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, reading comprehension, oral language skills, and…

For the 2014 study, "Stand and Deliver: Effects of Boston's Charter High Schools on College Preparation, Entry, and Choice," researchers measured the effects of attending Boston's charter high schools on students' reading and math achievement, high school graduation, and college outcomes. Six Boston charter schools that include one or…

This report includes summaries of Minnesota student demographics, child count, enrollment counts, graduation rates, and assessment results for the 2015-16 and 2016-17 school years. The trend data reflects the achievements, milestones, and areas of concern for students with the primary disability classification of blind or visually impaired (BVI)…

The Indian Education -- Formula Grants to Local Education Agencies (Indian Education Formula Grant) program is authorized under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), as amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). It is the Department's principal vehicle for addressing the particular needs of Indian children. The program…

This conceptual essay critiques reading comprehension pedagogies that are part of the current educational landscape. I argue that comprehension pedagogy generally reflects one of three differing orientations, each with its own assumptions about what comprehension is: comprehension-as-outcome pedagogies, which emphasize getting textual meaning…

When New York state released the first results of the exams under the Common Core State Standards, many wrongly believed that the results showed dramatic declines in student achievement. A closer look at the results showed that student achievement may have increased. Another lesson from the exams is that states need to closely coordinate new data…