Identification for gifted and talented services is governed by state and local policies. Inclusive, student-centered policies can support equity and excellence by ensuring that all students have access to appropriate levels of academic challenge. Gifted programming standards, evidence-based interventions, and emerging strategies can provide…

Since the COVID-19 pandemic shut down public school buildings across the United States in early 2020, research on academic indicators has documented disproportionate--and potentially long-lasting--impacts on Latino students. This report examines several strategies and practices that have tremendous promise for accelerating Latino students'…

Positive school climate has been linked to higher test scores, graduation rates, and fewer disciplinary referrals. Yet state policy discussions on student supports often fail to address a key lever for improving school climate: robust school-based mental health services. This National Association of State Boards of Education (NASBE) policy update…

There is a growing body of research that suggests the first year of high school is a critical transition point for students. It also finds course-taking and successful completion of those courses in 9th grade to be valuable predictors of students' success in high school. The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) provides states an opportunity to…

The report contains real-world, proven school climate strategies to guide policymakers in building a comprehensive and coherent state-wide approach for improving school climate. It features 12 recommendations linked to existing state policy examples policymakers can use to build a comprehensive, coherent state-wide approach for improving school…

"Education in a Pandemic: Learning from Illinois Students & Caregivers to Plan for the Road Ahead" highlights the testimonies of more than 120 students, parents and caregivers from across Illinois as they share their experiences of remote, hybrid, and in-person learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings, coupled with…

Improving the educational outcomes of economically disadvantaged children is a policy priority in the United States, and yet relatively little progress has been made in recent decades. Education reforms that aim to help economically disadvantaged students often focus on improving the quality with which grade-level material is taught, or the…

In this study, we analyzed data for the Illinois high school class of 2003 to determine the impact of dual credit participation on postsecondary attainment. We matched 8,095 dual credit participants to an equal number of nonparticipants within the same high school at the point of postsecondary enrollment using propensity scores calculated through…

The goals of the current mixed methods study--the Illinois Principal Preparation Implementation Review Project (I-PREP)--are to describe how the new policy is being implemented, learning which aspects of the implementation have been challenging and why they present challenges, and how programs are addressing challenges and realizing improvements…

The goals of the current mixed methods study--the Illinois Principal Preparation Implementation Review Project (I-PREP)--are to describe how the new policy is being implemented, learning which aspects of the implementation have been challenging and why they present challenges, and how programs are addressing challenges and realizing improvements…

The advent of new technologies and increased access to robust connectivity is reshaping the K-12 landscape for teaching and learning. School districts nationwide are leveraging digital instructional materials and resources to deliver transformative and impactful personalized learning opportunities for students and to enhance the administrative…

The advent of new technologies and increased access to robust connectivity is reshaping the K-12 landscape for teaching and learning. School districts nationwide are leveraging digital instructional materials and resources to deliver transformative and impactful personalized learning opportunities for students and to enhance the administrative…

Caught between extraordinary public expectations and relatively modest constitutional authority, U.S. presidents historically have fashioned all sorts of mechanisms--executive orders, proclamations, memoranda--by which to move their objectives forward. William Howell asserts that under President Barack Obama's administration, presidential…

The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) provides an opportunity for states and local education agencies (LEAs) to rethink the goals and policies that they have in place for public education. Under the new law, education leaders have greater flexibility to define student success and to design their own systems and programs to ensure educational…

This study used a mixed-methods approach to explore the heterogeneity of effectiveness between supplemental educational services (SES) providers in the Chicago Public Schools (CPS). Using surveys of schools and SES providers, and statistical modeling, providers using college graduates and teachers as tutors were found to be more effective than…