The departure of an effective school leader can influence staff turnover and student achievement for several years. With school systems facing an unprecedented public health crisis due to COVID-19, principal retention is a key area of concern for many local and state education agencies. The Regional Educational Laboratory West undertook this study…

This Study Snapshot highlights key findings from a study of principal retention rates to help leaders in Arizona, Nevada, and Utah better understand principal retention patterns in their state, so that their new statewide leadership support initiatives could identify areas where support could be most effective. With school systems facing an…

The "Principal Retention Patterns in Arizona, Nevada, and Utah" study examined principal retention rates in Arizona, Nevada, and Utah. The study sought to understand principal retention patterns in these states, so that their new statewide leadership support initiatives could identify areas where support could be most effective.…

The point at which the corners of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah meet is the only spot in the United States where the borders of four states converge. Beyond geography, the Four Corners states share a similar approach to charter schooling. All four states have adopted relatively freewheeling authorization policies, and charter schools…

To help inform education stakeholders in Utah, this study examined the differences in characteristics between rural and non-rural districts in the state from fiscal year 2012 through fiscal year 2017 using administrative data from the Utah State Board of Education and the Utah Education Association. All the findings are descriptive and do not…

Knowing what skills underlie college success can allow students, teachers, and universities to identify and to help at-risk students. One skill that may underlie success across a variety of subject areas is structure building, the ability to create mental representations of narratives (Gernsbacher, Varner, & Faust, 1990). We tested if…

This study continues the work that National Network of State Teachers of the Year (NNSTOY) and its partners, Clowder Consulting and Education-Counsel, began with their "Right Trajectory" study (see ED581172), released in 2015, and continued in their "Still the Right Trajectory" study (see ED581173) released in early 2017. In…

Fingertip Facts is a compendium of some of the most frequently requested data sets from the Utah State Office of Education. This year's Fingertip Facts includes the following data sets: (1) RISE Testing, 2018-19; (2) Utah ASPIRE Testing, 2018-19; (3) 2019 Utah ACT Scores; (4) CTE Career Pathways; (5) 2019 Public Education General Fund; (6) 2019…

Fingertip Facts is a compendium of some of the most frequently requested data sets from the Utah State Office of Education. This year's Fingertip Facts includes the following data sets: (1) SAGE Testing; (2) 2018 Utah ACT Scores; (3) CTE Career Pathways; (4) 2018 Public Education General Fund; (5) 2017 Public Enrollment Demographics; (6) Public…

"The Right Trajectory" brings to the forefront an often-overlooked voice in the debate about new state assessments developed in consortia: that of the best teachers in the country. This research suggests, despite challenges still to overcome, that these front-line experts believe that the new consortia tests are an improvement on the…

Across the United States, and in the states served by the Regional Educational Laboratory West (REL West) in particular, there is widespread concern about how to successfully educate the growing number of English language learner (ELL) students, especially those identified as long-term ELL students and those identified as reclassified fluent…

Given the increasing costs associated with commercial textbooks and decreasing financial support of public schools, it is important to better understand the impacts of open educational resources on student outcomes. The purpose of this quantitative study is to analyze whether the adoption of open science textbooks significantly affects science…

Annually, ACT provides each state with "The Condition of College & Career Readiness," a report that details the college readiness of students who took the ACT[R] test. This report is a companion to "The Condition of College & Career Readiness." This paper traces the college enrollment, retention, re-enrollment, and…

With passage of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act in 1990, autism was recognized as a distinct special education category. Subsequently, there has been a steady increase in the number of students qualified in the schools to receive special education services under this category. There are a number of questions as to the types of…

This handbook is designed to help Utah educators implement student assessment procedures that are in harmony with the State graduation requirements of 1984, which identify implementation and assessment of student achievement as the responsibilities of local boards of education. The State graduation requirements and programs of study allow…