The world of education faced an unprecedented challenge in the spring of 2020 when global pandemic forced schools to shut down and transform into remote education through digital platforms. However, when the schools started to reopen for face-to-face instruction post-COVID, instead of returning to the familiarity of traditional classrooms, the…

As districts nationwide transitioned online to deliver remote or hybrid instruction as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Internet has become an increasingly important space for K-12 students, teachers, and many other stakeholders. This brief discusses the utility of Internet metrics to measure K-12 district websites and its usefulness for…

In 2018, the Texas Education Agency (TEA) launched a strategic competitive grant program aimed at supporting Local Education Agencies (LEA) in achieving Math Innovation Zone (MIZ) designation. This initiative's primary focus is to increase PreK - 8th grade math proficiency levels through the implementation of a blended learning model in math…

This study draws upon faculty interviews conducted in 2019 and 2021 to document dramatic shifts in primary source instruction of undergraduate students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Synthesizing these data, it analyzes how faculty cultivated pedagogical practice, developed practical approaches to teaching with primary sources, and adjusted goals…

Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the entire system of education around the world is living each day under rapid experimentation to grapple with unforeseen challenges. The event of the COVID-19 pandemic has not only impacted a student's track of learning but also disrupted the everyday functioning of schools. In the case of the United…

The COVID-19 pandemic hit the United States in early 2020. With it, came a range of concerns, panic, and scrambling for "quick fixes," as families learned to navigate rapid and sometimes confusing pandemic changes. Thirty million Americans were under- or uninsured at the start of the pandemic, so both preventive measures and access to…

Health science represents the fastest-growing industry in the United States, a trend not predicted to slow for the next decade. The high demand for health professionals has led to increased demand for anatomy and physiology (A&P) courses and a transition to hybrid-style labs to meet the necessary increased enrollment without increasing the…

Background: Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, there is a need to understand caregiver preferences for their children's instructional format for the start of the 2020 to 2021 academic year. The purpose of the current study was to assess caregiver preferences for on-campus versus virtual learning at home during the fall and factors associated with these…

The school reopening debate has reached an inflection point as districts weigh both the safety and learning implications of returning to in-person education this fall. Challenges with transitioning to distance learning during the spring made it clear that teachers, parents and students needed more and different resources to make supportive,…

Throughout the pandemic, the Getting Smart team (which Tom Vander Ark leads as CEO) worked with public school districts in Kansas, Missouri, and Texas, as well as charter schools in six additional states to support hybrid, virtual, and return-to-school strategies and plans. During the year and a half that education systems spent in crisis…

By 2030, most jobs will require some training beyond high school (a four-year degree, a two-year associate degree, or some type of industry credential). Too few Texas students are currently obtaining the necessary postsecondary credentials. In response to this challenge, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board established the 60x30TX Plan in…