Effective teachers can have a significant impact on student success; unfortunately, low-income students, students of color, English learners, and students with disabilities are more likely to be assigned to unqualified, less experienced, and less effective teachers. Inequitable access to effective educators is one contributing factor that…

Teacher attrition is problematic in schools serving marginalized populations. Teacher attrition rates are 50% higher in Title I schools than in non-Title I schools (Carver-Thomas & Darling-Hammond, 2017). Furthermore, attrition among teachers whose main teaching assignments are in mathematics and science is 70% higher in Title I schools as…

The recommendations in this brief create a framework for using data effectively to make instructional decisions. The availability of student-level data for educators has pushed forward the movement to strengthen the role of data to guide instruction and improve student learning. While improvements in technology and assessments, as well as recent…

Across the United States, a movement to create a new kind of public school--"autonomous district schools"--is giving districts the freedoms charter schools receive. Like charter schools, autonomous district schools are freed from innovation-inhibiting state and district policies, allowing talented educators to make academic and…

In this policy brief, TransformEd provides policy recommendations for local and state leaders seeking to take a data-informed approach to SEL. We specifically crafted recommendations that incorporate the use of data because gathering data on SEL allows educators to make meaningful connections between student experiences, school culture, and…

The purpose of the current study was to evaluate a training program for persons with early-stage Alzheimer's disease and their care partners. Care partners were mailed two surveys, one for themselves and one for the person with dementia. Domains covered in the training included an overview of cognitive disorders, treatment of symptoms including…

The mechanism design approach to student assignment involves the theoretical, empirical, and experimental study of systems used to allocate students into schools around the world. Recent practical experience designing systems for student assignment has raised new theoretical questions for the theory of matching and assignment. This article reviews…

Launched in 2008, the Strategic Data Project, housed at the Center for Education Policy Research at Harvard University, seeks to bridge the divide between educational research and practice in order to transform the use of data in education to improve student achievement. Through the project, the authors build robust research partnerships with…

Communities face powerful challenges--a high-school dropout epidemic, youth unemployment, teen pregnancy--that require powerful solutions. In a climate of increasingly constrained resources, those solutions must help communities to achieve more with less. A new kind of community collaborative--an approach that aspires to significant,…

High-quality out-of-school-time (OST) programs have a positive effect on youth development, but many cities have found it difficult to address the challenges of expanding and improving the quality of programs offered to underserved and high-need students. In response, The Wallace Foundation sponsored an initiative to help five cities increase…

High-quality out-of-school-time (OST) programs have a positive effect on youth development, but many cities have found it difficult to address the challenges of expanding and improving the quality of programs offered to underserved and high-need students. In response, The Wallace Foundation sponsored an initiative to help five cities increase…

The Board of Elementary and Secondary Education shares the Governor's concern about the need to prepare students for the 21st century economy. Technology has the power to enhance students' learning, engage them, and ultimately prepare them for the competitive world beyond school. In order to prepare students for their future in this increasingly…

This speech begins with a discussion of broad social and political patterns and trends that are currently developing and continues to the specific unresolved social issues which will affect the nature and structure of educational systems. Those issues seen by the author is most likely to produce the greatest amount of activity are integration, the…

This handbook is designed to assist schools in organizing and managing an effective school improvement council. It is divided into six sections. Section I describes the benefits of a school improvement council from the perspective of the school district, parents and citizens, teachers, the school administration, and students. Section II provides…

This guide to whole life planning for people with disabilities describes whole life planning as a person-centered way of assisting people with disabilities to plan for their future. Whole life planning relies on the involvement of a small group of committed people who are willing to act as advocates and resources to the focal person. The manual…