The state of Kentucky mandated College and Career Readiness as a part of the revised education accountability system. The new system is known as Unbridled Learning assessment and accountability. As a result of this mandate high schools in Kentucky are trying to understand the steps necessary to implement a successful College and Career Ready…

Mentoring is a common form of support for beginning teachers. State and district mentoring policies vary along a number of dimensions, yet policymakers have little evidence to draw on in designing effective mentoring programs. We use quantitative and qualitative data from a study of beginning middle school mathematics teachers in 10 districts to…

There has been a wealth of research conducted on the national epidemic of high school dropouts spanning several decades. It is estimated that the class of 2009 cost the nation $335 billion in lost wages, taxes and productivity over their lifetimes (Alliance for Excellent Education, 2009). The citizenry of the country suffers not only because of…

Math experts developed Formative Assessment Lessons that teachers can incorporate throughout the year's curriculum. Both tools target the "instructional core." A study by Research for Action (RFA) examining the first year of piloting the Literacy Design Collaborative (LDC) and Math Design Collaborative (MDC) tools (2010-11) found…

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has invested in the development and dissemination of instructional tools to support teachers' incorporation of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) into their classroom instruction. Literacy experts have developed a framework and a set of templates that teachers and other educators can use to develop content…

The mission of the Appalachian Rural Systemic Initiative (ARSI) was to build a long-term capacity that would improve the educational structures of the rural communities it served. The major strategy ARSI used to create improvement communities across Appalachia was to identify, embrace and educate individual teachers, who became ARSI Teacher…

Interviews conducted in Kentucky's Fifth Congressional District sought answers for improving educational quality in the district, which has the highest dropout rate, the lowest holding power, and the lowest standardized test scores in Kentucky. Members of the Mountain Association for Community Economic Development interviewed 155 people from 15 of…