In the wake of COVID-19, school systems face a daunting set of challenges as they plan for the 2020-2021 school year -- including meeting students' increased academic and social-emotional needs, implementing physical distancing requirements, and grappling with significant revenue loss. School systems must prepare for the 2020-2021 school year with…

Social capital describes students' access to, and ability to mobilize, relationships that help them further their potential and their goals. Just like skills and knowledge, relationships offer resources that drive access to opportunity. Most schools and programs wholeheartedly agree that relationships matter. But far fewer actually measure…

This brief is one in a series aimed at providing K-12 education decision makers and advocates with an evidence base to ground discussions about how to best serve students during and following the novel coronavirus pandemic. It addresses one central question: What are the key considerations for districts that may need to reduce spending and…

State assessment leaders are concerned about the challenges with receiving full approval from the U.S. Department of Education (USED) when using the ACT or the SAT as their assessment of high school achievement. USED has asked states opting to use the ACT or the SAT as the achievement indicator under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) to…

Transportation, or the lack thereof, can be a huge barrier to families exercising choice. Simply because a state authorizes the creation of charter schools or grants vouchers to families looking to send their children to private schools doesn't mean that those children will actually be able to attend those schools. They have to be able to get…

In 2016, Maryland adopted the Broadening Options and Opportunities for Students Today (BOOST) voucher program that helps pay K-12 private school expenses for low-income households. BOOST vouchers target low-income families. Funds are available to public school students as well as children in private schools and homeschools who qualify for free or…

This exploratory study was commissioned by the Education Endowment Foundation (the EEF). The report presents findings on the challenges facing schools in disadvantaged circumstances (characterised by the EEF as 'Priority Schools'). Priority Schools, which include both primary and secondary schools, have a high proportion of pupils eligible for…

This brief provides a summary of Tier 3 or "promising" evidence of Istation's Early Reading program in improving K-3 student performance in reading and English language arts (ELA). This quasi-experimental study examined whether students who attended schools that piloted Istation's Early Reading program during the 2017-18 school year had…

These technical appendixes accompany the study, "Funding California Schools When Budgets Fall Short." The study explores how the Great Recession impacted funding for California's K-12 system, how prepared districts are for potential funding cuts, and what policy choices could forge a more financially resilient system. Using data on…

School boards have the opportunity to shape a new vision for instruction where students take an active role in their learning and build the skills necessary to mitigate effects of opportunity gaps. This publication provides a framework for implementing active student roles and provides data and case studies to support its recommendations.

The question of equivalency regarding course modality has plagued and intrigued educators for as long as multiple modalities have existed. In the modern world of academia, the two prevailing modalities are face-to-face or traditional courses and online courses. A multitude of factors have contributed to the increase in online course offerings,…

Our nation spends approximately $650 billion per year on our K-12 education system. To understand how those dollars impact students, we need to examine spending where it reaches them: at the school level. The document, developed by the National Center, describes a national data archive that uses all elements of Interstate Financial Reporting (IFR)…

Secondary Career and Technical Education (CTE) provides students with a full education in academic areas as well as a career area of interest, allowing students to apply their school-based learning in the real world through work-based learning. At the same time, urban CTE adolescents have historically been marginalized and placed in a deficit…

Mobile technology (MT) may create new opportunities for teachers to enhance the implementation of evidence-based practices (EBPs) for students with emotional and conduct disorders (ECD) in United States. However, there remains a relative paucity of research reviewing the effectiveness of integrating MT into EBPs, also referred to as emerging…

This is the closing paper in a "Scottish Educational Review" collection on "Making Space for Play in Scottish Education." The paper reflects on the key conclusions from the six papers and three notes that comprise the collection. It identifies a baker's dozen of priority actions for those concerned to enrich Scottish education…