This brief shares learnings from Building Equitable Learning Environments (BELE) district partnerships around the sixth Essential Action: Measure What Matters. This Essential Action focuses on achieving equitable learning environments through the routine collection and review of relevant student feedback data to co-design new practices and…

Following a review of the literature to identify core principles of schoolwide positive behavior interventions and supports (SWPBIS), this study employed coding methods to examine teacher concerns as expressed in their responses to an open-ended probe in five middle schools. Teachers in all schools expressed concerns for their colleagues' support…

Most districts help teachers use data to improve student learning, often supporting this effort with federal funds. But many teachers feel unprepared to use student data to inform their instruction -- referred to as data-driven instruction (DDI) -- and there is little evidence of whether it improves student achievement. This report assesses an…

As part of their improvement efforts, schools have increasingly turned to the use of data to improve instruction. This is due in part to the increasing availability of student assessment data throughout the school year. The strategy of using assessment and other data to inform teachers' instruction is often called data-driven instruction (DDI).…

The three appendices in this publication accompany the full report, "Evaluation of Support for Using Student Data to Inform Teachers' Instruction. NCEE 2019-4008" (ED598641). They include: (1) Supplemental Information on Study Design, Data, and Methods; (2) Supplemental Findings on Implementation of the Data-Driven Instruction…

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the implementation and impacts of the Building Assets, Reducing Risks (BARR) model in its first year of implementation in 66 schools across the U.S. and to document scale-up progress during the Investing in Innovation (i3) grant period (2017-2021). The impact evaluation included 21,529 9th grade students…

Data-based decision making (DBDM) is presumed to improve student performance in elementary schools in all subjects. The majority of studies in which DBDM effects have been evaluated have focused on mathematics. A hierarchical multiple single-subject design was used to measure effects of a 2-year training, in which entire school teams learned how…

"For valid disability determination to occur, a diagnostic team needs to be able to determine that a student has received appropriate instruction in the general education classroom" (Johnson, Mellard, Fuchs, & McKnight, 2006, p. 4.2). The purpose of the study was to determine whether a middle school Response to Intervention (RTI)…

Oregon's Effective Behavioral and Instructional Support Systems (EBISS) initiative was implemented in 25 school districts. The initiative trained and coached district leaders and teachers in the use of the EBISS model through the lens of implementation science. The EBISS model integrates school-wide positive behavior intervention and supports…

It is essential for middle school leaders to develop and promote school-wide literacy models, organizational structures that have a significant impact on the learning environment for all students in their building. However, school-wide literacy models can be difficult to implement and sustain over time. Drawing from an Office of Special Education…

The basic concept of personalized learning (PL) -- instruction that is focused on meeting students' individual learning needs while incorporating their interests and preferences -- has been a longstanding practice in U.S. K-12 education. Options for personalization have increased as personal computing devices have become increasingly affordable…

For a school improvement initiative to succeed, education leaders must do more than adopt a new program and train staff. This issue of "SEDL Insights" explores steps that leaders can take to ensure the successful implementation of a new program or practice.

Positive Behavior Support (PBS) is a framework by which all educational decisions are made in order to produce a safe, civil, and productive learning environment. The goal of PBS is to improve school climate through a range of systemic and individualized strategies that are offered to students and teachers, based on their demonstrated level of…