Student participation in summer programming can be an effective way to address students' academic and developmental needs. When well implemented and well attended, summer enrichment programs, academic programs, and employment programs have demonstrated positive outcomes for youth in areas related to program content, including academic achievement…

As federal funding for summer learning as a pandemic recovery strategy phases out, state governments face decisions about their future role in supporting students' access to quality summer learning opportunities. This brief is based on the full report, "How States Are Expanding Quality Summer Learning Opportunities," and summarizes…

Research information management (RIM) is a rapidly growing area of investment in US research universities. RIM systems that support the collection and use of research outputs metadata have been in place for many years. Globally, the RIM ecosystem is quite mature in locales where national research assessment exercises like the United Kingdom's…

Research Information Management (RIM) is a rapidly growing area of investment in US research universities, comprised of a variety of use cases, stakeholders, and products. This growth has been characteristically decentralized, resulting in silos, multiple systems, and frequent duplication of efforts at many institutions. This report is a two-part…

According to the United States Department of Education (2012, 2016), degree completions are a vital measure of overall institution success. Significantly, declining student persistence rates and low degree completions are consistent problems in public colleges throughout the United States. Not only are diminishing retention and incomplete degrees…

State postsecondary education data systems are vital assets for policymakers, researchers, and the public. The State Higher Education Executive Officers Association's (SHEEO) Communities of Practice project builds upon SHEEO's efforts to measure the capacity and effective use of state postsecondary data systems and provides states with…

The gold-standard for evaluating the effect of an educational intervention on student outcomes is running a randomized controlled trial (RCT). However, RCTs may often be small due to logistical considerations, and resulting treatment effect estimates may lack precision. Recent methods improve experimental precision by incorporating information…

The gold-standard for evaluating the effect of an educational intervention on student outcomes is running a randomized controlled trial (RCT). However, RCTs may often be small due to logistical considerations, and resulting treatment effect estimates may lack precision. Recent methods improve experimental precision by incorporating information…

A gap in practice at CES Elementary School (pseudonym) was the lack of data driven instructional decision making that contributed to the problem of low school scores on the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR). Low STAAR scores have negatively impacted student, teacher, and administrator retention. Unsuccessfully, data chats…

Data-based instruction (DBI) is a process in which teachers use progress data to make ongoing instructional decisions for students with learning disabilities. Curriculum-based measurement (CBM) is a common form of progress monitoring, and CBM data are placed on a graph to guide decision-making. Despite the central role that graph interpretation…

Texans ages 25-34 who earn an associate degree are nearly twice as likely to earn at least $50,000 per year than those who don't earn a degree (24% vs. 13%). Those earning a bachelor's degree or higher are nearly four times as likely to reach this self-sustaining wage (49% vs. 13%). If every eighth grader in Harris County were to earn an associate…

This article describes the step-by-step process of how data science, marketing and communications, and higher education improved access and success for students. Over the last three years, strategic planning efforts helped develop a data-informed culture on campus. The work described within the playbook required time, energy, and a lot of…

Inadequate campus support for student mental health, such as student isolation, long wait times, understaffing, and underfunding, predates 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic, however, contributed to growing students' mental health needs and exacerbating preexisting conditions resulting in a failure to support students adequately. In 2023, more than 60…

This policy brief describes the academic impact of the PLC at Work® process in Texas Model PLC Schools. By comparing student performance in designated schools to matched peers, the study finds that students in PLC schools experience meaningful gains in math and reading achievement--equivalent to two to four months of additional learning. Gains…

For decades, schools nationwide have collected household income data to identify those eligible for free and reduced-price lunch programs. State leaders have long used this information as a proxy for student economic disadvantage--yet this data is insufficient to understand and address students' needs. Measures based on FRL data lack critical…