The continued growth of online education in K-12 settings across the country has expanded students' access to coursework, learning opportunities, and academic support beyond the classroom. As part of this broader shift, emergency virtual instruction has become a common strategy that districts use to avoid losing instructional days when school…

Background: In 2009, the Obama Administration announced its intention to rapidly "turn around" 5,000 of the nation's lowest-performing schools. To do so, it relied on the School Improvement Grant (SIG) program to provide temporary funding for states and schools, and to mandate drastic, school-level reforms. Most of these reforms require…

This article reviews research on homeschool learner outcomes and evaluates opposition to homeschooling. It synthesizes research on learner outcomes related to homeschooling in areas of students' academic achievement and children's social, emotional, and psychological development and the success of adults who were home educated and finds generally…

U.S. educators and policymakers are concerned about the poor performance of the public schools, particularly schools that serve students from low-income families. Although education is primarily a state function, the federal government also has a longstanding interest in improving education for disadvantaged students, and it targets funding to…

Response to intervention (RTI) is a framework for providing interventions and services at increasing levels of intensity until students succeed. The framework helps teachers and schools provide instruction and interventions matched to student needs, monitor progress frequently to guide decisions about changes in instruction or goals, and apply…

In their efforts to help children overcome the deleterious influences of such social problems as illiteracy, dropping out, school failure, and poverty, policymakers are turning to early childhood educators. Studies have shown that children in high quality preschool programs exceed expectations in school and society. States and the private sector…

The paper was written to document the importance and efficacy of comprehensive early intervention services for children with special needs and their families; to serve as a resource to a wide range of agencies, organizations and individuals concerned about the needs of special needs children and the families; and to advocate support at all…

Although the United States government invests vast sums of money in the war on drugs, the availability of drugs and the number of persons using illegal drugs are still serious problems. Information that Congress can use in improving drug control strategies is provided here. Some of the report's highlights include current research on promising…

Hypothesizes that a student assignment plan, such as that approved for Boston (Massachusetts), can be an effective method of using school choice to achieve both educational quality and racial balance. Urges the federal government to increase funds for demonstration planning projects and comparative studies to test the plan's effectiveness. (FMW)

There are moral and economic reasons for addressing the issue of minority participation and achievement in higher education. Many programs have proven effective, but state and institutional leaders now need to take available knowledge and use it systematically in color-free strategies to make higher education more productive for all students. (MSE)

The article reviews the history of special education in Australia over the last 30 years and identifies issues including the efficacy of early intervention programs, legislation and other governmental acts, the move to integration, attitudes toward integration, and establishment of a multidisciplinary center providing training, resource, and…

Reviews 20th-century research on gifted students and on approaches to their education. Discusses recent federal and organizational initiatives and describes several current approaches to gifted education. Includes an extensive bibliography. (MCG)

The article highlights literature on parent-infant programing, with particular emphasis on the role of parents, a direct and positive relationship between the gains achieved by very young hearing impaired children, and the extent to which their parents were taught to participate in their early education. (Author/MC)

This study investigates the impact of activities done in the basic education sub-sector by a consortium of four non-government organizations in four provinces in Afghanistan from January 2004 to June 2005. The evaluation uses the project objectives and components as the evaluation framework, and data collected through survey questionnaires,…

This report contains the text of five briefings on research in Rand's Urban Policy Analysis program. "Brief History of Rand's Urban Policy Analysis Program," by Barbara R. Williams, discusses the changing Federal role in urban policy, problems encountered in Rand's attempt during the early 1970s to examine the central policy problems of…