"Thinking Reader" is a software program for students in Grades 5-8 that incorporates elements commonly identified in policy reports as being key components of effective adolescent literacy instruction. This evaluation of the impact of "Thinking Reader" use by Grade 6 students focused on two confirmatory research questions about…

The general purpose of this five-year evaluation is to assess the effectiveness of Milwaukee's independent charter schools in promoting student achievement growth. Independent charter schools are authorized by nonschool-district entities and are considered "independent" because they are not a part of the Milwaukee Public School District…

The Office of Shared Accountability conducted an evaluation of the implementation of the third and final year (2012-2013) of the "Science, Technology, and Engineering Leadership Program" (STELP) in Montgomery County (Maryland) Public Schools (MCPS). Funding for STELP, including the evaluation study, is provided by a grant from the Howard…

This evaluation study examined the effectiveness, efficiency, and impact of the statewide master plan for professional development (PD Master Plan) by investigating seven questions. With regard to effectiveness, (1) What was the level of implementation for the PD Master Plan, overall and by individual providers? (2) What were the impediments, if…

Houston Independent School District (HISD) has provided prekindergarten classes for Houston area four-year old students since the 1985-1986 academic year. The focus of the program is on lifelong learning to enhance the physical, emotional, and social wellbeing of the whole child and provide the foundational skills required for career and college…

This report is the fifth in a series of annual reports produced by the School Choice Demonstration Project (SCDP) providing descriptive information about the schools participating in the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program (MPCP). Following a brief history of the MPCP, this year's report contains descriptive statistics about schools participating in…

This paper uses data from the Head Start Impact Study (HSIS), a nationally representative multisite randomized trial, to quantify variation in effects of Head Start during 2002-2003 on children's cognitive and socio-emotional outcomes relative to the effects of other local alternatives, including parent care. We find that (1) treatment and control…

Paired Reading is a peer tutoring programme in secondary schools which trains teachers to support and encourage the regular tutoring of Year 7 pupils (aged 11-12 years) by Year 9 pupils (aged 13-14 years). The Paired Reading programme aims to improve pupils' general literacy in addition to speaking and listening skills. This is achieved by pupils…

The Office of Shared Accountability (OSA) conducted an evaluation of the implementation of the second year (2011-2012) of the Science, Technology, and Engineering Leadership Program (STELP) in Montgomery County (Maryland) Public Schools (MCPS). Funding for STELP, including the evaluation study, is provided by a grant from the Howard Hughes Medical…

The North Carolina Pre-Kindergarten Program (NC Pre-K) is a state-funded initiative for at-risk 4-year-olds, designed to provide a high quality, classroom-based educational program during the year prior to kindergarten entry. Children are eligible for NC Pre-K based on age, family income (at or below 75% of state median income), and other risk…

Seven district improvement initiatives were implemented in 2011-12 in the Wake County Public School System (WCPSS). All were well designed and coordinated, with common goal setting processes and use of common monitoring tools. All initiatives either met or partially met 2011-12 goals. Some were more successful in showing student outcomes, with the…

The intentions were noble. It was hoped that remediation programs would be an academic bridge from poor high school preparation to college readiness. Sadly, remediation has become instead higher education's "Bridge to Nowhere." This broken remedial bridge is travelled by some 1.7 million beginning students each year, most of whom will…

The 4-year federal Safe and Supportive Schools (S3) program supports targeted interventions to improve and measure conditions for learning at the high school level. For 2011-2012 (Year 2), two evaluation questions were investigated: (EQ1) To what extent do participating schools implement the program with fidelity relative to the WV Model for…

In this evaluation, as in previous years, four main aspects of the implementation of the West Virginia Board of Education's Master Plan for Statewide Professional Development were examined: (a) basic information reported by providers about the size and scope of the effort, including attendance, and adherence to the newly adopted standards for…

The National Science Foundation's (NSF) National Science Digital Library/Distributed Learning (NSDL) program turned 10 years old in 2010. This report presents results of a preliminary program evaluation carried out by RAND and is organized around three principal goals: (1) Provide an initial evaluation of NSDL based on existing information…