In his testimony, Jon Baron, president of Coalition for Evidence-Based Policy, recommends reauthorization of the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program (MIECHV) Program. He outlines three reasons that support his recommendation: (1) MIECHV represents an important, bipartisan departure from the usual approach to social…

In order to prepare the large number of postsecondary-educated youth our economy demands, high schools and higher education must break through the boundaries that have traditionally separated them and assume joint responsibility for student success. This brief describes an unusual school district partnership with colleges that has achieved…

Illinois advanced landmark reforms in recent years to improve instruction for its 2 million students. Built upon the bedrock of new, rigorous Common Core State Standards, Illinois education leaders stepped up student expectations, championed educator evaluations intended to provide feedback and improve instruction, redesigned school report cards…

Many students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have specialized interests and passions that are highly reinforcing. Such special interest areas (SIAs) are more than mere hobbies or simple curiosities. Rather, the SIAs of an individual with autism may be characterized by (a) significant depth and breadth of knowledge about the area, (b)…

Training and coaching are cited frequently to achieve different goals, by different people, across different fields. "Who" provides training and coaching and "where" and "how" they are provided may influence the effectiveness of the training and coaching efforts, making the clear identification of these contextual…

Evidence-based reform is transforming education at all levels, both in providing effective models for use in schools and in linking policy to effective practice on a broad scale. As early education moves from a concern with effects of preschool versus no preschool to focus on creating and evaluating effective preschool models capable of improving…

Early childhood interventions can be highly cost effective when positive impacts are sustained into adulthood. Yet while many recent preschool interventions have been found to have short-term effects on young children's language, literacy, mathematics, executive function, and social-emotional development, studies show that impacts on cognitive and…

Scientific undergraduate research in higher education often yields positive outcomes for student and faculty member participants alike, with underrepresented students often showing even more substantial gains (academic, professional, and personal) as a result of the experience. Significant success can be realized when involving deaf and…

In an age of instantaneous information sharing and increased interdependence, today's leaders must learn to work collaboratively, leveraging the strengths, skills, and experiences of those around them, in order to address the challenges they face. The Center for Collaborative Leadership is uniquely situated in the College of Management at the…

For the past 12 years, the author has worked with peer coaches in more than 40 countries, and has seen schools where peer coaches have collaborated with colleagues to improve teaching and learning in classrooms across the school. In other schools, coaches have played a critical role in creating a culture of collaboration that helps build the…

In the Innovative Professional Development (iPD) Challenge, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has invested in helping school districts and networks redesign their instructional support systems to better support educators in increasing student success. This Issue Focus, the second in a series, presents early reflections from MDRC's evaluation…

Two of the most important educational benchmarks are readiness for kindergarten and reading at grade-level by third grade. Focusing on emergent literacy skills during the PreK years boosts reading abilities and helps young learners reach these critical goals. Research validates what works in teaching children to read: Well-trained tutors and…

Relationships are key to the success of everything higher education hopes to accomplish, from recruiting the next class to retaining them, guiding them to graduation, creating successful alumni, and fostering satisfied donors. Creation of those relationships can be engaged and facilitated by the technology, communications tools, and ideas…

The start of the college experience is often hectic as students discover their new surroundings on campus. Students must carry out several high-tech tasks on their laptops and mobile devices in order to be successful participants in the digital culture that permeates their institution of higher learning. This paper describes the implementation of…

As a disciplinary program, dance falls between the arts and physical education. As a result, it can often be overlooked or sidelined by either program, to the determent of its great value for community college students. Dance and its attention to movement, mental focus, and physical control provide important neurological benefits that affect both…