For years now, educators have looked to international tests as a yardstick to measure how well students from the United States are learning compared with their peers. The answer has been: not so well. The United States has been falling further behind other nations and has struggled with a large achievement gap. Federal policy under No Child Left…

The members of Regional Educational Laboratory (REL) Southwest's Texas English Learners Research Alliance requested this project because they were interested in learning more about the participation of current English learner students in gifted and talented (GT) programs in Texas, and how their participation compared with that of former English…

Swimming is considered by many to be a significant form of physical activity with many health benefits. Few opportunities exist for African American youth to participate in programs focused on providing developmentally appropriate swim instruction, due in part to a lack of aquatic facilities and programs in urban schools and communities. In an…

James H. Borland, Ph.D. is Professor of Education in the Department of Curriculum and Teaching at Teachers College, Columbia University in New York City. In this reflective conversation, he reflects on his experiences in an urban environment and the current challenges in gifted education. He argues for ongoing diagnosis of learners' needs without…

This report summarizes Austin Independent School District's federal NCLB Title I compliance and service data from the 2013-2014 school year. More than $23 million was spent to serve more than 45,000 students. State academic test results showed that students at Title I schools had lower passing rates than students at non-Title I schools.

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…

Career and technical education (CTE) programs are increasingly engaging a broad range of stakeholders, including parents and community organizations, to improve CTE programs, better serve students and help communities in need. This resource will focus on ways that CTE educators can communicate with, collaborate with and support current and…

In an unequal world, education about global inequality can be seen as a controversial but necessary topic for social science to deal with. Even though the world no longer consists of colonies and colonial powers, many aspects of the global economy follow the same patterns as during colonial times, with widening gaps between the world's richest and…

This report provides information on enrollment in the Texas public school system from the 2011-12 through 2021-22 school years, based on data collected through the Texas Student Data System. Enrollment data are provided by grade, race/ethnicity, gender, and economically disadvantaged status, and for instructional programs, nontraditional school…

"Martínez v. State of New Mexico" (2014) is a school finance and equity lawsuit built on the promises of the state constitution. The plaintiffs are 51 parents and their children across seven regions of the state (Torres-Velásquez, 2017). In its decision ("Martínez," 2018), the Court determined that the state's public education…

The Creative Learning Initiative (CLI) is a community-wide effort to bring creative learning and the arts to each and every student in Austin. Lead by MINDPOP, the City of Austin, and Austin Independent School District (AISD), CLI designs systematic and sustainable programs that integrate creativity, creative teaching strategies, and the arts with…

By providing early access to education, early childhood and community-based programs are helping to close the achievement gap prevalent among children from impoverished homes.

In a multicultural country like Peru, specific and disaggregated data on ethnic and racial minorities are a key resource to inform public policies about neglected populations. For decades, data on Afro-Peruvians has been both limited and inaccurate. Although there are 106 Afro-Peruvian communities, the most recent national census in October 2017…

Since 1997, Advocates for Children of New Jersey (ACNJ) has published the Newark Kids Count Data Book, a one-stop source for child well-being data on the state's largest city. Newark Kids Count includes the latest statistics, along with five-year trend data, in the following areas: demographics, family economic security, child health, child…

This report provides information on enrollment in the Texas public school system from the 2010-11 through 2020-21 school years, based on data collected through the Texas Student Data System. Enrollment data are provided by grade, race/ethnicity, gender, and economically disadvantaged status, and for instructional programs, nontraditional school…