Budget constraints and limited supplies of local tutors have caused many K-12 school districts to pivot from individual tutoring in-person toward small-group tutoring online to expand access to personalized instruction. We conduct a field experiment to explore the effect of increasing student-tutor ratios on middle school students' math…

This action research study followed a sample of first-generation, first-year college students through the summer 2021 orientation process at Towson University (TU), a large public institution in Maryland. Little recent research has been conducted to understand the student experience of the orientation process. First-generation college students are…

This report describes a 15-month collaboration between three Every Learner Everywhere partner organizations (Achieving the Dream, the American Association of Public and Land-grant Universities [APLU], and Digital Promise) and five colleges, all engaged in a research-practice partnership (RPP) around enhancing equity and digital learning in gateway…

Research Findings: In this non-experimental study, the research team analyzed data from a randomly selected sample of child care programs in Maryland and Vermont to understand what characteristics contribute to collaboration success. The team also examined the relationship between collaboration success and measures of child care program quality.…

The purpose of the present study is to evaluate the ongoing implementation and outcomes of the Students and Teachers Accessing Tomorrow (S.T.A.T.) initiative in Baltimore County Public Schools (BCPS) that began in the 2014-15 school year. Key components of S.T.A.T., as reflected in the evaluation model (see Figure 1 presented in the main report),…

These appendices accompany the full report that summarizes the implementation and evaluation of the Accelerating Connections to Employment (ACE) program. The ACE program model is designed to improve employment and employment-related outcomes for low-skilled workers through formal partnerships between Workforce Investment Boards (WIBs) and…

This article examines the relationship between principals' training experiences and perceived school quality in seven U.S. states. Current school principals were surveyed regarding their perceptions of the comparative effectiveness of field experiences in the principal preparation program (PPP) each attended. States were selected to represent…

Some of the nation's most vulnerable youth are those living in foster care and other out-of-home settings. Many such youth have experienced abuse and neglect, face mental health and substance abuse challenges, and struggle with serious behavioral problems (Casanueva et al. 2014). They are more likely than their peers to have academic struggles and…

The Professional Science Master's Biotechnology program at the University of Maryland University College developed and implemented a novel online mentoring program to increase synergy with the biotechnology industry. In this program, Master's students are paired with mentors from the biotechnology industry. A mentor assistant, who is a graduate of…

The purpose of this study was to determine how an urban school district's code of conduct aligned with actual school/class behaviors, and how stakeholders perceived the ability of this document to achieve its number one goal: safe and productive learning environments. Twenty participants including students, teachers, parents, and administrators…

This study examines the effects of Connected Mathematics Project 2 (CMP2) on grade 6 student mathematics achievement and engagement using a cluster randomized controlled trial (RCT) design. It responds to a need to improve mathematics learning in the Mid-Atlantic Region (Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Washington, DC). Findings…

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…

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 authors prepared this report after exploring programs using a 90-day cycle process borrowed from the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI). The IHI 90-day cycle scans activity in the field as a "quick way to research innovative ideas and assess their potential for advancing quality improvement". The goal was to "get under…

Although active learning methodologies have been implemented in geoscience classes successfully, no direct comparison between these different instructional techniques exists to date. For that reason, the purpose of this study was to compare the effectiveness in student learning of two active learning methods: peer instruction and lecture…