Prior to the passing of California Assembly Bill 20 (AB20) and the implementation of the California Model Agreement (CMA) in 2015, the proposal and award process for the California public university systems and the state of California was slow-moving, administratively burdensome, and inconsistent in contracting for research, training, and public…

Numerous high-profile efforts have sought to "turn around" low-performing schools. Evidence on the effectiveness of school turnarounds, however, is mixed, and research offers little guidance on which models are more likely to succeed. We present a mixed-methods case study of turnaround efforts led by the Blueprint Schools Network in…

Perceived shortage of principals, increased accountability demands, the changing role of principals, and the growing influence of the state over school administration have created a set of challenges for principal certification and licensure that have propelled a renewed need for analysis of certification and licensure processes. Recent calls to…

With the rising numbers of bilingual children, particularly young Latinos, in 2010 Illinois was the first state to pass legislation requiring preschool sites that serve 20 or more emergent bilinguals to offer home language instruction. The purpose of this study was to examine the responses of early childhood directors to the changes required by…

Emerging research suggests that on-site mentors can play an important role in supporting K-12 online learners, yet in practice there is wide variability in what mentoring looks like from program to program. Recently, states like Michigan have expanded online course access programs, accelerating the need for better on-ground support models for…

High school students who complete technical coursework in a given field should be able to demonstrate their skill mastery by passing a technical skill assessment that is recognized in that field. States are using a variety of approaches to assess students' skill attainment, with some adopting industry-recognized assessments linked to national…

This report examines traditional calendar school Read to Achieve reading camps implemented in the summer of 2014. Teacher and student survey respondents reported positive reading camp experiences and reading camp was well attended. Based on data for 502 students, a small percentage (16.1%) reached reading proficiency by the end of camp. Gains in…

These are the appendixes for the report, "District Changes in Student Achievement and Local Practice under Georgia's District and School Flexibility Policy." Five appendixes are included in the document: (1) About the study; (2) Data and methods; (3) Supporting analysis; (4) Survey instrument; and (5) Interview protocol. [For the full…

In June 2013, former Texas Governor Rick Perry signed into law House Bill (HB) 5, 83rd Texas Legislature, Regular Session, which established a new high school graduation program--the Foundation High School Program--for students entering Grade 9 in 2014-15 and reduced the number of state assessments required for graduation. The legislation gave the…

Since the 2012/13 school year Florida law has required the 100 lowest performing elementary schools in reading to extend the school day by one hour to provide supplemental reading instruction. In 2014 the law was broadened to include the 300 elementary schools with the lowest reading performance. A previous study of the state's first two cohorts…

This Technical Appendix discusses how researchers from the National Research Center for Career and Technical Education (NRCCTE) conducted the five-year longitudinal study of South Carolina's Personal Pathway to Success initiative, which was authorized by the state's Education and Economic Development Act (EEDA) in 2005, and how they defined and…

Rising remediation rates among college students are leading to increased time for completion of degree, additional costs for students and colleges, and financial aid being used on courses that do not count towards a degree. In response to these issues, in 2007 the state of Illinois passed the College and Career Readiness Act, Public Act 095-0694,…

This study examines the implementation and organization of the state mandated curriculum in the 4-hour SEI block in 18 K-12 classrooms in 5 different districts. We focus on the effects of grouping by language proficiency, the delivery of the structure-based ESL curriculum, the provision of resources and limiting of access to grade-level…

This report presents findings stemming from the first-year evaluation of the Texas Educator Excellence Grant (TEEG) program, one of several statewide performance incentive programs in Texas. In June 2006, Governor Perry and the 79th Texas Legislature created the Governor's Educator Excellence Award Program, one component of which is the TEEG…

Recent efforts to identify and meet the needs for remedial education in Florida's public community colleges and universities are described in this paper. First, a synthesis of the literature on remedial education yields the following recommendations: (1) skills training must be integrated into other college experiences; (2) cognitive skills…