African immigrants in the U.S. have been headlined as America's "new model minority." The purpose of this paper is to examine if evidence exists to support the claim of African immigrant students' (AIS) educational achievement and excellence (a core indicator of the "model minority" theory) in U.S. k-12 schools. Using a…

The 2020 election brought about legislative change across the country. New and veteran policymakers need information about the schools in their state. What programs are the most cost effective and work best for students? How can states attract and retain great teachers? What information do parents need to ensure that their kids are on track to…

Defining and measuring success are not merely process steps, but critical conversations that shape how education is understood and delivered. They influence how individuals within and outside the system perceive the goals of education. They shape the incentives for stakeholders seeking to improve educational outcomes. Methods of measuring success…

This case describes the research process followed by two professors who chose to study student outcomes in our online accounting classrooms. Motivated by the discovery of a possible anomaly in classroom outcomes, we decided to look further. We thought the anomaly might be explained by student procrastination. If our perception proved true, the…

The purpose of this study was to investigate children's self- and social perceptions of success to identify how success could be promoted in a classroom context. Using a participatory approach, this study explored children's subjective experiences with success in 41 learning situations selected by researchers (Phase 1: self-perceptions) and 48…

There is a growing body of research that suggests the first year of high school is a critical transition point for students. It also finds course-taking and successful completion of those courses in 9th grade to be valuable predictors of students' success in high school. The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) provides states an opportunity to…

Research shows that chronic absenteeism can affect academic performance in later grades and is a key early warning sign that a student is more likely to drop out of high school. Several states enacted legislation to address this issue, and many states are currently discussing the utility of chronic absenteeism as an indicator of school quality or…

People providing services to schools, teachers, and students want to know whether these services are effective. With that knowledge, a project director can expand services that work well and adjust implementation of activities that are not working as expected. When finding that an innovative strategy benefits students, a project director might…

College students have a better chance of succeeding in school when they receive high-quality advising. High-quality advising, when characterized by frequent communications between advisers and students, early outreach to students showing signs of academic or nonacademic struggles, and personalized guidance that addresses individual student needs,…

The U.S. education system is founded on the idea that students are in class every weekday; simply put, to benefit from school, a student must be in attendance. Nevertheless, many students miss school on a regular basis, thereby missing out on valuable instruction. Statistics on absenteeism among homeless students are particularly concerning, with…

Similar to many states, the Louisiana Department of Education (LDOE) does not mandate the use of specific literacy screening or progress monitoring tools. LDOE sought a measurement approach that resulted in accurate and reliable information on student progress and outcomes, yet respected local control. This state spotlight presents initial…

Estimating the efficacy of different instructional modalities, techniques, and interventions is challenging because teaching style covaries with instructor, and the typical student only takes a course once. We introduce the individualized treatment effect (ITE) from analyses of personalized medicine as a means to quantify individual student…

Aim/Purpose: This study examines differences in credit and noncredit users' learning and usage of the Plant Sciences E-Library (PASSEL, http://passel.unl.edu), a large international, open-source multidisciplinary learning object repository. Background: Advances in online education are helping educators to meet the needs of formal academic credit…

California's education data, at least as they currently are collected, managed, and made available, are not sufficient for understanding and addressing the needs of California's students. That's the conclusion of the first three reports in the series "California Education Policy, Student Data, and the Quest to Improve Student Progress,"…

Blue Valley, the fourth largest school district in Kansas, covers 91 square miles. More than 20,000 K-12 students attend its 34 schools ( five high schools, nine middle schools, and 20 elementary schools). Of the district's students, 8% qualify for free and reduced lunch and about 3% are English Language Learners. Blue Valley began using Measures…