Identifying which K-12 English Learners (ELs) should receive special education services has historically been challenging and fraught with error. Educators are commonly puzzled as to whether an EL student's academic difficulties are the result of insufficient academic English language, inappropriate instruction, or an intrinsic learning…

The National Center on Scaling up Effective Schools (NCSU) is a five-year project working to develop, implement, and test new processes to scale up effective practices in high schools that districts will be able to apply within the context of their own unique goals and circumstances. This report describes the activities and findings of the first…

The core work of the National Center on Scaling Up Effective Schools consists of four stages: identifying practices of highly effective high schools, designing interventions and transfer of practices, evaluating the intervention's implementation and effects, and evaluating implementation at scale. The purpose of this report is to describe the…

Significant attention and resources have been focused on reforming high schools to enhance graduation rates. The research literature supports the following practices: (1) For struggling students, accurate identification and intensive instructional, monitoring, and counseling support; (2) For 9th graders, transition activities, personalization, and…

This case study of one elementary school describes an ongoing effort to close the gaps between literacy research and practice in order to promote the successful literacy transitions of all students. Jefferson Elementary School's reading program is a research-driven, school-wide program emphasizing prevention-based instruction, early…

This document focuses on some of the key issues that surround any substantive discussion of Limited-English-Proficient (LEP) children and gifted education. The goals, rationale, and criticisms of gifted education are discussed, and answers to how high-ability LEP students might better be served in these programs are sought. The discussion examines…

This report addresses the conditions of at-risk children and builds a case for changing the odds so that they favor such children. The introduction summarizes nearly a decade of education reform efforts related to disadvantaged youth. It underscores the need to intervene early. Four subsequent sections: (1) describe the developmental…