Education Savings Accounts (ESAs) are government-funded accounts typically established for parents who opt not to enroll their children in public kindergarten through grade 12 (K--12) schools. ESAs allow parents to spend funds that the state would have spent for their student to attend their local public school on a broad array of educational…

School closures in response to the COVID-19 pandemic have dramatically changed the conditions in which students learn and experience schooling. Disparities in students' access to learning and in their academic outcomes are likely to exacerbate longstanding challenges and inequities. Now more than ever, educators need information that will help…

This contribution takes a critical perspective on digital school performance platforms (SPP), which today play a key role in US state education monitoring and accountability. Using examples from two different US state education agencies, I provide an analytical disentanglement of some key dimensions of such platforms' enactment and materiality. I…

R14CC and the Louisiana Department of Education (LDOE) are collaboratively implementing projects to address high leverage problems such as school systems' fiscal transparency, literacy strategic planning, and post-secondary planning for student success. This profile provides a summary of these selected projects and an overview of state education…

In addition to excelling in subjects such as science, math, arts, and social studies, students must also develop skills like resiliency, adaptability, and collaboration in order to truly succeed in the world. But how do schools effectively measure those skills when they so often rely on standardized assessments? This article provides a thorough…

This paper examines recent political debates surrounding data disaggregation in education policy in one US state, and analyses the discourses taken up by supporters and opponents of these policies. Analysis suggests how discourses move across time and space, and focuses on how these discourses are contextualized and entextualized in social media,…

Addressing student absenteeism continues to permeate education policy and practice. California and a majority of other states have incorporated "chronic absenteeism" as an accountability metric under the Every Student Succeeds Act. It is therefore a crucial time to take stock of what we know on the research, policy, and practice to…

The link between health and learning is clear: healthy, active and well-nourished children are more likely to attend school, arrive ready to learn and stay engaged in class. Yet far too many students spend their days in schools that do not offer them adequate clean air and water, nutritious food, physical activity and the support of a school…

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…

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…

The purpose of this document is to recommend practices that will help education agencies collect, report, and use attendance data to improve student and school outcomes. This publication substantively revises and expands the information included in "Every School Day Counts: The Forum Guide to Collecting and Using Attendance Data,"…

This paper aims to extend existing theorisations around the notion of public narratives by analysing their regulatory effects under intensified market conditions. My analysis suggests that public narratives constitute a liminal space, one that it is not exclusively real or imaginary, factual or normative, but that simultaneously affects and is…

The study summarized in this research to practice brief, "Creating data-driven instructional systems in school: The new instructional leadership," Halverson, R., Grigg, J., Pritchett, R., & Thomas, C. (2015), "Journal of School Leadership," 25. 447-481, investigated whether student outcome improvements were linked to the…