School principals are critical to students' academic achievement, second only to teachers. They are the primary agents of change in their schools, fostering supportive learning environments that enhance student learning and teacher effectiveness. Moreover, they often design and oversee the initiatives and hiring to sustain the positive changes…

Proficiency rates on Pennsylvania's statewide assessments in 2022 remain below pre-pandemic levels, especially in math, but there is evidence that student learning has begun to recover. Proficiency rates for grades 5-8 in 2022 improved in both English language arts (ELA) and math relative to rates predicted for 2021 from a Mathematica research…

We estimate the effects of federal pandemic-relief funding (ESSER III) for K12 schools on district-level student achievement growth in 2023. We rely on student test achievement data from over 5,000 school districts across 30 states. Our novel identification strategy exploits variation in ESSER attributable to its allocation rules and their…

The West Virginia Department of Education (WVDE) Office of Federal Programs conducted a routine monitoring of Upshur County in December of 2022. This resulted in a report of findings which was completed February 10, 2023. Per Federal Program protocols, counties are provided 60 days to respond to findings; establishing Upshur County's deadline for…

In 2024, half of California's K-12 students met the state standard in English, while one in three were proficient in math. Post-pandemic learning recovery and longstanding disparities in proficiency rates remain key challenges for the state's public schools. This fact sheet discusses the numbers involved with these achievement gaps.

A migratory child is one whose parent or guardian is a migratory agricultural worker or fisher and who has moved from one school district to another during the regular school year. The Migrant Education Program (MEP) provides supplemental support to eligible migratory children from birth through age 21. Children who are themselves migratory…

Schools have widespread impacts on students' educational attainment. However, little is known about how specific school characteristics affect young children's development during early elementary school. To address this need, the current study examined relations between key school constructs (school achievement, novice teachers, teacher…

Structured relationship-building teacher home visits have emerged as a promising method to increase parent engagement and improve student outcomes, but there is limited evidence on their effectiveness. The District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) partnered with the Regional Educational Laboratory Mid-Atlantic to rigorously evaluate the impacts…

The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) has developed state systems of monitoring and support for low-performing schools that include measuring schools on a Turnaround Practices and Indicators (TP&I) rubric focused on four turnaround practice areas. This Study Snapshot highlights key findings from a larger…

Charter schools have become a significant part of the education sector in New York City since enabling legislation was passed in 1999. They now educate 123,000 students, or 10% of all public school students in the city, in 236 schools. The state law that allows the creation and funding of charter schools limits the number of charters that can be…

This report provides an overview of the Austin Independent School District's college readiness outcomes for seniors in the 2018 and 2019 graduation cohorts.

Large-scale performance assessment programs are a longstanding reform tool. However, standard setting can be a challenge for assessment programs that use primarily non-standardized assessments. The purpose of this paper is to extend this field of research by explaining the standard setting methodology applied to one more recent instantiation of a…

The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, like other state education agencies and school districts, recognizes that the quality of instruction is a key lever to turning around low-performing schools. As part of annual monitoring of low-performing schools, the department uses Teachstone's Classroom Assessment Scoring…

Under California's System of Support, differentiated assistance (DA) provides supports to eligible districts to boost student group performance levels. This brief describes the districts that were eligible for DA in 2019 based on the performance levels of their students with disabilities (SWD). It also analyzes how SWD performance on State…

This Study Snapshot highlights key findings from a study that examined how attaining English proficiency and being reclassified as fluent English proficient affected achievement in English language arts and math in the first year after student reclassification in grades 3-8 in New Mexico. New Mexico established a state-level policy that requires…