The "Coding Our Future" intervention aimed to develop and implement a Computer Science (CS) curriculum, and to train teachers to offer computer science courses in elementary and middle schools. Its goals were to enhance students' competency and self-efficacy in computer science and to boost the enrollment of underrepresented students in…

The Innovative STEM--Computer Science and Engineering Design (STEM CSED) project (Award #: U411C190169), funded by an Early-Phase Education Innovation and Research (EIR) grant, sought to strengthen math achievement and foster positive attitudes toward STEM and computer science among students in Waukegan Community Unit School District #60, a large,…

This study evaluates the first year of implementation of "How Are the Children" (HATC), a project-based social-emotional learning (SEL) curriculum designed to enhance high school student's social-emotional (SE) development. Through documentary filmmaking and lessons based on SE competencies, HATC aims to provide SEL support that…

In December 2022, Rock Island-Milan School District #41 (RIMSD), in partnership with the Connect with Kids Network (CWK) and Empirical Education, received an early-phase Education Innovation and Research (EIR) grant from the U.S. Department of Education. RIMSD contracted with Empirical Education to conduct a one-year teacher-level randomized…

This report contains supplemental data to the report "'How Are the Children?' A Study of the Effectiveness of a Social-Emotional Learning Curriculum for High School Students: A Report of a Randomized Experiment Conducted in the Rock Island Milan School District." The report presents findings from a one-year teacher-level randomized…

Enabling education has existed in Australia for over 40 years. It is a significant entry pathway for students who have not been able to access university education through the traditional school pathways. Such programs routinely include mathematics subjects as part of the core curriculum. To prepare students for the rigours of university study…

As an early Common Core booster, Michael Petrilli had hoped that by now--10 years after most states adopted the standards--the nation's schools would have logged tangible improvements in teaching and learning that resulted in higher student achievement. In this article, Petrilli reviews what Common Core is and discusses the work ahead that is…

Education standards do not flop spectacularly. Their failure gives rise to nothing like the black-and-white films of early aeronautical experiments: no missiles exploding on launch pads or planes tumbling from the sky. But 10 years after 46 of the 50 states adopted the Common Core standards, the lack of evidence that they have improved student…

The 10th anniversary of Common Core's launch offers the opportunity to take stock of the impact these nearly national standards have had on student learning, as well as their future prospects. In this article, Morgan Polikoff shares his view that the standards movement in general, and Common Core in particular, have achieved all they are going to…

The Common Core State Standards, released in 2010, were rapidly adopted by more than 40 states. Champions maintained that these rigorous standards would transform American education, but the initiative went on to encounter a bumpy path. A decade on, what are we to make of this ambitious effort? What kind of impact, if any, has it had on the…

In spring 2010, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (HMH) began planning a pilot of an application for the Apple iPad, "HMH Fuse: Algebra 1," which was then in development. The application was to be piloted in four California school districts during the 2010-2011 school year. HMH contracted with Empirical Education Inc. to conduct a one-year…

Research indicates students who engage in music exhibit improved cognitive development. The quantitative study was conducted in a large suburban school district in Southeast Georgia. This study investigated the impact of music on student achievement when music is incorporated with the core academic subject of mathematics at the elementary level.…

In order to "offer a first class educational experience and become the system of choice for all families the school system," challenged individual schools within the district to select and implement innovative educational theme based programs, coupled with the framework of Georgia Performance Standards (GPS), to increase the quality of…

The purpose of this 4-year efficacy trial, funded by IES under the Mathematics and Science Education topic, is to study the efficacy of a (Tier 1) core kindergarten math curriculum, "Early Learning in Mathematics" (ELM), when implemented under rigorous experimental conditions. In the first year of this study (2008-09), kindergarten…

In spring 2010, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (HMH) began planning a pilot of an application for the Apple iPad, "HMH Fuse: Algebra 1," which was then in development. The application was to be piloted in four California school districts during the 2010-2011 school year. HMH contracted with Empirical Education Inc. to conduct a one-year…