This brief is part of a broad landscape analysis focused on policy and practice issues related to the recognition of prior learning. The landscape analysis focuses on issues arising in the practice of the recognition of prior learning, policies that encourage or limit its adoption, and key research needs and future directions for the field. The…

Over the years, the nation's large urban school districts have consistently learned from the progress of their peer districts across the country. Great City School districts that have embraced the challenge of educating America's urban children have recognized the value of benchmarking their performance and growth against the progress of others.…

This research explores the positive impact of service-learning on the disposition of students in mathematics. This was a qualitative case study of high school AP Statistics students who completed a service-learning project. Data were gathered from student interviews, reflection journals, and field observations. The framework for the analysis…

Opportunity gaps between minority and white students and between genders has thus far prevented the concept of an equitable school with equitable opportunities. One important measure of educational equity is participation in Advanced Placement (AP) classes. If both the overall availability of AP courses and achievement within AP courses are…

In this classroom study, the authors examine the use of popular psychology myths as a frame for literary analysis in high school English. The study reflects a cultural studies approach to teaching that attends to students' cultural awareness in interpreting what they read. Previous research has demonstrated that students' cultural awareness, in…

There is now widespread acceptance of the importance of differentiated instruction in today's classrooms. However, much of the research regarding differentiated instruction takes place in primary and middle years environments, with very little focussed on the senior secondary years. This article explores differentiated instruction practices in…

This study explored how adaptive help seeking was related to academic self-efficacy, perfectionism (maladaptive and adaptive), attitudes toward help seeking (perceived benefits and perceived threats), and teacher emotional support among 311 grade 9 students in Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate classes. Significant bivariate links…

After spending the summer aligning the AASL Standards Framework for Learners with state standards and county learner profile, author Calypso Gilstrap claims a new passion for the impact school librarians have in teaching students the workplace skills employers desire. According to research conducted recently for the Association of American…

Writing is a challenge, no matter the subject or grade level. Most students have not had their writing graded against a rubric that contains very specific language and content. Many are paralyzed by the scope of the course, and the idea of answering a free response question is very intimidating. This lesson plan introduces a writing boot camp…

This Research Brief summarizes the performance of Miami-Dade County Public Schools (MDCPS) students participating in the Cambridge Advanced International Certificate of Education (AICE) Program. Cambridge courses and examinations were offered at 14 MDCPS high schools in 2018-2019. Over 11,800 examinations were taken by M-DCPS students in 32…

This paper considers an unavoidable feature of the school environment, class rank. What are the long run effects of a student's ordinal rank in elementary school? Using administrative data from all public school students in Texas, we show that students with a higher third grade academic rank, conditional on achievement and classroom fixed effects,…

Using an exploratory case study approach, this study examined the school leadership factors that contribute to building Latinx student social capital as well as the best practices for creating a more equitable AP program. Through this qualitative study, the organizational and leadership factors of the AP program at Stripes High School (pseudonym)…

This article is a study of one aspect of the character education offered by schools following the curriculum of the International Baccalaureate -- students' pro-social development. Set against a background in which the development of inter-personal qualities is being marginalised by conservative governments across many national systems of…

Today, the topic of education system transformation is front of mind for many leaders. Ministers of education around the world are seeking to build back better as they emerge from COVID-19-school closures to a new normal of living with a pandemic. In response, the authors have developed this shared vision of education system transformation. This…

This study assesses the excellence gap by examining those who enroll in advanced, honors, and advanced placement (AP) classes among a low-income and a majority-Latinx population. Prospective longitudinal data come from a diverse, urban sample (N = 32,885) where 82.2% of the students received free or reduced price lunch. We examined numerous…