An achievement gap is defined as a significant difference in academic performance between two groups. Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) data indicate that, in Crestland Public School District (pseudonym), there is a clear achievement gap in mathematics between students with disabilities and those without disabilities,…

Social and emotional learning (SEL) has been defined in various ways. One of the most commonly cited models, that of the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL), defines SEL as "the process through which students and adults acquire and effectively apply the knowledge, attitudes, and skills necessary to understand…

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to describe the characteristics of effective principals in high-poverty, high-performing urban elementary schools and how these align to the 21 Responsibilities identified by Marzano, Waters & McNulty (2005).The researcher was able to interview ten candidates that met the criteria for the study.…

The State Higher Education Executive Officers Association's (SHEEO) "Communities of Practice" project builds upon SHEEO's ongoing efforts to measure the capacity and effective use of state postsecondary data systems and provides states with opportunities to develop solutions to common issues with those systems. The sixth Community of…

Building on the formative work of "High Leverage Practices (HLP) for Inclusive Classrooms," this critical companion explores how HLP can be applied to the education of students with extensive support needs (ESN). Each chapter walks readers through a different HLP, exploring its implications for students with ESN and aligning it with…

What happens in schools can have a great and lasting impact on the future wellbeing and outcomes for young people. Schools therefore play an important role in supporting students' engagement and wellbeing. These elaborations are intended to support the work of schools by providing further specificity about the practices in each of the nine domains…

Containing all of the practical tools needed to put theory into practice, "STEM for All" by Leena Bakshi McLean provides a roadmap for teachers, instructional coaches, and leaders to better understand the challenges that create low engagement and scores in STEM subjects and implement exciting and culturally relevant teaching plans. This…

In this chapter the authors provide an overview of the evidence-for-education landscape across countries. Although the importance of using evidence to inform policy and practice in education was identified over 20 years ago, many education systems are still struggling to make this a reality. The enormous expansion of publicly available data on…

Many states struggle with collecting reliable and valid state-level data that can be leveraged to maximize the use of funds. This is particularly challenging when providing early intervention services in states where Medicaid uses clinic rates that are lower than the natural environment rates covered by state or federal Part C funds. This state…

The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (ESE) is focused on supporting educators in the use of data; to this end, ESE developed an Early Warning Indicator System (EWIS) that rolls many student data variables into a single indicator that provides educators with information about which students are at low, moderate, or…

Higher education systems and institutions are often viewed as resistant to change or slow to adapt, particularly by advocates and communities urging equity-minded reform of colleges and universities. Yet the COVID-19 pandemic jolted California's colleges and universities into drastically changing course to meet students' basic, mental, and…

Data collected from across the child care and early education (CCEE) field, both during and prior to COVID-19, have been critical for identifying and scaling public resources to meet the increasing needs of children, families, early educators, and providers. Much of the data collected throughout the global health crisis demonstrated how the…

Computer-based assessments can provide students with feedback to guide their learning as well as inform teachers who extract information to prepare their teaching. Five secondary school teachers were monitored during one school year to answer the following research questions: (1) What kind of student data do teachers use for their teaching…

Accountability and rigor in teacher education have been the focus of recent policy initiatives. Thus, data use practices have become increasingly critical to informing program improvement. Educational researchers have established self-study as a research methodology to intentionally be used by teacher educators to improve their practice. The…

This article concludes this special issue by highlighting some of the most important points from the U.S. Supreme Courts decision in "Board of Education v. Rowley" (1982) and "Endrew F. v. Douglas County School District" (2017) but also discussing another crucial point to which school district personnel must adhere to ensure…