The author discusses fixing the "Iceberg Problem" of gaps and unfinished learning lurking beneath the surface of math students. Math is cumulative, with new learning resting atop earlier mastery. Year by year, students learn interconnected concepts in a coherent progression, building a foundational body of knowledge that undergirds new…

In light of national challenges brought on by COVID-19, on April 6, 2020 Collaboration for Effective Educator Development, Accountability and Reform (CEEDAR) hosted a virtual meeting of State Education Agency and Educator Preparation Program leaders from across the country focused on the following: (1) strategies that preparation program faculty…

This toolkit informs school leaders about the authorizing challenges they may confront, illustrates opportunities and options for school leaders to navigate the authorizing process, and shares useful frameworks for considering the benefits and trade-offs of these options. The toolkit contains the following sections: (1) Strategies &…

In 2019, career pathways were offered in one-third of U.S. school districts, including more than 500 in California. A new brief from the California Collaborative on District Reform, "The Career Pathways Approach: A Way Towards Equity?," examines the equity promise and challenge of pathways. At a time when traditional school experiences…

Despite progress in the number of Washingtonians receiving postsecondary credentials, there are persistent gaps in attainment rates for underrepresented minority groups. Notably, the Hispanic population is the state's second-largest racial/ethnic group, but educational outcomes lag behind their white counterparts. Narrowing these equity gaps…

A quasi-experimental design in six kindergarten classrooms (n = 123 students) was used to study the effects of the KinderTEK iPad-based math program on the math achievement of students in general education classrooms. Student math outcomes in three treatment ("early start") classrooms were compared to math outcomes for students in three…

This study is a qualitative analysis of the use of best practices in vocational training for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) in the Omaha metropolitan area. Best practices from the transition literature related to vocational training were identified as transition planning, parental involvement, community support,…

There has been an increased focus on the tenets of implementation science in special education research, namely on the degree to which interventions are implemented as intended (i.e., fidelity of implementation) and factors that influence fidelity of implementation. For complex interventions, such as the "Self-Determined Learning Model of…

Understanding how mental health treatments benefit those who receive treatment comes with a challenge: Often different people involved in treatment have different impressions of the treatment's ultimate effects. How do people reconcile these different reports to understand the true benefit of treatment? In a series of 4 experiments, we tested…

Concerns for student safety are a commonly cited reason for the presence of police in schools. But as the nation grapples with the appropriate roles and responsibilities of police more broadly, the time is right to shine a light on what we know about the effects of police in schools. This brief summarizes the research related to this question.…

Internships are widely promoted extra-curricular experiences that can have positive impacts on student outcomes, yet how specific elements of internships contribute to these outcomes and facilitate learning is understudied. In this sequential mixed-methods study, we use sociocultural learning theory to interpret data from surveys (n = 435) and…

Most studies of test-based promotion policies focus on measuring the effect of retention (being left back) on later student outcomes, and the evidence is fairly mixed. However, test-based promotion policies do not only affect the students who are retained. Presumably, they also affect students and schools as they try to improve reading performance…

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the nation's community colleges and students are facing a host of concerns about the upcoming 2020 fall semester. Many students are reconsidering whether they will pursue higher education full time, take online courses, or enroll at all. Students who have lost their jobs or have family members facing…

During the summer, children from low-income families typically have fewer opportunities than their peers from more-affluent families for academic, cultural, athletic, and other activities. Such differences in opportunity can lead low-income students to fall behind their higher-income peers during summer. Free summer learning programs offering…

Introduction: Youth in disadvantaged urban areas are frequently exposed to chronic stress and trauma, including housing instability, neighborhood violence, and other poverty-related adversities. These exposures increase risk for emotional, behavioral, and academic problems and ultimately, school dropout. Schools are a promising setting in which to…