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The report, California’s Positive Outliers: Districts Beating the Odds, provides insight into the California districts that are most successful at advancing the academic achievement of African American, Latino/a, and White students, as measured by standardized tests. Lead author Anne Podolsky discusses the study's key findings and their implications for local and state policymakers.
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High quality principals are essential to students' educational opportunities and outcomes, but principal turnover is an ongoing problem in the United States. A 2017 survey of public school principals found that approximately 18% had left their position since the previous year. In high poverty schools, the turnover rate was 21%. This brief includes insights, experiences, and expertise from school leaders on the challenges associated with being a school principal and strategies to address those challenges.
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What is the place of technology in the classroom? Some would say it doesn't belong. But a number of states, including California, are investing in technology—and for good reason.
Linda Darling-HammondJeannie OakesSteve WojcikiewiczMaria E. HylerRoneeta GuhaAnne PodolskyTara KiniChanna Cook-HarveyCharmaine MercerAkeelah Harrell
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Preparing Teachers for Deeper Learning summarizes a recent book of the same name that describes the work of pioneering teacher education programs to prepare their graduates to create personalized, inquiry-based learning for all students. They provide examples for teachers, teacher educators, and policymakers interested in making preparation for deeper learning the standard for today's teachers. The programs are also profiled separately in individual briefs which provide more detail.
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California has an opportunity to invest in its children by investing in its educators. To do so effectively, the state should consider a multi-dimensional approach that includes a true infrastructure of support, higher professional standards, and competitive compensation. With these investments and holistic approach, California will be one step closer to setting its youngest learners on a path to good health, academic success, and economic security later in life.
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Teachers and district leaders are leveraging performance assessments to provide students with opportunities to explore interests and issues of their own choosing as they show what they know and are able to do. These authentic assessments create structures and processes for students to bring their full selves to the learning, creating culturally relevant and context-rich projects that can also address community concerns.
Linda Darling-HammondJeannie OakesSteve WojcikiewiczMaria E. HylerRoneeta GuhaAnne PodolskyTara KiniChanna Cook-HarveyCharmaine MercerAkeelah Harrell
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In today’s knowledge economy, teachers must prioritize problem-solving ability, adaptability, critical thinking, and developing interpersonal and collaborative skills over rote memorization and the passive transmission of knowledge. This has significant implications for teacher preparation programs. This book examines those implications and several programs that are preparing their graduates to provide students with the "deeper learning" that prepares them for college, career, and civic participation.
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Well-implemented programs designed to foster social and emotional learning (SEL) are associated with positive outcomes, ranging from better test scores and higher graduation rates to improved social behavior. This LPI study examines San Jose State University's successful teacher preparation program and Lakewood Elementary School's in-service program that incorporate SEL instruction in an effort to inform policymakers, practitioners, and teacher educators about the components of strong, SEL-focused teacher preparation and development systems.
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School finance issues are taking center stage in many states, but the language used to communicate about funding isn't always clear and helpful. For building trust and understanding, it matters how we talk about school finance issues. The latest research on communicating about school finance issues are distilled into helpful do's and don'ts.
Anne PodolskyLinda Darling-HammondChristopher Dosssean reardon
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This brief analyzes scores of students in 435 school districts scores on California’s new assessments in English language arts and math. From this group, 156 “positive outlier” districts of significant size—where White, African American, and Hispanic students achieve at higher than predicted levels relative to their socioeconomic status—were identified. What in-school factors made the most difference in student achievement?
