Press Releases

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  Press Release

  Teachers of Color: In High Demand and Short Supply

  Apr 19 2018

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  Research shows that teachers of color help close achievement gaps for students of color and are highly rated by students of all races—a fact that is all the more relevant in light of the release this month of data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress which show persistent achievement gaps between students of color and from low income families and their White and affluent peers. Unfortunately, although more teachers of color are being recruited across the nation, the pace of increase is slow and attrition rates are high, leaving growing gaps between the demand for such teachers and the supply.

  Topics Educator Quality, Educator Quality: Recruitment & Retention​, Equitable Resources​ and Access
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  Press Release

  Learning Policy Institute Researchers Garner Two Awards at American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting

  Apr 10 2018

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  Learning Policy Institute researchers who examined community schools as an evidence-based strategy for school improvement and who explored charter school brand management are among the award winners who will be honored at the 2018 American Educational Research Association annual meeting in New York City this week.
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  Press Release

  California’s Local Control Funding Formula Is Increasing Student Achievement and Graduation Rates

  Feb 02 2018

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  A new study shows that investments in schools based on the Local Control Funding Formula improve achievement and attainment, reduce racial and economic disparities in graduation rates. By examining high school graduation rates, and student achievement by grade and subject (mathematics and reading) in the years before and after the implementation of LCFF for all public schools in California, the authors found significant increases in all of these areas that track the implementation of LCFF. They also found that students who received higher “dosages” of LCFF (that is, attend school in highest-poverty districts, which receive greater funding under the formula) showed greater academic gains.

  Topics Equitable Resources​ and Access, Accountability and Improvement
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  Press Release

  Uncoordinated and Underfunded: How Do We Fix California’s Early Learning System?

  Jan 23 2018

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  Extensive research shows that early childhood education programs pay big dividends for children’s success in school and life, but according to a new report released today by the Learning Policy Institute, only a third of the one million California children who qualify for subsidized early childhood programs receive services—and the quality of care they receive is highly variable. The report, Building an Early Learning System that Works: Next Steps for California, documents these challenges and proposes comprehensive solutions.

  Topic Early Childhood Learning
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  Press Release

  New Report and National Initiative Focus on College Admission for 21st Century Learning

  Jan 18 2018

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  As states, districts, and schools are expanding instruction to include the competencies associated with college, career, and civic readiness, they are also developing ways to measure mastery of these deeper learning and higher-order thinking skills. These measures include performance assessments, such as portfolios, capstone projects, and senior defenses, alongside classroom performance. Meanwhile, more than 900 colleges have made standardized tests optional in their admissions processes and are looking for additional ways to recognize an array of student accomplishments. A new report looks at how these assessments, which focus on the kind of learning students will need to be successful in our innovation economy, are being used to inform college admission, placement, and advising decisions, as well as how they are being used to leverage deeper forms of learning at all levels. 

  Topics Deeper Learning: Curriculum, Instruction & Assessment​, Deeper Learning: College, Career & Civic Participation, Deeper Learning
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  Press Release

  Creating Quality School Choices for All America’s Children

  Dec 18 2017

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  The Trump administration’s focus on “school choice” has shined a spotlight on charter schools and private school vouchers as ways to improve education, but evidence shows that these strategies do not always result in stronger outcomes for children. Additionally, charters and vouchers are not the only “school choices” available. A new report from the Learning Policy Institute provides information on the range of school choices available and what factors shape their outcomes.  

  Topic Equitable Resources​ and Access
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  Press Release

  Community Schools: Closing Opportunity Gaps for Students in Need

  Dec 14 2017

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  Growing economic and racial inequality are impacting many children’s health and welfare, as well as educational and life success. To address these inequalities, policymakers increasingly look to community schools as an effective approach for supporting students and their families in neighborhoods facing concentrated poverty. A new study from the Learning Policy Institute finds that, when implemented well, these schools  help students overcome such challenges, improving their educational outcomes by removing out-of-school barriers to learning.

  Topics Equitable Resources​ and Access, Accountability and Improvement, Deeper Learning, Deeper Learning: College, Career & Civic Participation, Deeper Learning: School Organization & Design
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  Press Release

  Where Have All the Teachers Gone?

  Aug 16 2017

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  When students return to school in the upcoming weeks, many will enter one of the more than 100,000 classrooms across the country staffed by an instructor who is not fully qualified to teach. This is because many districts, facing ongoing teacher shortages, are hiring underqualified candidates to fill vacancies. While shortages tend to draw attention to recruitment issues, a new report, just released by the Learning Policy Institute (LPI), finds that 90% of the nationwide demand for teachers is created when teachers leave the profession. Some are retiring, but about two thirds of teachers leave for other reasons. Addressing early attrition is critical to stemming the country's continuing teacher shortage crisis.

  Topics Educator Quality: Recruitment & Retention​, Educator Quality
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  Press Release

  Community Schools Show Promise As School Improvement Strategy

  Jun 05 2017

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  Community schools can be a successful strategy for improving schools under the federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), according to a policy brief released by the National Education Policy Center and the Learning Policy Institute. The brief, Community Schools: An Evidence-Based Strategy for Equitable School Improvement, finds that community schools, an increasingly popular school improvement strategy, are strongly supported by research evidence, as required by ESSA.
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  Press Release

  As Administration Proposes Cutting Federal Funding for Teacher Professional Development, New Study Shows It Can Improve Student Achievement

  Jun 05 2017

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  A study released by the Learning Policy Institute demonstrates how well-designed teacher professional development programs significantly improve student achievement, challenging the logic behind the Administration’s proposal to eliminate funding for those programs. The new report, Effective Teacher Professional Development, reviewed 35 scientifically rigorous studies conducted over the past 30 years which showed significant gains in student achievement resulting from teacher development programs.

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