Press Releases

Students applying to some New England colleges and universities have seen a new option on their application forms allowing them to submit performance assessment artifacts. The option is made possible through a national initiative, Reimagining College Access (RCA), that brings together more than 100 education organizations, k-12 school systems, and colleges and universities.

A recent LPI study identified more than a hundred California school districts in which students across racial/ethnic groups are outperforming similar students in other districts on new math and reading assessments that measure higher order thinking and performance skills. Many of these districts also are closing the gap on a range of other outcomes, including graduation rates. The critical question is: How did they do it?”

A new Learning Policy Institute report looks at how California’s Instructional Leadership Corps (ILC) is changing the paradigm for teacher learning. Rather than using outside consultants, who often conduct one-time workshops that are less likely to provide meaningful, sustained learning, ILC taps the expertise and experience of local teachers, principals, and superintendents who are trained and supported to provide ongoing professional development to peers in their own districts—and, in many cases, to other schools and districts in their regions.

EdPrepLab brings together 15 of the nation’s leading teacher and principal preparation programs to collaborate on further developing and documenting models for preparation that equip educators to advance deeper learning and equity, and that can inform other programs across the nation.

Social and emotional skills, habits, and mindsets—such as self-awareness, self-regulation, communication, compassion, and empathy—can set students up for academic and life success. A new case study by the Learning Policy Institute looks at a preservice and inservice programs preparing teachers to integrate social emotional learning into instruction.

In some California school districts, students of color are reaching extraordinary levels of academic achievement—defying trends and exceeding the performance of students of similar backgrounds in other districts across the state. A new report by the Learning Policy Institute examined which districts have excelled at supporting the learning of students of color as well as White students, taking into account their socioeconomic status.

Too many U.S. schools employ harsh, zero-tolerance discipline policies resulting in suspensions and expulsions for minor offenses that can push students out of school and onto a path to prison. A new report by the Learning Policy Institute shares the research on the negative impacts of zero-tolerance and exclusionary discipline policies, provides details on research-based approaches that actually make schools more safe and inclusive, and addresses the potential consequences of the Trump administration’s rescission of federal discipline guidance.

Principals are a key in-school factor associated with student achievement. When principals leave, it can disrupt school progress, increase teacher turnover, and stall student achievement. A new study developed by the Learning Policy Institute (LPI) and the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) reviews existing research to identify why school leadership matters and the impacts of principal mobility on student achievement.

Public schools are increasingly segregated along both racial and socioeconomic lines, and many of the most extremely segregated schools are also the most under-resourced, plagued by inexperienced educators, lack of access to quality curriculum, and lack of quality facilities or access to technology. Two new LPI reports look at the roles the federal government, states, and districts play in promoting racially diverse learning environments.