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Schools in the United States are among the most inequitably funded of any in the industrialized world. These inequities in funding—which impact everything from class sizes to course offerings to teaching quality—create dramatic disparities in educational opportunities and outcomes for children. Students from low-income families and students of color experience the greatest disparities.
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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.
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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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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.
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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.
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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. A new report looks at how these assessments are being used to inform college admission, placement, and advising decisions.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
