Reports

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  Report

  Community Schools as an Effective School Improvement Strategy: A Review of the Evidence

  Anna Maier

  Julia Daniel

  Jeannie Oakes

  Livia Lam

  Dec 14 2017

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  Education policymakers working to address the impacts of growing economic and racial inequality on students often look to community schools as an effective approach for supporting students and their families in communities facing concentrated poverty. This report, which synthesizes findings from 143 rigorous research studies, finds community schools can improve outcomes for all students, and especially those facing lack of access to high-quality schools and 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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  Report

  Expanding High-Quality Educational Options for All Students: How States Can Create a System of Schools Worth Choosing

  Linda Darling-Hammond

  Robert Rothman

  Peter W. Cookson, Jr.

  Dec 14 2017

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  For many years, states and the federal government have been creating a range of schooling options for students, and the focus of the new Administration on expanding choice is likely to accelerate this trend. This report examines the status of current educational options for U.S. students and what state policymakers can do to create high-quality opportunities that offer each family a system of schools worth choosing.

  Topic Equitable Resources​ and Access
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  Report

  How Money Matters for Schools

  Bruce D. Baker

  Dec 13 2017

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  For decades, some politicians and pundits have argued that “money does not make a difference” for school outcomes. While it is certainly possible to spend money poorly, this viewpoint is strongly contradicted by a large body of evidence from rigorous empirical research. This document presents a brief explanation of the goal of school finance reforms, followed by summaries of the main bodies of evidence that illustrate how equitable and adequate school funding improves student outcomes.

  Topic Equitable Resources​ and Access
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  Report

  Taking Deeper Learning to Scale

  Pedro A. Noguera

  Sep 13 2017

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  This report analyzes the efforts of schools and school districts to improve academic achievement, particularly among students who have been historically underserved. Three case studies provide insights into both the potential of using deeper learning as a reform strategy that can lead to greater equity in academic outcomes and the obstacles that have prevented others from obtaining similar results.

  Topic Deeper Learning
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  Report

  Minority Teacher Recruitment, Employment, and Retention: 1987 to 2013

  Richard M. Ingersoll

  Henry May

  Greg Collins

  Aug 28 2017

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  Although the number of minority teachers more than doubled between 1987 and 2012, high turnover rates have undermined efforts to diversify the teacher workforce. Improving school organization, management, and leadership can support improved retention of minority teachers, according to this report, which examines and compares the recruitment, employment, and retention of minority and nonminority teachers over the past quarter century.

  Topics Educator Quality, Educator Quality: Recruitment & Retention​
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  Report

  Teacher Turnover: Why It Matters and What We Can Do About It

  Desiree Carver-Thomas

  Linda Darling-Hammond

  Aug 16 2017

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  As students return to school this year, many will be in one of the more than 100,000 classrooms across the country staffed by an instructor not fully qualified to teach. This shortage of qualified teachers is almost entirely due to teachers leaving the profession and about 2/3 of teachers who leave do so for reasons other than retirement. This study looks at who is leaving, why, who is impacted, and policy considerations.

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

  Effective Teacher Professional Development

  Linda Darling-Hammond

  Maria E. Hyler

  Madelyn Gardner

  Jun 05 2017

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  Well-designed and implemented professional development is an essential component of a comprehensive system of teaching and learning that supports students to develop the knowledge, skills, and competencies they need to thrive in the 21st century. This report details key components of effective professional development and offers rich descriptions of model programs to inform education leaders and policymakers seeking to leverage professional development to improve student learning.

  Topics Educator Quality, Educator Quality: Professional Learning, Deeper Learning
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  Report

  Understanding California’s Early Care and Education System

  Hanna Melnick

  Titilayo Tinubu Ali

  Madelyn Gardner

  Anna Maier

  Marjorie Wechsler

  Jun 01 2017

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  Early care and education (ECE) can have a positive effect on many aspects of children’s development, including the language, literacy, mathematics, executive functioning, and social-emotional competencies needed for a smooth transition into kindergarten and later life success. But for many families, high-quality ECE is out of reach. California has established a range of programs to support the development of children from birth to age 5, but these programs are uncoordinated, insufficient in scope, and of variable quality. This report provides a comprehensive overview of the state’s ECE system, describing its administration and funding, access to care, program quality, and data limitations.

  Topics Early Childhood Learning, Equitable Resources​ and Access
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  Report

  Encouraging Social and Emotional Learning in the Context of New Accountability

  Hanna Melnick

  Channa Cook-Harvey

  Linda Darling-Hammond

  Apr 18 2017

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  How can schools be encouraged to help students develop socially and emotionally and to foster positive school environments in the context of new accountability under the Every Student Succeeds Act? This report provides a framework for considering how measures of social and emotional learning (SEL) and school climate may be incorporated into an accountability and continuous improvement system.

  Topics The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), Accountability and Improvement, Deeper Learning
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  Report

  Developing and Measuring Higher Order Skills: Models for State Performance Assessment Systems

  Linda Darling-Hammond

  Mar 17 2017

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  Under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), state assessment systems must be designed to measure higher-order thinking skills and understanding. This report, published in partnership with the Council of Chief State Schools Officers (CCSSO), details how states can use performance assessments—including portfolios, projects, and extended-performance tasks—to assess what students know and are able to do.

  Topics The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), Accountability and Improvement, Deeper Learning, Deeper Learning: Curriculum, Instruction & Assessment​

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