This report provides a first look at how Illinois school districts' uses of Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds were related to their test score outcomes in the years following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Using data on districts' ESSER expenditures as of November 2023, the authors analyze test score trends across…

Partners to Lead (PtL) is a school leadership professional development (PD) project funded by a 5-year Education Innovation and Research grant and implemented by the DuPage, Illinois, Regional Office of Education (ROE) in 37 public elementary, middle, and high schools in four Illinois ROEs. The American Institutes for Research® (AIR®), the…

New Leaders is a nonprofit organization with a mission to ensure high academic achievement for all students by developing outstanding school leaders to serve in urban schools. Its premise is that a combination of preparation and improved working conditions for principals, especially greater autonomy, would lead to improved student outcomes. Its…

New Leaders is dedicated to promoting student achievement by developing outstanding school leaders to serve in urban schools. RAND Corporation researchers conducted a formative and summative external evaluation of the New Leaders program, its theory of action, and its implementation from 2006 through 2013. This document presents technical…

In 2006, New Leaders contracted with RAND to conduct an independent evaluation of its principal-preparation program. The analysis included all principals who have been prepared by New Leaders since the inception of the program, comparing outcomes of their students and outcomes of similar students in other, comparable schools in the same districts.…

This article describes the process of replacing a modest Master's level school leader preparation program with an innovative Ed.D. program at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). The new doctoral program is intensive, highly selective, intellectually rigorous, and field-based. The authors provide side-by-side comparisons of the difference…

How can schools respond to the call to equip all students with the math skills required in college and the workforce when students are working at widely varying skill levels? Offering extended instructional time in algebra, or double-dose instruction, offers one potential solution to this dilemma and has become an increasingly popular approach for…

Teaching entrepreneurship--how to create, grow and run a business or organization--is one potential means to increase college and career readiness skills. Learning how to start a business can improve critical thinking, communication and collaboration (Gallagher, Stepien, & Rosenthal, 1992; Hmelo, 1998), which are key qualities for academic as…

Since the implementation of the federal No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) in 2002, the impact upon America's schools has been signicant in many areas. In a positive sense, NCLB has caused schools and school districts to examine the performance and academic achievement of subgroups, often for the first time. This examination has certainly highlighted…