This article describes the grim sentiments from the U.S. Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, when reviewing the poor results from the U.S. performance on the 2012 Program for International Student Assessment (PISA). He noted a straightforward and stark picture of educational stagnation--that fifteen-year-olds in the U.S. today are average in…

This document represents the technical appendix intended to accompany "Do Disadvantaged Students Get Less Effective Teaching? Key Findings from Recent Institute of Education Sciences Studies. NCEE Evaluation Brief. NCEE 2014-4010." Contents include: (1) Summary of Related, Non-Peer-Reviewed Studies; (2) Methods for Comparing Findings…

In recent decades, magnet schools have become a way for districts to provide school choice. Magnet schools are one of the many options provided to parents so that they can select a school to meet their children's educational needs and interests. After a short gap in federal grants for magnet school implementation, Congress established the current…

Lower-level qualifications (certificate I and II programs) provide little or no immediate return to the individual in terms of increased wages. However, lower-level qualifications are intended to prepare students who would otherwise not be capable of enrolling in and completing a higher-level qualification or making a successful transition into…

Participation in preschool programs has been associated with a number of positive outcomes. Evaluating data from the 40-year follow-up to the High/Scope Perry Preschool Program Study, Belfield and his colleagues show how preschool participation by low income children relates to significant economic benefits both to the children by the time they…

With the adoption of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) in 2002, the federal government signaled its intention to close achievement gaps in K-12 education, particularly for minority students. While there has been surprising progress in educating disadvantaged students since the law was passed, according to a new report released today by Education…

This paper uses data from the Head Start Impact Study (HSIS), a nationally representative multisite randomized trial, to quantify variation in effects of Head Start during 2002-2003 on children's cognitive and socio-emotional outcomes relative to the effects of other local alternatives, including parent care. We find that (1) treatment and control…

This study looks at attendance in the early grades of elementary school. In particular, the authors focus on students enrolled in Pre-Kindergarten (PreK) and Kindergarten (K). They follow these young students over several years to determine their pattern of chronic absence (CA), defined as missing more than one-ninth of days enrolled, and their…

This report presents a snapshot of the academic performance of children on guardianship/custody orders from 2003 to 2006, and changes in their performance over this period. This concludes a two-stage pilot study, the first of its kind in Australia. A considerable proportion of children on guardianship/custody orders are not meeting the national…

The Knowledge Is Power Program (KIPP) is a network of charter schools designed to improve the educational opportunities available to low-income families. KIPP schools seek to boost their students' academic achievement and, ultimately, prepare them to enroll and succeed in college. This paper provides the most thorough analysis to date of the…

This report presents highlights of the results for fourth-and eighth-grade students in Puerto Rico for the 2003 and 2005 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in mathematics. The NAEP mathematics assessment was administered to public school students in Puerto Rico for the first time in 2003. Although NAEP had previously administered…

Six years after passage of No Child Left Behind and midway to the nation's goal of having students on grade level or better in reading and math by 2014, more data than ever before has been collected about the academic performance of American students and schools. Information in this brochure charts student demographics, achievement-to-date and…

Every day, we learn what works so students can make greater progress. Six years after No Child Left Behind's passage--and midway to the nation's goal of having students on grade level or better in reading and math by 2014--we have collected more data than ever before about the academic performance of our students and schools. This information…

Every day, we learn what works so students can make greater progress. Six years after No Child Left Behind's passage--and midway to the nation's goal of having students on grade level or better in reading and math by 2014--we have collected more data than ever before about the academic performance of our students and schools. This information…

The evaluator finds that New Jersey GEAR UP is an outstanding example of student focused academic development, providing low income and disadvantaged middle school through high school cohorts the skills, knowledge and individual self confidence and aspiration that leads to postsecondary academic success.New Jersey GEAR UP: has met, or nearly met,…