This paper describes high quality teaching practices in two schools that produce exceptional growth for all kinds of students. These practices focus on making the most of instructional time and exposing students to high quality content in a variety of contexts. They prove teachers don't need to choose between differentiating to meet students'…

This report summarizes Austin Independent School District English learner students' (ELs) TELPAS performance on the 2018 Spring administration. TELPAS is the state of Texas' student assessment of English language proficiency. Performance is summarized by domain and composite ratings, and years in U.S. schools. The changes made to the test are also…

This report examines the student outcomes of Travis County Collaborative Afterschool Program (TCCAP) participants compared to non-participants. Students who attended the afterschool program at most campuses more often had better outcomes.

This report is a follow-up to "Gaining Ground in the Middle Grades" (Williams, Kirst, Haertel, et al., 2010). That study specified a comprehensive set of actionable practices that differentiated higher academic achievement among 303 middle grades schools in California. In doing so, the study provided a compelling and coherent account of…

This report describes the amount of variance in student achievement that can be attributed to school, teacher, and student-level variables.

This study assessed patterns of change in perceived school and youth functioning, and the extent to which perceived change in the school environment predicted changed youth functioning, across four consecutive grade transitions, two of which involved the transition to a new school. Youth reported decreased quality of the school environment and…

The author defines "middle schoolism" as "an approach to educating children in the middle grades (usually grades 5-8), popularized in the latter half of the 20th century, that contributed to a precipitous decline in academic achievement among American early adolescents." She argues that many middle schools are on the right…

The Common Core of Data (CCD) Nonfiscal surveys consist of data on the status of public elementary and secondary education submitted annually to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) by state education agencies (SEAs) in the 50 states, the District of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands,…

The Common Core of Data (CCD) Nonfiscal surveys consist of data on the status of public elementary and secondary education submitted annually to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) by state education agencies (SEAs) in the 50 states, the District of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands,…