This study examined the effectiveness of an eight-week Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol (SIOP) coaching cycle on improving instructional strategies for English Learners (ELs) in seventh-grade classrooms. The goal was to enhance the literacy performance of ELs by 15% on the LAS Links literacy subtest. The coaching cycle aimed to integrate…

Professional development is an important part of creating a culture of continuous school improvement to maximize student learning. Rarely do we measure the impact of professional development on teacher learning, implementation and student outcomes. This study describes a professional development strategy for elementary teachers to promote…

In 2010, the National Center for Learning and Civic Engagement (NCLCE) established the Schools of Success, a national network of 19 schools that use service-learning as an instructional strategy. The schools were part of a three-year project to examine how the elements of service-learning might enhance key student outcomes, such as academic…

The six statewide research studies presented in this special issue use a variety of designs, instrumentation, and measures. Nevertheless, they can be integrated at the level of results to shed light on some important questions related to effective practice in the field of school counseling. In fact, one can argue that, when separate studies that…

The Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) is working to respond to increased interest in the use of growth models for school accountability. Growth models are based on tracking change in individual student achievement scores over multiple years. While growth models have been used for decades in academic research and program evaluation, a…

This technical brief describes updates to a database of dropout prevention programs and policies in 2006/07 created by the Regional Education Laboratory (REL) Northeast and Islands and described in the Issues & Answers report, "Piloting a searchable database of dropout prevention programs in nine low-income urban school districts in the…

Extended learning opportunities (ELOs) provide safe, structured learning environments for students outside the traditional school day. ELOs include afterschool and summer learning programs as well as before-school, evening, and weekend programs. ELOs come in many forms and can include tutoring, volunteering, academic support, community service,…

This annual newsletter contains updates on the latest CCRC research, new publications and details of upcoming presentations at major conferences. The feature article in this issue, "Addressing the Needs of Underprepared Students," by Thomas Bailey, summarizes the discussion found in the paper "Challenge and Opportunity: Rethinking…

This document examines progress in the United States toward the National Education Goals. The data are rooted in the annual report of the National Education Goals Panel (NEGP). The Panel, a bipartisan group, drew on the advice of education experts to select the best available data as indicators of progress. States that performed well or improved…

As of October 2007, 54 interdistrict magnet schools enrolling 18,928 students were operating in Connecticut. The bulk of these schools are located in the Hartford and New Haven areas--21 in the Hartford area and 17 in the New Haven area. Interdistrict magnets also serve significant numbers of students in the Waterbury region. In keeping with the…

As originally developed, Projecto Exito, often referred to as the Bilingual Community School or simply as "Escuelita," was in name and in deed a comprehensive community-based approach to the problems of bilingual education, funded under Title VII of the 1965 Elementary Secondary Education Act. Intended to serve Spanish and…

Summarizes the classroom and school literature on the effects of teacher expectations, proposes a school-based model for the influence of teacher expectations on student performance, and describes applications of the model in Connecticut's school improvement efforts. (RH)

This report investigates the question of whether a combination of attitude and achievement results of pupils can be used in an objective way to identify the more effective reading and math compensatory programs in a state. This question is held to have particular relevance in Connecticut since two-thirds of the state's compensatory programming is…

In order to evaluate vocational agriculture education in 21 Connecticut high schools for the purposes of developing or updating curriculums, this study intended to: (1) determine employment rates of vocational agriculture graduates in agricultural areas, (2) determine post-secondary educational attainment levels, (3) determine variables affecting…

This four-section report is an evaluation of educational programs in the state of Connecticut. The major achievements listed as made possible are: 30 programs for children of preschool age, 80 additional summer programs for deprived youth, special instructions in basic skills for the latter children, increased special language assistance for…