Community colleges are challenged with creating and sustaining student success organizational change. Institutional-level student success reform efforts are needed to combat the unacceptably low student completion rates, but colleges often struggle to initiate and maintain organizational reforms. After many years of reform efforts, researchers…

This study proposes an empirically grounded theory of how school reform implementation relates to effectiveness, useful for developing and studying many approaches to school reform both in the U.S. and abroad, and also for assessing how policymakers and implementers might leverage various aspects of implementation to create effective school…

As long-term effects of educational programs cannot be sufficiently addressed by evaluators during short duration implementation grants, researchers become responsible for investigating sustainability of effects and addressing concerns of policy makers and grant funding agencies. This study examines the impact of the TAP System for Teacher and…

This research study evaluated the effects of the Comprehensive Supports and Improvement (CSI) program on the performance of fifty-six participating schools after one year of school improvement technical assistance. Specifically, it investigated whether the geographic locations of schools, the percentage of inexperienced teachers, and school…

This article investigates the impact of changing education models due to disasters (COVID-19 and the 2023 earthquakes) in health schools. The achievement scores of 681 students exposed to different educational models were examined. A survey and semi-structured interviews were conducted with higher education teachers. According to the…

This research study focused on the intersection of three important aspects of public education--district policy, school-level leadership, and racial achievement gaps. The study examined the influence of school-level leadership in the implementation of a specific, district-wide policy designed to reduce racial achievement gaps through changes in…

Federal incentives and requirements under the Obama administration spurred states to adopt major reforms to their teacher evaluation systems. We examine the effects of these reforms on student achievement and attainment at a national scale by exploiting the staggered timing of implementation across states. We find precisely estimated null effects,…

In 2022, Tennessee overhauled its education funding formula to improve outcomes for the 1 million students in the state. The Tennessee Investment in Student Achievement Act (TISA) was designed to simplify the existing funding formula and more equitably allocate resources to schools. Bellwether's case study, "After the Policy Win: First-Year…

Exploring Teachers' Perceptions of Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) and Its Impact on Student Academic Achievement in Elementary Schools" investigates the gap in understanding how elementary teachers perceive PBIS's effectiveness in boosting student academic performance amidst behavioral challenges. This phenomenological…

Florida's developmental education reform has benefitted most students directly impacted by the reform and has helped to reduce existing achievement gaps by race/ethnicity, English Language Learner status, and academic preparation in short-term outcomes like college course-taking and credit accumulation. Even though the reform was not specifically…

The mixed-method sequential explanatory research study examined the impact of implementing a block schedule in two Missouri high schools. Previously, other studies had investigated the influence of school reform on educational programming, the implementation of professional learning communities, development of project-based learning models, and…

This qualitative comparative case analysis aimed to examine the social, emotional, behavioral, and environmental factors that impact elementary students' ability to improve their academic skills. This research looked to identify the problem and the number of students struggling with academic, behavioral, and emotional concerns. Studies show that…

Addressing the surge in mental health and social and emotional needs of students and staff will be critical in the upcoming years. The increased understanding of the prevalence of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and trauma, and their negative effects on the social, emotional, and academic success of students, has propelled a growing number of…

Through a sense-making lens, this qualitative study explores high school principals' considerations while they perceive and enact additional resources within a national reform implementation. Principals' allocation of resources, especially as part of a national reform, is a complex matter for schools' effectiveness in an era of accountability.…

Under the Integrated Planning and Advising for Student Success (iPASS) initiative, 45 two- and four-year colleges have undertaken reforms that aim to provide students with seamless, holistic advising experiences that lead to improved academic outcomes. Colleges participating in iPASS have adopted a data-oriented approach to select and integrate…