As we settled into a new reality with COVID-19, there were calls for educators to use the crisis as a time to initiate changes desperately needed in education (Zhao & Watterston, 2021). Highlighting an elementary school as a case study (Hungerford-Kresser et al., 2022), we now reflect on what we learned during the early stages of the pandemic,…

This study complements literature on state policymaking by exploring one state's achievement trends and policymaking during a period of remarkable achievement gains. I use mixed methods, drawing on hierarchical linear modeling and semi-structured interviews with policy actors, to explore the case of Tennessee in the post-recession period. Results…

In "Results Now 2.0," Mike Schmoker expands on his bestselling book and offers a broader, deeper analysis of the entire K-12 education system and how it can improve. He describes a systemic buffer of policies, pedagogy, and initiatives that prevents everyone--teachers, students, and parents--from understanding our collective failure to…

Does relaxing strict school discipline improve student achievement, or lead to classroom disorder? We study a 2012 reform in New York City public middle schools that eliminated suspensions for non-violent, disorderly behavior, replacing them with less disruptive interventions. Using a difference-in-differences framework, we exploit the sharp…

The COVID-19 pandemic not only affected education at its peak, it continues to affect learning in its aftermath. High schools were forced to transition to remote learning, throwing students and educators alike into a new reality. Recovering from the pandemic has forced the need for innovative ways to engage students. Some successful attempts at…

The abrupt onset of the COVID-19 pandemic forced a dramatic shift in higher education. Over time, the prolonged and cyclical nature of public-health restrictions conditioned students, faculty, and staff to adopt a crisis mindset as their baseline. Moving from crisis to recovery therefore posed unique obstacles at both individual (e.g. anxiety,…

In higher engineering education, students' learning outcomes are typically measured via tests and examinations. In that way, so it is claimed, students have reached the learning goals intended by the teachers. However, students' learning experiences and perceived learning gains remain unclear. To gain insights into their perceived learning gains,…

Four-day school weeks are becoming increasingly common in the U.S., but their effect on achievement is not well-understood. Using a difference-in-differences approach, we conduct the most representative student-level analysis to date of the effects of four-day weeks on student achievement and within-year growth using NWEA MAP Growth data. We…

There has been an increase of both neurodivergent students and enrollment in Computer Science programs in higher education. These increases have brought attention to two separate challenges: neurodivergent college students struggle more compared to their neurotypical peers and many students struggle in introductory computer science courses. This…

When Dr. Tina Lupton and Dr. Timisha Barnes-Jones joined the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools, Opportunity Culture implementation was happening in the midst of COVID. Lupton, the executive director of professional learning, and Barnes-Jones, the area superintendent for a network of 15 transformation schools, used their experience in other…

COVID-19 restrictions in schools worldwide constitute an important limitation for peer support among students. The masks, the distance between tables or the established sitting order are new challenges that both students and teachers must face in Spain. The conventional strategies that took place among students prior to the COVID-19 pandemic have…

Across six Sub-Saharan African countries, grade 4 students of teachers who were hired after a free primary education reform perform worse, on average, on language and math tests--statistically significantly so in language--than students of teachers who were hired before the reform. Teachers who were hired just after the reform also perform worse,…

In the late 1990s, an extensive consolidation of schools in rural China led to the amalgamation of numerous primary and secondary schools into urban schools or their discontinuation. The study aimed to investigate whether China's school consolidation movement has influenced the educational attainment of rural students. The data are sourced from…

Underprepared students at community colleges are often assigned to a sequence of developmental education (DE) courses that can substantially delay, or even halt, their progress to degree completion. In 2014, Florida took a drastic step forward when it implemented a comprehensive DE reform. Our findings show large, positive base effects of the…

In response to declining results in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) surveys, the then governing Swedish coalition in 2010-2014 introduced earlier grading, more extensive national testing and a new standards-based curriculum. These reforms coincided with a greater emphasis on inclusive' education understood in the 'narrow'…