Career-connected learning is an educational strategy that combines high-quality academic instruction, skill-based learning, and real-world experiences to prepare students with the knowledge and skills that they need to pursue their career goals. Career-connected learning can be delivered in a variety of ways, including in core content classes,…

The School Improvement Grant (SIG), initially authorized in 1965 under the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, was passed to substantially support disadvantaged students' needs to raise students' achievement in their lowest-performing schools. This research addresses whether SIG funding alone is the catalyst to…

Purpose: Bilingual programs in the United States, particularly two-way dual language immersion (TWDL) programs, have been implemented since the 1960s to support the education of English Learner-classified (EL-classified) and language minoritized students. Over the past decade, TWDL programs have grown significantly across the United States. This…

Assessing the achievement of students in elementary and secondary schools and the nation's educational progress is fundamental to informing education policy approaches. Congressional interest in this area includes and extends beyond the annual assessments administered by states to comply with the educational accountability requirements of Title…

According to the "Elementary and Secondary Education Act" (ESEA) section 9101(25), an EL (or "limited English proficient" child, per the ESEA) is "an individual (A) who is aged 3 through 21; (B) who is enrolled or preparing to enroll in an elementary school or secondary school; (C)(i) who was not born in the United States…

Background: Physical activity (PA) is associated with health and academic benefits among children, but many schools do not meet national recommendations. This study examined school-based PA practices in nationally representative samples of public elementary schools, and geographic variations in those practices. Methods: Mail-back surveys were used…

One of the modifications of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (known as the No Child Left Behind Act) gave parents of low-income students in low-performing schools a choice of Supplemental Educational Services (SEdS). SEdS include tutoring or other academic support services offered outside the regular school day, at no charge to students…

National attention has been focused on improving students' ability to read since the passage of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. The California Reading First Program was implemented throughout the state with the goal of improving reading skills for students from kindergarten through third grade. This research study was designed…

Over the past few decades, reading assessment has been pushed to the forefront of the national discussion about education. The most recent reauthorizations of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (1994, 2001) made assessment a priority as administrators and teachers are attempting to meet increasing accountability standards, but measuring…

The evidence is clear: better teachers improve student outcomes, ranging from test scores to college attendance rates to career earnings. Federal policy has begun to catch up with these findings in its recent shift from an effort to ensure that all teachers have traditional credentials to policies intended to incentivize states to evaluate and…

Although only results from mathematics and reading assessments are required to be used when Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) of schools is calculated, some states have elected to include science achievement results either in their AYP calculations or as part of a separate dual accountability system. This study examined 2009 National Assessment for…

English language learners (ELLs) with disabilities are a growing part of the K-12 school population nationwide. The available knowledge on how to effectively educate K-12 English language learners with disabilities, and measure their progress, is small but growing. However, many educators and families have pressing questions. How can educators…

The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) were created in response to the shortcomings of No Child Left Behind era standards and assessments. Among those failings were the poor quality of content standards and assessments and the variability in content expectations and proficiency targets across states, as well as concerns related to the economic…

Recent federal initiatives emphasize measuring teacher effectiveness and ensuring that disadvantaged students have equal access to effective teachers. This study substantially broadens the existing evidence on access to effective teaching by examining access in 29 geographically dispersed school districts over the 2008-2009 to 2010-2011 school…

The Massachusetts Expanded Learning Time (ELT) initiative was established in 2005 with planning grants that allowed a limited number of schools to explore a redesign of their respective schedules and add time to their day or year. Participating schools are required to expand learning time by at least 300 hours per academic year to improve student…