The Race to the Top (RTTT) program incentivized states to use innovation for systemwide improvement of student outcomes, but little is known about how RTTT-funded innovation was sustained after the RTTT program ended. This mixed-methods study examined state and district approaches to sustaining an international innovation called "lesson…

The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA, 2015) highlighted technology-based personalised learning (PL) as a means of providing equitable learning experiences for all students. Many states have put forward guidance in their ESSA plans to inform professional development (PD) that empowers educators with skills that maximize PL for students. This brief…

Our country has a digital equity crisis, with many socioeconomically disadvantaged students disproportionately experiencing significant negative consequences from the digital divide. This program evaluation sought to investigate whether the Verizon Innovative Learning Schools (VILS) grant program decreases the consequences of the digital divide…

The researcher briefly reviewed the Response to Intervention (RtI) framework and explained how Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEIA, 2004) and No Child Left Behind (NCLB) enhanced RtI implementation in general education classrooms. The main focus of this paper is to identify general educators' roles when implementing RtI…

In 2012, the United States Department of Education announced the Race to the Top-District grants. One joint award was made to two large educational cooperatives in the same state that together represented 111 mostly rural schools in 22 districts. One of the grant's identified four essential projects was the implementation of personalized learning.…

Under both No Child Left Behind and the Every Student Succeeds Act, school leaders have been mandated to employ data-driven decision-making (DDDM) to diagnose student needs, implement targeted supports, and design school improvements. However, district administrators tasked with developing principals' DDDM capacity face a tough road. The authors…

In 2019, 46 states and territories are implementing Preschool Development Grants (PDGs), which will support states to do five broadly defined activities: 1. A Birth to Five Needs Assessment 2. A Birth to Five Strategic Plan 3. Maximizing Parent Knowledge and Choice 4. Sharing Best Practices 5. Improving Overall Quality. This brief starts by…

Driven by Race to the Top funding and quickly designed and deployed in 2010-2011, a new teacher evaluation policy in Tennessee altered principals' supervisory practices regarding their use of time for observation and reporting, their interaction with teachers, and the methods for giving teachers performance ratings. In addition, student test score…

The demographic composition of America's population has changed significantly over the past several decades which is reflected in classrooms that are culturally and linguistically more diverse. In particular, the rapidly growing population of non-native English speaking students has highlighted the need for language instruction programs to…

Instructional coaching is a reality in many schools today, yet administrators often lack experience or background on how to utilize this professional development model effectively. Instructional coaching can help administrators balance the managerial and instructional leadership responsibilities required of their role. As districts adopt the…

In 2013, national education groups representing principals, school-employed mental health professionals, and school resource officers developed "A Framework for Safe and Successful Schools" (ED612657) to provide a common set of recommendations for policies and practices that create and sustain safe, supportive learning environments. The…

The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) emphasizes evidence-based interventions while providing new flexibilities to states and districts with regard to the use of federal funds, including funds that could be used to support social and emotional learning (SEL). This report is a companion to "Social and Emotional Learning Interventions Under the…

This study examined how the professional development initiative of Reading Apprenticeship (RA), which included the support of a school-based literacy coach, impacted two high school Title I teachers and their students. In the field of education, much is known about the qualities of professional development which lead to improved learning on the…

This publication highlights how state policies and guidance are supporting the transformation to personalized learning through digital instructional materials. Specifically, the report includes personalized learning approaches and the policies and processes around the selection, curation, procurement, professional learning and funding of digital…

This is the first in a series of reports based on a research study, Developing Effective Professional Learning Communities in Catalyst Schools, conducted between February 2015 and June 2016. "Catalyst schools" were elementary- and secondary-level schools selected to participate in a pilot project intended to explore how best to support…