In 2015, Tennessee launched Tennessee Promise (TN Promise), one of the most comprehensive and well-funded statewide free-college scholarship programs in the country. To support TN Promise students, and especially those from the lowest-income households, tnAchieves, a key partner facilitating all non-financial components of TN Promise, implemented…

This report examines the implementation and outcomes of personalized, competency-based learning in the Arizona Personalized Learning Network (AZPLN) districts. The study conducted by Research for Action (RFA) analyzed survey data from students and teachers, as well as publicly available school-level outcomes data to assess the progress and impact…

Earning a high school diploma is a milestone that has been linked to many later life outcomes, from employment to incarceration to physical health, and impacts society as a whole through tax revenues and government spending. Yet, youth leaving school prior to obtaining a diploma remains a challenge nationwide, particularly in large cities. Given…

Research for Action (RFA) in partnership with the University of Texas at Austin is engaged in a five-year mixed-methods study of the reforms associated with California AB 705. Over the course of the study, our team will assess the implementation, impact, and cost effectiveness of reforms associated with the law. This second interim report,…

In partnership with the Consortium for Policy Research in Education, RFA has been studying Philadelphia schools' take-up of an instructional reform that has demonstrated positive impacts on teacher knowledge and student learning in math. The Ongoing Assessment Project (OGAP) is designed to deepen teachers' understanding of foundational concepts in…

RFA's three-year mixed methods evaluation of Children's Literacy Initiative's language and literacy supports found positive impacts despite higher-than-typical teacher turnover. In pre-K centers receiving CLI supports, teachers were more able to implement effective instructional practices and created richer classroom literacy environments, and…

Research for Action (RFA) was commissioned to evaluate changes in student outcomes during the first three years of the Project Leadership and Investment for Transformation (LIFT). This report focuses on two questions: (1) how do LIFT students' behavioral and academic performance compare to those of a matched set of non-LIFT comparison students?;…

Beginning in spring 2013, students in seven elementary schools throughout the Project LIFT zone in Charlotte, North Carolina began to receive XO laptops provided by the organization One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) for use both within their classroom and at home. This report details Research for Action's (RFA) mixed-method evaluation of the first year…

Research for Action (RFA) has completed its second year of a five-year external evaluation of the Project Leadership and Investment for Transformation (LIFT) Initiative in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg School District (CMS). Project LIFT is a public-private partnership between CMS and the local philanthropic and business communities in Charlotte,…

In April 2009, Superintendent Arlene Ackerman announced her reform plan for the School District of Philadelphia (the District)--"Imagine 2014". Among other major initiatives, "Imagine 2014" laid the groundwork for Philadelphia's Renaissance Schools Initiative. The Renaissance Initiative, set to enter its second year in 2011-12,…

In April 2009, Superintendent Arlene Ackerman announced her reform plan for the School District of Philadelphia (the District)--"Imagine 2014". Among other major initiatives, "Imagine 2014" laid the groundwork for Philadelphia's Renaissance Schools Initiative. The Renaissance Initiative, set to enter its second year in 2011-12, is an effort to…