Across Massachusetts, legislators, policymakers, educators, families, and communities are engaged in important conversations about whether to continue using student performance on the MCAS tests as part of the state's high-school graduation requirements. This document presents lessons drawn from 15-plus years of research on educational opportunity…

The long-term impact of prekindergarten programs is an important consideration given the trend of dedicating more resources to these programs. However, long-term impact of prekindergarten programs is not well-understood and recent studies have shown preschool effectiveness can vary across states and programs. A state run prekindergarten program in…

Edgenuity is a one of a multitude of digital support tools for instruction and intervention. In 2019,a School District in the South began using Edgenuity -- a digital intervention platform focused on grade and credit recovery. This current study evaluated Edgenuity to determine its effects on students learning and the associated cost. For the…

Admission to colleges and universities has sparked much interest over time. There are articles, books, and even movies designed to shed light on the process of being admitted to institutions. One component of the application process that has drawn a lot of attention is the use of standardized test scores. There are both advocates and critics of…

The New York City P-TECH Grades 9-14 (P-TECH 9-14) high school model involves a partnership between the New York City Department of Education, the City University of New York (CUNY), and employer partners that collaborate with the schools implementing it. The schools prepare students for both college and careers in science, technology,…

School turnaround has emerged as a predominant strategy to improve chronically low-performing schools, although the approach remains controversial. This meta-analysis synthesizes results from 35 studies to examine the relationship between school turnaround and various student outcomes. We find that school turnaround is associated with improved…

This paper studies the impact of PROBEMS, a scholarship program in Mexico aimed at improving graduation rates and test scores among upper secondary school students from poor backgrounds. The identification strategy is the random allocation into the program, which took place in 2009. The strategy allows measurement of the effects of PROBEMS on test…

This study tested the authoritative school climate theory that schools characterized by high structure and student support have greater levels of student engagement and that these factors are associated with higher academic achievement, as indicated by school graduation rates and school performance on state-mandated testing. The model was tested…

Racial disparities are evident across Washington's K-12 education system. This report provides an analysis of Washington K-12 education data and reveals that there are consistent opportunity gaps for students of color. The COVID-19 pandemic has emphasized the need to address racial disparities as communities of color have faced disproportionate…

This study estimated the promotion power of public high schools in the District of Columbia. Promotion power is a measure of school effectiveness that distinguishes a school's contributions to student outcomes from the contributions of the background characteristics of the students it serves. Promotion power scores are distinct from status…

This Study Snapshot highlights key findings from a study that explores the promotion power of public high schools in the District of Columbia. Promotion power is a measure of school effectiveness that distinguishes a school's contributions to student outcomes from the contributions of the background characteristics of the students it serves.…

The "Using Promotion Power to Identify the Effectiveness of Public High Schools in the District of Columbia" study examined the promotion power of public high schools in the District of Columbia. This study examined public District of Columbia (DC) high schools' promotion power for three outcomes: meeting the College Board's college and…

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 their staggered implementation across states. We find precisely estimated null effects, on…

Despite increases in college enrollment, college completion rates have not kept up, at both 2-year and 4-year institutions. In California specifically, the 6-year graduation or transfer rate for students at 2-year institutions was only 48%. In response to the idea that students arrive at college unprepared, driving these low college success rates,…

Section 29.182 of the Texas Education Code (TEC) makes provision for all students in the State of Texas to participate in Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs. CTE programs incorporate competencies that lead to the attainment of academic and technical skills, industry recognized certificates, licenses, and credentials for employment as…