The CORE Districts, a nonprofit formed by large urban districts in California, received a Networks for School Improvement grant from the Gates Foundation to launch a network focused on improving ninth-grade on-track rates. CORE based its approach on the Institute for Healthcare Improvement's Breakthrough Collaborative model, where a hub identifies…

The state of Texas requires that each district and campus write an annual improvement plan (Texas Education Code, n.d.b). Although this study was conducted in Texas concerning Texas districts and campuses, it would be reasonable to assume that most, if not all, of the other states in the U.S. have similar improvement planning processes. The…

This study examines the efficacy of the Japanese version of the Program for the Education and Enrichment of Relational Skills (PEERS), which focuses on improving social functioning through making friends and maintaining good relationships for adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) without intellectual disabilities. Originally developed in…

This report examines the characteristics, geographic distributions, and descriptive student outcomes of Model Professional Learning Community (PLC) at Work® Schools in Texas. Model PLC at Work® Schools voluntarily apply for this designation, demonstrating a commitment to collaborative data-driven instructional practices designed to improve student…

Licensed family child care (FCC) programs serve millions of children and families annually and tend to serve more vulnerable families than center-based programs. Low-income families, families needing infant and toddler care, and families that are Hispanic or African American are more likely to place their children in FCC programs than in…

The education sector is embracing the hope that continuous improvement will lead to more beneficial student outcomes than standards-based reform and other approaches to policies and practice in prior decades. This report examines attempts in California to realize the potential of continuous improvement in some of the state's largest districts.…

This study was designed to investigate the applicability of the IES/NSF pipeline-of-evidence protocol in ascertaining why two notable educational initiatives spearheaded and financially supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation achieved or not the goal of improved academic outcomes for K-12 public school students. Our interest was not…

This policy brief examines the impact of Solution Tree's PLC at Work® process on student achievement in Texas schools. Using a quasi-experimental design and statewide data, we found that students in Model PLC Schools made meaningful academic gains, averaging 3.1 months of additional learning in math and 2 months in reading compared to similar…

This report evaluates the impact of the Professional Learning Communities (PLC) at Work® process on student academic achievement over a three-year period in Texas public schools. Drawing on linked administrative data from the University of Houston Education Research Center (UH-ERC), the study uses a quasi-experimental approach to compare…

Children in two communities of a large city in the Midwestern United States have higher rates of asthma than other areas of the city. The communities have barriers to accessing care, including high rates of unemployment and being uninsured and undocumented. A mobile van provides no-cost asthma care to children at schools in these communities, but…

Since its inception, NASA's Science Activation program has demonstrated considerable success in leveraging the agency's strong public reputation and resources to engage a diversity of audiences in science education projects nationwide. As the program nears the end of this second five-year funding cycle, NASA tasked the National Academies with…

Despite efforts to reduce and prevent incidents, bullying behaviors remain prevalent in schools, leading to poor outcomes for all involved. While the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program is one of the most extensively implemented school environment interventions in the USA, it has yet to yield consistently positive results across contexts,…

Global access to preschool has increased dramatically yet preschool quality is often poor. We use a randomized controlled trial to evaluate two approaches to improving the quality of Colombian preschools. We find that the first, which was rolled out nationwide and provides additional resources for materials and new staff, did not benefit…

This research brief is one of a series of six briefs, which provide an overview of available evidence shown in the Campbell-UNICEF Mega-Map of the effectiveness of interventions to improve child well-being in low- and middle-income countries. Five of these briefs summarize evidence as mapped against the five goal areas of UNICEF's 2018-2021…

A fit-for-purpose, functional program is the vehicle that guarantees the relevance of an education system by ensuring the sustainability of the society. Failure of a program to be relevant has the potential to cause crisis in a society. This basic qualitative research study explored the experiences of the beneficiaries of a skills development…