English Language Learners (ELLs), a diverse group of individuals from across the world who are learning English for the first time, make up the fastest growing segment of the student population in United States public schools. ELL students are tasked with the two-fold challenge of learning a new language and simultaneously keeping up with academic…

School health and nutrition programs can contribute to achieving the goals of the Education for All initiative (EFA) by helping children enroll on time, complete their education, and realize their cognitive potential. Achieving these goals depends on reaching the children most in need. One strong feature of school health and nutrition programs is…

In 2009-10, the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction was approved to include a five-year graduation rate as well as a four-year rate in determining if schools, districts, and the state made Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) under the NCLB Act. This rate was based on the incoming 9th grade students of 2005-06. The denominator of the cohort…

Heritage Oak Elementary School (Placer County, CA) has continuously achieved a high level of academic success as measured by the California Standards Test. However, after examining student testing data in depth, staff discovered a large achievement gap between the overall school population, socio-economically disadvantaged students, and students…

In recent years, growing numbers of policymakers, city officials, and educators have been eyeing the expanse of time outside the education prime time and asking a simple question: What can communities do to help children grow and learn after the school bell rings? The concern is that too many children and teens, especially the poor, are left to…

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to review the current empirical research regarding the financial effects of participation in Individual Development Account (IDA) programs. Methods: Peer-reviewed outcome studies identified through electronic bibliographic databases and manual searches of article reference lists are reviewed. A total of 1…

The Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) serves a large majority of socioeconomically disadvantaged students who are struggling academically and are underprepared for high school graduation and college. This article describes the partnership between LAUSD and the Los Angeles Education Research Institute, and how this collaboration endeavors…

Fingertip Facts is a compendium of some of the most frequently requested data sets from the Utah State Office of Education. Data sets in this year's Fingertip Facts include: SAGE Testing, 2014; 2013 Public Education General Fund; 2014-15 Public School Enrollment Demographics; Public Schools by Grade Level, 2013-14; Number of Licensed Educators;…

Claiborne Pell lived in a waterfront house in Newport, Rhode Island. The Princeton-educated senator came from such old money that his people once owned much of New York's Westchester County and the Bronx. Having grown up in a roach-ridden house, it didn't seem to the author that she and Pell inhabited the same universe. Even so, when she learned…

ED"Facts" is an initiative of the U. S. Department of Education to base education policy on reliable performance data provided by state education agencies. Among its many data items, ED"Facts" houses school-level counts of students disaggregated by state-defined student economic status, typically free and reduced-price lunch…

In recent years, there has been unprecedented national focus on the importance of increasing graduation rates for community college students. Many reforms have been tried, but college completion rates remain stubbornly low: Only one-third of entering students graduate with a degree or certificate within five years. Reforms are often short-term,…

In recent years, there has been unprecedented national focus on the importance of increasing the stubbornly low graduation rates of community college students. Most reforms that have been tried are short-term and address one or only a few barriers to student success. The City University of New York's (CUNY's) Accelerated Study in Associate…

In 2009, in response to concerns of state policymakers, Regional Educational Laboratory Appalachia published "West Virginia's progress toward universal prekindergarten" (Cavalluzzo et al. 2009), which covered school years 2002/03-2006/07. This follow-up brief updates that report with data for 2007/08-2010/11. It compares the shares of…

The U.S. Western region and its public schools are in the midst of its largest racial and economic transformation, as the area witnesses a shrinking white majority, a surging Latino minority, and a growing class of poor. These groups, along with blacks and Asian, more often than not attend very different and segregated schools both in educational…

In December 2009, "U.S. News & World Report" published its list of the nation's top 100 high schools. The magazine awarded an additional 1,687 high schools it judged to be deserving of special recognition with silver medals, bronze medals, and honorable mentions. High schools receiving awards demonstrated an ability to provide all…