As students around the country begin the 2011-2012 school year, many of them will be returning to districts that have been forced to restructure their operations in the face of budget cuts. Leaders of those school systems have sought to avoid cuts that they believe would weaken instruction. But they also believe the reductions will put a strain on…

Based on a fall 2017 survey of officials from 45 state education agencies, this report highlights early state efforts to implement the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). The report highlights states' views on ESSA's shift in control from the federal government to states and school districts regarding accountability and school improvement…

Between 2002 and 2014, the Institute of Education Sciences (Institute) supported over 400 projects focused on education technology through the National Center for Education Research (NCER) and the National Center for Special Education Research (NCSER). The majority of this work has been funded through Education Technology research topics of NCER…

Think College Reports present descriptive data in narrative or tabular form to provide timely information to researchers, practitioners, and policymakers for review and use. This summary report offers an overview of the descriptive data on programs for students with intellectual disability collected by the Think College National Coordinating…

In 2007 Georgia instituted a flexibility policy through which school districts enter into performance contracts with the state, receiving waivers from state rules, provisions, and guidelines in exchange for agreeing to meet annual accountability targets. The performance contracts are intended to incentivize innovations that increase achievement…

These are the appendixes for the report, "District Changes in Student Achievement and Local Practice under Georgia's District and School Flexibility Policy." Five appendixes are included in the document: (1) About the study; (2) Data and methods; (3) Supporting analysis; (4) Survey instrument; and (5) Interview protocol. [For the full…

Africa is known for inadequate access to all sorts of human needs including health, education, food, shelter, transport, security, and energy. Before the emergence of massive open online courses (MOOCs), open access to higher education (HE) was exclusive of Africa. However, as a generally affordable method of post-secondary education delivery,…

As a response to the 2013 special issue of "Discourse" on marketisation and equity in education, this paper suggests it is important to understand how school sectors (independent, Catholic and government) continue to play a significant role in how we constitute education, markets and equity in Australia. The first part of this paper…

Impact evaluation plays a critical role in determining whether federally funded research programs in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics are wise investments. This paper develops quantitative methods for program evaluation and applies this approach to a flagship National Science Foundation-funded education research program, Research…

In February 2014, the Tennessee State Board of Education (SBE) requested that the Appalachia Regional Comprehensive Center (ARCC) provide assistance to the SBE's Basic Education Program (BEP) Review Committee. The SBE requested additional information on the use and effectiveness of market-based teacher compensation and market-based incentives by…

The success of the financial aid initiative is founded on the premise that the truest impact occurs when the greater community owns and develops solutions to issues that impede student progress. Co-authored by two community leaders, Noé Ortiz and Eyra Pérez, the San Antonio experience demonstrates how a community can partner across different…

Student loan default, defined as federal loan borrowers' failure to make any payments for at least 270 days, is an issue of increasing importance to community colleges and their students. This report takes a unique look at student loan default at nine community colleges across the nation, and how those colleges are working to help students avoid…

Federal policies (e.g., 2002 reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act [ESEA] and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act) posit that teacher quality is a potential leverage point for improving student achievement (U.S. Department of Education, 2010). Moreover, in the Race to the Top competition, teacher effectiveness must…

In the current economic climate it is more crucial than ever to select federal spending projects that are visionary as well as cost-effective. Saving money today may well cost money tomorrow. Such is the case with correctional education postsecondary programming. Selling vocational or trade-training for offenders to the general public is much…

The American Overseas Research Centers Program provides grants to overseas research centers that are consortia of U.S. institutions of higher education to enable the centers to promote postgraduate research, exchanges, and area studies. Eligible applicants are those consortia of U.S. institutions of higher education centers that: (1) Receive more…