This brief is designed to support states, districts, and schools in developing strategies to support the academic achievement of American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) students. The brief overview discusses strategies for addressing achievement barriers that AI/AN students might face in school, as well as how school leaders can develop a master…

St. HOPE (Helping Others Pursue Excellence) has embraced the character education movement and worked tirelessly to become a National School of Character. There is a commitment to relevant, student-driven service learning that develops every facet of their scholars' burgeoning identities, experiences that truly cultivate the whole child. St. HOPE…

This essay considers the relation between academic development, the scholarship of teaching and learning, and educational research. It does so with reference to questions of academic identity and disciplinary expertise, arguing that as developers we need to consider carefully the ways in which we frame how we approach attempts to foster reflective…

The focus of the present paper is a critical discussion of the recently developed concept Pedagogy in Practice (PiP) with the intention of improving the concept for future research. PiP aims to understand ongoing educational practice from the students' perspective by interviewing groups of students about their understanding of learning. By…

College Measures was established in 2010 as a partnership between the American Institutes for Research (AIR) and Matrix Knowledge Group (now Optimity Advisors). In 2016, College Measures became fully owned by AIR. It remains focused on using data to drive improvement in higher education outcomes in the United States. This fact sheet presents a…

Professional development (PD) is seen by a broad cross-section of stakeholders--teachers, principals, policymakers--as essential for instructional improvement and student learning. And yet, despite deep investments of time and money in its design and implementation, the return on investment and subjective assessments about PD's effectiveness…

This memorandum presents results from a scan of states' accountability and accreditation systems, focusing on measures of student achievement and outcomes that are associated with school improvement. Particular attention was given to indicators that can lead to increased student achievement and school quality other than state assessments. The data…

Students with disabilities continue to have less than desirable post-school outcomes. In an effort to assist state and local education agencies improve education and services, a federally-funded technical assistance center created a capacity building model based on evidence-based transition practices. Research indicates that strategic planning is…

With the passage of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) of 2015, California must integrate additional measures of student and school performance into the state-wide accountability system. To support the conversation as policymakers consider if/how to include chronic absenteeism data in the state's accountability system, PACE has conducted an…

This book provides an overview and discussion of the evidence base of effective school inspections; reflecting on issues of validity and reliability of school inspections in relation to school effectiveness research, unintended consequences and emergent roles and responsibilities of Inspectorates of Education. Chapters include findings from…

A child's early years (0-8 y) are the critical development years, as this is when the foundation for learning is laid. A strong learning foundation yields better school performance and increases the likelihood of attaining higher education, resulting in major social and economic gains for society. The early childhood care and education of nearly…

In this article, we report findings from two cases of rural, high-needs elementary schools in the Southeastern United States that successfully improved learning outcomes for their students. As illustrated by our findings, a combination of effective teacher professional development, focused student learning initiatives, and enhanced community and…

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, school closures across the United States have forced teachers to implement various forms of contact-less instruction. The research on childhood trauma and learning indicates that social/emotional factors significantly impact the effectiveness of instructional approaches. Therefore, shifts to online learning should…

Early childhood services in Australia that receive a 'Working Towards' quality rating are expected to engage in continuous quality improvement. This qualitative study investigated this expectation by exploring the experiences of educators in Working Towards services. The study implemented a social constructivist research design and involved…

The current study examined the role formal leaders can play in creating routines and practices to foster and sustain organizational leadership of equity-focused teams of educators, parents, and students in schools. Using a case study methodology, we explored how a Black female K-8 school leader steeped in social justice leadership work and a white…