EdResearch for Action

As outlined in a new EdResearch for Action brief that summarizes the research and history of Algebra I, auto-enrollment policies mark a meaningful shift from past practices. Historically, access to early Algebra I often relied on parent advocacy or teacher discretion, two mechanisms that often underidentified capable students from underrepresented and low-income backgrounds. By using objective cr…

"With district and school leaders clamoring for more meaningful guidance about who should take the class, when, and with what types of support, a new report from EdResearch for Action and the Annenberg Institute at Brown University tackles those issues head-on. “Over the past few decades, the research that has come out of those policy swings — from everyone should take it in eighth grade to no, w…

Enrollment in eighth grade algebra has been declining for years, said Elizabeth Huffaker, a research fellow at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Education and author of a brief on algebra access and placement. Curriculum changes saw more algebra content incorporated into middle school integrated math courses, making it harder to move some students ahead earlier. And “algebra for all” polic…

"States and districts have proposed a host of different solutions to improve Algebra 1 enrollment and pass rates—accelerating all students into the class in 8th grade, requiring all students to wait until 9th grade, and offering a double dose math of periods, among others. The report signals that instructional choices are just as important as these policy decisions, said Elizabeth Huffaker, an as…

The post Marshall Memo 1087 appeared first on EdResearch for Action .

High-dosage tutoring is defined as one-on-one or small-group tutoring that takes place more than three days per week or at a rate of at least 50 hours over 36 weeks, according to the Annenberg Institute at Brown University. That research shows high-dosage tutoring can produce large learning gains for a wide range of students, including those who have fallen behind academically. The post Ohio Stat…

"Tutors are often embedded in classrooms during the school day and receive support from instructional coaches and site coordinators. Tutors serve scholars in 30 to 60-minute embedded sessions during the school day, after school, or in summer programs two to three times per week. The program provides a 1:1 up to 1:3 tutor-to-scholar ratio, with the same tutor working with the same scholars through…

"The tutoring model works, Bassett said, 'primarily because of the one-to-one relationships that we form with our scholars. We follow the Annenberg Institute’s tenets for high-impact tutoring. One of them is consistency, the same scholar working with the same tutor throughout the program, two to three times a week, 30 to 60 minutes a session and the ratios are so small, they make a huge differenc…

Community-based organizations (CBOs), with their credibility and established relationships, can effectively serve as tutoring partners in their communities. In the 2023-24 Call to Effective Action (CEA), Accelerate awarded funds to seven CBOs committed to implementing, testing, and scaling a school day tutoring model, granting up to $150K to models with a strong theory of action and some evidence…

More families are seeking one-on-one help for their kids. What does that tell us about 21st-century education? The post The Tutoring Revolution appeared first on EdResearch for Action .

Approximately 1 million students in the United States are immigrants who have attended schools in the country for less than three years. Close to 700,000 students are undocumented, and about 7 percent of all students in U.S. public schools live with at least one undocumented parent, according to researchers. The post What Schools Can Do to Help Immigrant Students Succeed appeared first on EdResea…

The Biden-Harris Administration has made historic investments to help ensure that all children can thrive in the 21st century – and that begins with students being in school every day. Chronic absenteeism – students missing 10% or more of school – emerged as a serious challenge during the COVID-19 pandemic due to school closures, which began during the previous Administration. The U.S. rate of ch…

Recent research out of NWEA explores what teachers can do to support students. Our collaboration with researchers outside of our organization has also helped us develop recommendations for policymakers. They are presented in our new brief with EdResearch for Action, a project of the Annenberg Institute at Brown University and Results for America. The brief highlights research-based academic inter…

Accelerating student learning remains a moral imperative, and a continuing challenge for Ohio’s policymakers and educational leaders. There has been much discussion about how to boost achievement, but one of the most basic ways to move the needle might be hiding in plain sight: simply making sure that students attend school. Unfortunately, absenteeism soared during the pandemic and remains at ala…

The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated pre-existing inequities that changed how individuals engage with pre-K programs, schools, colleges, employers, and the world at large. Early evidence suggests the pandemic took a toll on student learning, educational attainment, employment, and physical and mental well-being, especially in communities of color and communities experiencing poverty. In recognition …

In “Straight Talk with Rick and Jal,” Harvard University’s Jal Mehta and I examine some of the reforms and enthusiasms that permeate education. In a field full of buzzwords and jargon, our goal is simple: Tell the truth, in plain English, about what’s being proposed and what it might mean for students, teachers, and parents. We may be wrong and will frequently disagree, but we’ll try to be candid…

Since the pandemic began in March 2020, the federal government has provided nearly $190 billion in education funding to states and districts. The three rounds of Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funding represent the largest infusion of federal funds in history for reopening schools, updating buildings and supporting learning recovery. Now, over three years later, is the time to a…

A new report identifies four areas to focus on to measure and improve summer learning programs, key questions to answer as you seek out data, and research-based recommendations for each area of data collection. The post A Data-Driven Approach to Enhancing Summer Programs appeared first on EdResearch for Action .

A research brief from the EdResearch for Recovery Project can provide a roadmap, highlighting eight design principles – including program duration, attendance, use of time and quality of instruction – that matter most in creating effective programs that deliver strong academic benefits for students. The post How Should Schools Spend ESSER Summer School Funds? RI Case Study Has Some Clues appeared…

It seems like everyone is talking about tutoring. Some 40% of school districts and charter organizations are talking about investing billions in tutoring and academic skills coaching to address pandemic-related disruptions to learning. Even more policymakers and researchers are discussing ways to create a national tutoring corps, statewide tutoring groups or lists of state-approved tutoring provi…