ethanporcaro/eric-fulltext-meta huggingface dataset:
Building Better Programs for Disconnected Youth
Author: MDRC
Date: 2013-02-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Graduation Rate,Dropout Rate,Dropouts,Program Effectiveness,High School Equivalency Programs,Postsecondary Education,Youth Programs,At Risk Persons

Nationally, more than one in four high school freshmen does not graduate in four years; in the 50 largest U.S. cities, the dropout rate is closer to 50 percent. Although many of these young people eventually seek to continue their education, a sizable number of dropouts (and many high school graduates) become seriously disconnected from both school and work. The long-term prospects for these young people are extremely poor. The population of disconnected youth is diverse, meaning that a range of different approaches is needed to reengage this group of young people. The research evidence on the effectiveness of such programs is relatively thin and the results are mixed, but there are some promising findings--and a resurgence in political interest--on which to build. As part of MDRC's &quot;Looking Forward&quot; series, this memo provides suggestions for policymakers on ways to make progress on this critical issue.
Fast Forward: A Case Study of Two Community College Programs Designed to Accelerate Students through Developmental Math
Author: Fong, Kelley
Date: 2013-05-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Developmental Programs,Case Method (Teaching Technique),Community Colleges,College Programs,Acceleration (Education),Mathematics Curriculum,Curriculum Design,Curriculum Implementation,Change Strategies,Educational Improvement,Program Descriptions,Comparative Analysis,Institutional Characteristics,Educational Practices,Formative Evaluation,Effective Schools Research,Interviews,Focus Groups,Classroom Observation Techniques,Developmental Studies Programs

For the past decade, MDRC has evaluated a number of interventions designed to improve the outcomes of community college students, including enhanced counseling, learning communities, and financial incentives. Encouragingly, many of these strategies have produced positive effects, affirming that changes in institutional practices and policies can help more students succeed. At the same time, however, it is becoming increasingly clear that the effects of modest, short-term interventions tend to be small and to diminish after the program ends. Increasing in popularity are instructional reforms aimed at accelerating students through the developmental course sequence, for example, by compressing the material into fewer semesters, allowing students to move through it at their own pace, or placing students directly into college-level courses with extra support. Reforms that make such deep changes to course structure and classroom instruction--like those profiled in this report--may have the potential for larger and more sustained impacts on student outcomes. This report describes the experiences of two colleges in designing, implementing, and scaling acceleration programs in developmental math. The authors hope that lessons learned from these two programs are useful to practitioners considering acceleration programs as well as to policy-makers seeking new and effective strategies to significantly increase the number of students who earn a credential. MDRC hopes to obtain funding to formally evaluate these two programs in the years to come. Individual chapters contain footnotes. (Contains 3 tables, 2 figures, and 7 boxes.) [This report was was written with Greta Harris-Hardland, Alan Lebovitz, and Joanne Bashford. For the executive summary, see ED544249.]
Fast Forward: A Case Study of Two Community College Programs Designed to Accelerate Students through Developmental Math. Executive Summary
Author: Fong, Kelley
Date: 2013-05-00
Type: Reports - Descriptive
Subjects: Intervention,Developmental Programs,Mathematics Curriculum,Curriculum Design,Curriculum Implementation,Program Descriptions,Acceleration (Education),Effective Schools Research,Community Colleges,Best Practices,Educational Practices,Science Course Improvement Projects,Institutional Characteristics,Comparative Analysis

For the past decade, MDRC has evaluated a number of interventions designed to improve the outcomes of community college students, including enhanced counseling, learning communities, and financial incentives. Encouragingly, many of these strategies have produced positive effects, affirming that changes in institutional practices and policies can help more students succeed. At the same time, however, it is becoming increasingly clear that the effects of modest, short-term interventions tend to be small and to diminish after the program ends. Increasing in popularity are instructional reforms aimed at accelerating students through the developmental course sequence, for example, by compressing the material into fewer semesters, allowing students to move through it at their own pace, or placing students directly into college-level courses with extra support. Reforms that make such deep changes to course structure and classroom instruction--like those profiled in this report--may have the potential for larger and more sustained impacts on student outcomes. This report describes the experiences of two colleges in designing, implementing, and scaling acceleration programs in developmental math. The authors hope that lessons learned from these two programs are useful to practitioners considering acceleration programs as well as to policy-makers seeking new and effective strategies to significantly increase the number of students who earn a credential. MDRC hopes to obtain funding to formally evaluate these two programs in the years to come. (Contains 5 footnotes and 1 endnote.) [This executive summary was written with Greta Harris-Hardland, Alan Lebovitz, and Joanne Bashford, For the full report, see ED544248.]
Human Rights Education in Canada: Results from a CTF Teacher Survey
Author: Froese-Germain, Bernie
Date: 2013-00-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Civil Rights,Citizenship Education,Social Justice,Elementary Secondary Education,Teacher Attitudes,Educational Methods,Social Values,Professional Development,Curriculum,Student Projects,Educational Resources,Educational Environment,Educational Policy,Extracurricular Activities,Social Attitudes,Teacher Competencies,Indigenous Populations,Inclusion,Democratic Values,Online Surveys

The United Nations has placed a high priority on human rights education. Building on the foundation laid by the UN Decade for Human Rights Education (1995-2004), the UN General Assembly launched the World Programme for Human Rights Education in December 2004 &quot;as a global initiative, structured in consecutive phases, to advance the implementation of human rights education in all sectors.&quot; The first phase of the programme (2005-2009) focused on integrating human rights education into elementary and secondary school systems. The second phase (2010-2014) focuses on integrating human rights education in the higher education system as well as training for civil servants, law enforcement officials and military personnel. As part of the Canadian Defenders for Human Rights initiative, the Canadian Teacher's Federation (CTF) conducted an online survey of teachers in February 2013 to obtain their perspectives on human rights education in Canadian schools. The survey sought out teachers' perspectives in the following areas: (1) The delivery of human rights education in the school--whether through curricular and/or extra-curricular activities; (2) Specific curriculum areas with a human rights education component; (3) School-based human rights education projects as an extension of the curriculum; (4) 
The value placed on human rights education by various stakeholders; (5) 
Availability of resources to support the teaching of human rights education
(including examples of key resources); (6) Professional development related to human rights education; (7) Greatest success in relation to teaching a human rights issue; and (8) Greatest challenge facing human rights education in Canada. The survey was conducted online with almost 2,600 teachers in 8 of the 10 provinces and in all 3 territories from February 11 to March 1, 2013. The findings from the survey are presented in this document, along with key messages from the teacher voice of human rights education. (Contains 5 charts and a list of 6 sources.)
Helping Students Pay for College--and Achieve Better Outcomes
Author: MDRC
Date: 2013-02-00
Type: Reports - Descriptive
Subjects: Paying for College,Student Financial Aid,Grants,Costs,Scholarships,Incentives,Incentive Grants,Low Income,Educational Innovation,Financial Support,Student Motivation,College Students,College Bound Students,Rewards,Community Colleges

America faces a two-pronged problem in higher education: increasing costs and low completion rates. Despite the recent expansion of federal Pell Grants, many students still are left with unmet financial needs and may drop out of college because of financial concerns, pressing work responsibilities, and fears of taking on too much debt. One idea that may help students pay for college and complete their degrees more quickly is to offer financial aid that rewards academic progress. When budgets are tight and policymakers want to make financial aid more effective, applying performance standards to scholarships that supplement existing federal and state aid or changing the way existing
aid is disbursed may be promising approaches. Ideas for helping students pay for college and achieve promising outcomes are discussed in this document.
Reforming Underperforming High Schools
Author: MDRC
Date: 2013-03-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Underachievement,Educational Improvement,High Schools,Change Strategies,Educational Strategies,Urban Schools,School Restructuring,Best Practices,Educational Indicators,Educational Innovation,Educational Policy,Educational Change

Urban high schools are in trouble--high dropout rates, low student academic achievement, and graduates who are unprepared for college are just some of the disappointing indicators. However, recent research points to a select number of approaches to improving student outcomes and reforming underperforming schools--from particular ways of creating new schools to specific strategies for strengthening existing schools through whole-school reform to making school more relevant to the world of work. As part of MDRC's &quot;Looking Forward&quot; series, this memo provides suggestions for policymakers on ways to make progress on this critical issue.
Enhancing GED Instruction to Prepare Students for College and Careers: Early Success in LaGuardia Community College&apos;s Bridge to Health and Business Program. Policy Brief
Author: Martin, Vanessa
Date: 2013-05-00
Type: Reports - Descriptive
Subjects: High School Equivalency Programs,Developmental Studies Programs,Health Education,Business Education,Improvement Programs,Program Effectiveness,College Preparation,Change Strategies,Educational Strategies,Enrollment Rate,Achievement Gains,Matched Groups,Control Groups,Comparative Analysis,Program Descriptions,Enrollment Influences,Achievement Need,College Readiness,College Bound Students,Noncollege Bound Students,Adult Education

Nationwide, close to 40 million adults lack a high school diploma or a General Educational Development (GED) credential. About a quarter of high school freshmen do not graduate in four years, and while many high school dropouts eventually do attend GED preparation classes, too few ever pass the GED exam or go on to college. Students with only a high school diploma already face long odds of success in a labor market that increasingly prizes specialized training and college education; for GED holders, the chances are even worse. MDRC partnered with LaGuardia Community College of the City University of New York (CUNY) to launch a small but rigorous study of its GED Bridge to Health and Business program, which aims to prepare students not only to pass the GED exam, but also to continue on to college and training programs. The results are highly encouraging: Bridge students were far more likely to complete the class, pass the GED exam, and enroll in college than students in a more traditional GED preparation class. (Contains 1 figure, 2 tables, and 11 notes.)
Teachers' Views on the Relationship between Technology and Aspirational Teaching: Findings from a CTF National Survey
Author: Froese-Germain, Bernie
Date: 2013-01-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: National Surveys,Teacher Attitudes,Focus Groups,Teacher Surveys,Beliefs,Teaching Styles,Technology Uses in Education,Access to Computers,Influence of Technology,Foreign Countries,Educational Practices,Professional Development,Student Needs,Integrated Curriculum,Student Diversity,Teaching Methods,Technology Integration,Educational Research,Educational Technology

In May 2012 the Canadian Teachers’ Federation (CTF) conducted a national teacher survey on the theme of &quot;Teachers’ Aspirations&quot; as part of a joint research project with the Canadian Education Association (CEA). The research project involved extensive input from over 200 teachers who participated in CEA focus groups across the country and over 4,700 teachers who responded to the CTF online survey. A report on the project co-authored by the CEA and CTF was released at the CTF President's Forum in July 2012. Access to adequate and up-to-date technology and an adequate technology infrastructure were identified by teachers as being among a number of important contributors to aspirational teaching (aspirational teaching is defined in the report as teaching in a way that resonates with teacher beliefs about teaching and learning). As a follow-up to this research project, in October 2012 CTF conducted a national survey of teachers to explore the relationship between the use of digital technologies and aspirational teaching in elementary/secondary education. The online survey was administered through CTF Member organizations from October 9-16, 2012. We received nearly 4,600 responses from classroom teachers, special education teachers, administrators and others. This article presents the major survey findings and concludes with some of the key messages we heard from teachers. It also provides some context for our findings by looking at other recent research on teaching and learning with technology. (Contains 6 charts,1 figure, and 2 footnotes.)
Understanding Teachers' Perspectives on Student Mental Health: Findings from a National Survey
Author: Froese-Germain, Bernie
Date: 2012-00-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Teacher Attitudes,Mental Health,Teacher Surveys,Barriers,Access to Health Care,Health Services,Social Bias,Child Health,School Role,Bullying,Teamwork,Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder,Learning Disabilities,Anxiety Disorders,Stress Variables,Depression (Psychology),Substance Abuse,Eating Disorders,Schizophrenia,Agency Cooperation

This 2012 research report, based on a national online survey conducted by the Canadian Teachers’ Federation (CTF) in collaboration with the Mental Health Commission of Canada, gathers the responses of over 3,900 teachers who voluntarily took part in the survey. Teachers were asked to identify the potential barriers to the provision of mental health services for their students and to describe their level of preparedness to address student mental health issues. The report is a call to action for all education partners as it helps to inform the discussion about the role of schools and teachers in promoting student health and well-being and addressing mental illness. Among several key messages from the CTF survey is that, in general, teachers support the need to continue and broaden the important emerging conversation about child and youth mental illness and mental health in order to raise awareness, and reduce and ultimately eliminate harmful stigma. While teachers feel they are part of the solution, they expressed a need for more assistance in the schools by mental health professionals whose area of expertise would complement that of teachers. The report is intended for all educators, school administrators, and policy makers. (Contains 8 charts.)
Sustaining Coherent Reform: An Evaluation Guide for Districts and Schools
Author: Cicchinelli, Louis F.
Date: 2010-00-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Administrator Guides,Program Evaluation,Evaluation Methods,Educational Change,Change Strategies,Best Practices,Evaluation Utilization,Program Design,Program Implementation,Research Design,Research Reports,Program Development,Educational Assessment,Educational Research,Program Effectiveness,Guidance Programs,Research Methodology,Program Administration,Grants,School Districts

This guide is designed to help districts and schools evaluate reform efforts related to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), including School Improvement Grants. It includes practical, how-to tips for conducting program evaluations, whether one takes a &quot;do-it-yourself&quot; approach or seeks outside assistance to evaluate reform efforts.The guide will enable administrators and policymakers to: (1) plan a focused, practical evaluation; (2) develop a detailed evaluation plan; (3) conduct an evaluation of school reform implementation and impact; (4) report key findings in formats useful to major audiences; and (5) encourage use of evaluation findings for program improvement. The following are appended: (1) Evaluation Team Worksheets;  and (2) Reporting and Evaluation Requirements for School Improvement grants. (Contains 8 exhibits and 13 resources.)
High Reliability Organizations in Education. Noteworthy Perspectives
Author: Eck, James H.
Date: 2011-00-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Best Practices,School Effectiveness,Program Effectiveness,Commercialization,Educational Quality,Educational Change,Leadership Effectiveness,Reliability,Public Schools,School Restructuring,Change Strategies,Global Approach,Organizational Theories,Organizational Effectiveness,Systems Approach,Academic Achievement,High School Equivalency Programs

The authors of this monograph assert that by assisting school systems to more closely resemble &quot;high reliability&quot; organizations (HROs) that already exist in other industries and benchmarking against top-performing education systems from around the globe, America's school systems can transform themselves from compliance-driven bureaucracies to world-class organizations. This issue of &quot;Noteworthy&quot; explains that providing a &quot;best in the world&quot; education involves knowing &quot;what works extremely well&quot; and delivering it with remarkable reliability. Stringfield, Reynolds, and Schaffer focus on methods for improving the reliability of educational reform efforts. Bellamy describes the distinctive organizational accomplishments of HROs, the two modes in which successful HRO leaders operate, and the areas where HRO principles do and do not transfer well to education practice and leadership. Chapters in this monograph are: (1) Introduction: Becoming the &quot;Best in the World&quot; at Educating Our Students (James H. Eck); (2) Towards Highly Reliable, High-Quality Public Schooling (Sam Springfield and Eugene Schaffer); (3) High Reliability Leadership for Educational Change (G. Thomas Bellamy); and (4) Best in the World: High Performance with High Reliability (James H. Eck). (Contains 1 table, 9 figures, and 17 footnotes.)
Transfer Incentives for High-Performing Teachers: Final Results from a Multisite Randomized Experiment. Executive Summary. NCEE 2014-4004
Author: Glazerman, Steven
Date: 2013-11-00
Type: Reports - Descriptive
Subjects: Teacher Effectiveness,Incentives,Teacher Transfer,Educational Policy,Intervention,Scores,Low Achievement,Achievement Gains,Teacher Competencies,Teacher Influence,Teacher Recruitment,Mathematics Achievement,Reading Achievement,Program Effectiveness,Teacher Persistence,Disadvantaged Schools,Program Implementation,Elementary Schools,Middle Schools,Teamwork,Teacher Placement,Principals,Student Placement,Mentors,Cost Effectiveness,Teacher Attendance,School Districts,Resource Allocation,Standardized Tests,At Risk Students

One way to improve struggling schools' access to effective teachers is to use selective transfer incentives. Such incentives offer bonuses for the highest-performing teachers to move into schools serving the most disadvantaged students. In this report, we provide evidence from a randomized experiment that tested whether such a policy intervention can improve student test scores and other outcomes in low-achieving schools. The intervention, known to participants as the Talent Transfer Initiative (TTI), was implemented in 10 school districts in seven states. The highest-performing teachers in each district--those who ranked in roughly the top 20 percent within their subject and grade span in terms of raising student achievement year after year (an approach known as value added)--were identified. These teachers were offered $20,000, paid in installments over a two-year period, if they transferred into and remained in designated schools that had low average test scores. The main findings from the study include: (1) The transfer incentive successfully attracted high value-added teachers to fill targeted vacancies; (2) The transfer incentive had a positive impact on test scores (math and reading) in targeted elementary classrooms; and (3) The transfer incentive had a positive impact on teacher-retention rates during the payout period; retention of the high-performing teachers who transferred was similar to their counterparts in the fall immediately after the last payout.(Contains 5 figures, 1 box, and 5 footnotes.) [For the full report, see ED544269.]
Charter 2.0--Charter Schools and Public Education in Colorado. Viewpoint
Author: Griffin, Jim
Date: 2013-00-00
Type: Guides - Non-Classroom
Subjects: Charter Schools,Elementary Secondary Education,Educational Administration,Educational Change,Educational Policy,National Standards,Academic Standards,Accountability,Governance,Educational Legislation,Public Officials,Policy Formation

&quot;Viewpoint&quot; is a series of articles written by leaders in charter school authorizing and the education reform movement. The series is meant to foster thoughtful discussion and idea exchange on current topics and emerging trends in the sector. This paper examines the various policy and implementation levers available to inject affirmative solutions into the charter school landscape, along with some important guiding principles that serve as a backdrop to the development of policy and programs. Charter 2.0 is a combination of public policy and private-sector support, all designed to incorporate into our system the various lessons learned during the past 17 years. The basic formula is as follows: (1) Ensure a pervasive background of nationally recognized industry standards applicable to charter schools and charter authorizers; (2) Ensure the responsibility for implementation and enforcement of these standards is placed firmly in the hands of the party best suited for the role; and (3) Ensure all the parties involved have the right support.