Building and Sustaining Innovative High Schools: Findings from the Opportunity by Design Study

Building and Sustaining Innovative High Schools: Findings from the Opportunity by Design Study. RAND Corporation. Elizabeth D. Steiner et al. December 17, 2020

The Carnegie Corporation of New York’s (CCNY) Opportunity by Design (ObD) initiative provided support for 16 small schools of choice in seven large, urban districts across the United States to adopt a set of design principles intended to ensure students are prepared for college and careers. CCNY engaged the RAND Corporation in 2014 to conduct a comprehensive study of the ObD initiative. This final report summarizes implementation and outcomes findings from this five-year study and is intended to provide lessons and implementation guidance for the field.

The authors estimate the effects of the ObD initiative on student academic, behavioral, and college-readiness outcomes and describe implementation of innovative instructional practices (personalization of learning, mastery-based instruction, and positive youth development) in the final year of the initiative. Enablers of implementation included alignment of school and district grading policies in some districts and autonomy from district curriculum and professional development (PD) requirements. Barriers to implementation in ObD schools included limited district support for selecting or developing curriculum and PD materials and inflexible district policies.

The study compared ObD teachers’ instructional practices to those of high school teachers nationally. ObD teachers reported more extensive use of instructional practices related to mastery-based learning, personalization, and positive youth development.This research did not find much evidence that ObD’s principles-based design process and supports led to more effective schools, but limitations of the study design and available data may not have adequately captured ObD’s effects. [Note: contains copyrighted material].

[PDF format, 78 pages].

Growing Teachers from Within: Implementation, Impact, and Cost of an Alternative Teacher Preparation Program in Three Urban School Districts

Growing Teachers from Within: Implementation, Impact, and Cost of an Alternative Teacher Preparation Program in Three Urban School Districts. RAND Corporation.  Julia H. Kaufman et al. September 29, 2020.

TNTP, an organization committed to ending educational inequities by promoting the recruitment, training, and retention of high-quality teachers and school leaders, implemented its Teacher Effectiveness and Certification (TEACh) initiative in three urban school districts. Through TEACh, TNTP works with school districts to develop a within-district process to recruit, prepare, and certify teacher candidates, as well as hire and support them in their first year. As part of an evaluation of this initiative, RAND investigated each district program’s implementation and costs, the effects of TEACh on the recruitment and retention of teachers, and the relative performance of those teachers. This is the final report for that evaluation. [Note: contains copyrighted material].

[PDF format, 65 pages].

Illustrating the Promise of Community Schools: An Assessment of the Impact of the New York City Community Schools Initiative

Illustrating the Promise of Community Schools: An Assessment of the Impact of the New York City Community Schools Initiative. RAND Corporation. William R. Johnston et al. January 28, 2020.

With the launch of the New York City Community Schools Initiative (NYC-CS) in 2014, the New York City Department of Education (NYCDOE) has increased its focus on the implementation of a holistic strategy of education reform to address the social consequences of poverty as a means to improving student outcomes. NYC-CS is a strategy to organize resources in schools and share leadership among stakeholders so that academics, health and wellness, youth development, and family engagement are integrated into the fabric of each school. New York City is implementing this strategy at a scale unmatched nationally.
In this study, the authors assessed the impact of the NYC-CS through the 2017–2018 school year. The authors assessed the effects along seven outcome domains and explored the extent to which there is heterogeneity in programmatic impact based on student- and school-level characteristics. The authors leveraged innovative quasi-experimental methodology to determine whether students in the community schools are performing better than they would be had their schools not been designated as Community Schools.
The findings of this report will contribute to the emerging evidence base on the efficacy of the community school strategy and will be useful for other school district– and state-level policymakers interested in developing or refining similar interventions that support students’ and communities’ academic, social, and emotional well-being. [Note: contains copyrighted material].

[PDF format, 105 pages].

Investing in Successful Summer Programs: A Review of Evidence Under the Every Student Succeeds Act

Investing in Successful Summer Programs: A Review of Evidence Under the Every Student Succeeds Act.  RAND Corporation.  Jennifer Sloan McCombs et al. June 5, 2019.

Research evidence suggests that summer breaks contribute to income-based achievement and opportunity gaps for children and youth. However, summertime can also be used to provide programs that support an array of goals for children and youth, including improved academic achievement, physical health, mental health, social and emotional well-being, the acquisition of skills, and the development of interests.

This report is intended to provide practitioners, policymakers, and funders current information about the effectiveness of summer programs designed for children and youth entering grades K–12. Policymakers increasingly expect that the creation of and investment in summer programs will be based on research evidence. Notably, the 2015 Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) directs schools and districts to adopt programs that are supported by research evidence if those programs are funded by specific federal streams. [Note: contains copyrighted material].

[PDF format, 162 pages].

What Other States Can Learn from Louisiana’s Ambitious Efforts to Reshape Its Education System

What Other States Can Learn from Louisiana’s Ambitious Efforts to Reshape Its Education System. RAND Corporation.  Matthew D. Baird et al. June 11, 2019.

Historically, the state of Louisiana has earned low marks when it comes to K–12 academic achievement. Low kindergarten readiness rates, low national assessment scores, low college attainment rates, and high unemployment rates among high school graduates have defined the state’s education system for decades. Since 2012, however, the Louisiana Department of Education has taken bold strides toward making systemic shifts in the state’s education system. Some changes—such as restructuring the early childhood education system and graduation requirements for high school students—have been extensive. Others—such as changes to curricula for English language arts (ELA), mathematics, social studies, and science—have been structurally modest but have big implications for teaching and learning. Regardless of their scope and area of focus, all reforms have been designed with one goal in mind: to improve outcomes for all Louisiana public school students. [Note: contains copyrighted material].

[PDF format, 8 pages].

Getting to Work on Summer Learning: Recommended Practices for Success

Getting to Work on Summer Learning: Recommended Practices for Success, 2nd Ed. Rand Corporation. Heather L. Schwartz et al. November 4, 2018

 The RAND Corporation’s six-year study of the National Summer Learning Project culminates in this final report about district implementation of summer learning programs and presents the best available guidance about how to establish and sustain them. [Note: contains copyrighted material].

 [PDF format, 90 pages].

 

Changes in What Teachers Know and Do in the Common Core Era: American Teacher Panel Findings from 2015 to 2017

Changes in What Teachers Know and Do in the Common Core Era: American Teacher Panel Findings from 2015 to 2017. RAND Corporation. Julia H. Kaufman et al. September 27, 2018

 RAND Corporation researchers use data from surveys of the American Teacher Panel in 2015, 2016, and 2017 to provide evidence of change in teachers’ use of instructional materials and knowledge of state standards and standards-aligned practices. [Note: contains copyrighted material].

 [PDF format, 40 pages].

Results from the Teach For America 2017 National Principal Survey: School Leader Perspectives on Induction, Support, and School Partnerships

Results from the Teach For America 2017 National Principal Survey: School Leader Perspectives on Induction, Support, and School Partnerships. RAND Corporation.   Amanda F. Edelman, Rachel Perera, Jonathan Schweig. January 17, 2018

 Teach For America (TFA) recruits, selects, and trains recent college graduates and professionals to teach for a two-year commitment in high-needs schools across the United States. This report describes the findings from TFA’s 2017 National Principal Survey, which is administered biennially to all partner principals currently employing TFA teachers (called corps members) in their schools. Nearly 1,100 principals across the United States who work with TFA corps members completed the 2017 National Principal Survey. [Note: contains copyrighted material].

 [PDF format, 117 pages, 655.29 KB].

The Value of Out-of-School Time Programs

The Value of Out-of-School Time Programs. RAND Corporation. Jennifer Sloan McCombs, Anamarie Whitaker, Paul Youngmin Yoo. October 23, 2017.

To better understand the value and effectiveness of out-of-school-time (OST) programs, RAND researchers examined programs through the lenses of content, dosage (the hours of content provided), and outcomes measured, focusing on rigorous (i.e., experimental or quasi-experimental) large-scale evaluations and meta-analyses. The overall conclusion is that OST programs are generally effective at producing the primary outcomes that would be expected based on their programming. However, the primary benefits of such programs are often understudied or underreported. When making funding decisions, federal, state, and local governments and private foundations should consider all the benefits that programs provide to youth and families and emphasize program quality. [Note: contains copyrighted material].

[PDF format, 22 pages, 262.27 KB].

Dual Credit Education in Texas: Interim Report

Dual Credit Education in Texas: Interim Report. RAND Corporation. Trey Miller et al. August 28, 2017.

Dual credit (DC) education programs — delivered through partnerships between high schools and colleges and universities — offer high school students the option to take college-level courses that simultaneously award them college and high school credit. In Texas, policymakers, K–12 and college and university administrators, and the public have sought to better understand the extent to which DC education programs boost higher education access and completion. Specifically, these groups are looking for ways to identify whether reforms are needed to maximize the benefits of DC programs and minimize the concerns around them.

This report shares findings from Phase I of a two-year study that examines DC programs in Texas. It provides an initial perspective on the accessibility, diversity, quality, and efficiency of DC education programs in Texas. It also proposes areas of DC education to investigate in the second phase of the study. [Note: contains copyrighted material].

[PDF format, 122 pages, 888.99 KB].