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].

Supporting Students with High-Incidence Disabilities in U.S. Schools: National Findings from the American Educator Panels

Supporting Students with High-Incidence Disabilities in U.S. Schools: National Findings from the American Educator Panels.  RAND Corporation. Laura Stelitano, Rachel Perera, William R. Johnston. June 27, 2019.

The extent to which students with high-incidence disabilities (SWDs) are afforded effective and specialized instruction depends, in large part, upon the support their teachers receive. Certain teacher supports are essential for effectively serving SWDs, including a supportive school culture, collaboration and planning time, resources and training, and access to data and tools for using data. In this report, we explore the extent to which these supports are available to general and special educators, based on the results of the Measurement, Learning, and Improvement Survey to the RAND American Teacher Panel, a survey administered to a nationally representative sample of teachers. While research has established the importance of these supports, little is known about teachers’ access to them on the nationwide level and about how school-level factors (such as grade levels served, percentage of minority students, and poverty level) influence the prevalence of teacher supports. Overall, teachers’ access to support for serving SWDs varied by type of support, teacher role, and school level. General educators and teachers at the high school level were significantly less likely to report having sufficient access to support. Planning and release time were among the supports least often deemed sufficient by both general and special educators. [Note: contains copyrighted material].

[PDF format, 24 pages].

Time for Change? Educators’ Perceptions of Discipline Reform in Their Schools

Time for Change? Educators’ Perceptions of Discipline Reform in Their Schools. RAND Corporation.  Rachel Perera, Courtney Armstrong. June 13, 2019.

Beginning in the late 1980s, policymakers concerned about violence in schools began to enact “zero-tolerance” policies in districts and states across the country. These policies mandated the use of exclusionary discipline for a range of behaviors, including such less serious offenses as classroom disruption and dress code violations. The efficacy of exclusionary discipline has been challenged, given persistent concerns that schools’ safety and discipline policies and practices do not create a safe and supportive learning environment for all students; empirical evidence demonstrating persistent disparities in school discipline; and the negative consequences of harsh discipline practices on a number of student, teacher, and school outcomes. Over the last few years, the state policy landscape has begun to dramatically shift away from exclusionary discipline in response to both local and federal pressure. This American Educator Panels Data Note provides insight into teachers’ and principals’ perceptions of the need for discipline reform in their schools. [Note: contains copyrighted material].

[PDF format, 6 pages].

What We Know about Career and Technical Education in High School

What We Know about Career and Technical Education in High School. Brookings Institution. Brian A. Jacob. October 5, 2017

Career and technical education (CTE) has traditionally played an important role in U.S. secondary schools. The first federal law providing funding for vocational education was passed in 1917, even before education was compulsory in every state.

CTE encompasses a wide range of activities intended to simultaneously provide students with skills demanded in the labor market while preparing them for post-secondary degrees in technical fields. Activities include not only specific career-oriented classes, but also internships, apprenticeships and in-school programs designed to foster work readiness. [Note: contains copyrighted material].

[HTML format, various paging].

Later School Start Times in the U.S.: An Economic Analysis

Later School Start Times in the U.S.: An Economic Analysis. RAND Corporation. Marco Hafner, Martin Stepanek, Wendy M. Troxel. August 30, 2017.

Numerous studies have shown that later school start times are associated with positive student outcomes, including improvements in academic performance, mental and physical health, and public safety. While the benefits are well-documented in the literature, there is opposition against delaying school times across the U.S. A major argument is the claim that delaying school start times will result in significant additional costs due to changes in transportation, such as rescheduling bus routes. This study investigates the economic implications of later school start times by examining a policy experiment and its subsequent state-wide economic effects of a state-wide universal shift in school start times to 8:30 a.m.

Using a novel macroeconomic modelling approach, the study estimates changes in the economic performance of 47 U.S. states following a delayed school start time, which includes the benefits of higher academic performance of students and reduced car crash rates. The benefit-cost projections of this study suggest that delaying school start times is a cost-effective, population-level strategy which could have a significant impact on public health and the U.S. economy. From a policy perspective, the study’s findings demonstrate the significant economic gains resulting from the delay in school start times over a relatively short period of time following the adoption of the policy change. [Note: contains copyrighted material].

[PDF format, 57 pages, 1.07 MB].

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].

The Federal-State Higher Education Partnership: Lessons from Other Federal-State Partnerships

The Federal-State Higher Education Partnership: Lessons from Other Federal-State Partnerships. Urban Institute. Kristin D. Conklin, Sandy Baum. May 16, 2017

Lessons from federal-state partnerships in other public policy areas might inform efforts to strengthen the partnership in higher education. This paper looks to the forms of cooperation between these levels of government in transportation, housing, and elementary through secondary education as examples. The federal role should have clearly defined goals, including strengthening the social norm of equitable access to high quality postsecondary education. Preserving flexibility for the states is a critical component of effective federal policy. [Note: contains copyrighted material].

[PDF format, 25 pages, 292.37 KB].

Dropping Out and Clocking In: A Portrait of Teens Who Leave School Early and Work

Dropping Out and Clocking In: A Portrait of Teens Who Leave School Early and Work. Urban Institute. Molly M. Scott et al. April 15, 2015.

Graduating from high school is vital to young people’s life chances. Much of the current policy conversation around helping youth stay the course focuses on disconnected youth who are not in school or employed, but there is another group: youth who drop out and work. The brief uses data from the American Community Survey on 16- to 18-year-old youth to describe trends in early employment. The analyses show that young workers contribute substantially to their households, raising important questions about the economic role of youth and future approaches to dropout prevention. [Note: contains copyrighted material].

[PDF format, 13 pages, 252.85 KB].

Income-based Inequality in Educational Outcomes

Income-based Inequality in Educational Outcomes. National Bureau of Economic Research. John P. Papay et al. Web posted January 30, 2015.

The authors document large income-based gaps in educational attainments, including high-school graduation rates and college-going. They also show that income-related gaps in both educational credentials and academic skill have narrowed substantially over the past several years in Massachusetts. [Note: contains copyrighted material].

[PDF format, 44 pages, 1.47 MB].