RAND Research Topic: Disadvantaged Students

Divergent and Inequitable Teaching and Learning Pathways During (and Perhaps Beyond) the Pandemic

2021-05-27T03:00:00Z

This Data Note provides a picture of students' learning experiences in kindergarten through grade 12 schools that have adopted a variety of operational models (e.g., fully in-person, hybrid, fully remote) during the 2020–2021 school year.

Making Preschool Investments Count Through the American Families Plan

2021-06-03T15:00:00Z

The American Families Plan would address disparities in preschool access by adding $200 billion for high-quality preschool for all three- and four-year-olds. How can we make sure that this historic investment, if approved by Congress, counts?

Six Skills for Success

2022-06-30T08:30:00Z

The authors of this research identify a set of common skills among high-paying, growing occupations that do not require a bachelor's degree for possible incorporation into the National Guard Youth ChalleNGe program curriculum.

Developing Outcome Measures for the National Guard Youth ChalleNGe Program

2022-03-02T08:30:00Z

The National Guard Youth ChalleNGe is a residential program for youth experiencing difficulties in traditional high school. This capstone report describes some of RAND's research and analyses on the ChalleNGe program from late 2017 through mid-2020.

What Are the Skills Required to Obtain a Good Job?

2022-02-04T08:00:00Z

The authors of this report identify a set of common skills among high-paying, growing occupations that do not require a bachelor's degree and describe how to incorporate such broader skills into the National Guard Youth ChalleNGe program curriculum.

Evaluation of Delaware's Opportunity Funding and Student Success Block Grant Programs

2022-01-27T08:30:00Z

This is the second of three annual reports evaluating the implementation and effects of two Delaware funding programs for disadvantaged K–12 schools in the 2019–2020 to 2021–2022 school years: Opportunity Funding and the Student Success Block Grant.

Changes in School Composition During the COVID-19 Pandemic

2022-01-19T08:15:00Z

The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic has exacerbated concerns about using school-aggregate test scores to monitor school performance. In this report, researchers investigate how changes to school composition may contaminate aggregate scores.

Summer for All

2021-11-10T08:30:00Z

In this eighth report in RAND's Summer Learning Series, the authors chronicle early efforts in four communities to create coordinated approaches to summer programming, noting their challenges, enablers, and early outcomes.

Expanding Charter School Capacity

2021-09-29T08:45:00Z

Researchers examine the expansion of Propel Schools, a small, regional charter school network in southwestern Pennsylvania, to describe the academic and behavioral experiences of continuing and expansion students from fall 2017 to spring 2020.

Benefits of Extracurricular Activities for Children

2021-06-09T08:45:00Z

This research note summarises the existing evidence on the benefits of extracurricular activities, how they can be used to support social inclusion, and how access for disadvantaged children can be improved.

Getting to Work on Summer Learning

2021-03-25T08:30:00Z

The authors distill lessons about implementing and improving summer learning programs gleaned from a six-year study in the five urban districts participating in the National Summer Learning Project.

How Does Corequisite Remediation Change Student Experiences?

2021-03-24T08:30:00Z

Corequisite remediation for non–college-ready students provides early opportunities to earn credit, more-intensive instruction, greater rigor, greater alignment, and increased opportunities to learn from peers.

Student Experiences in English Corequisite Remediation Versus a Standalone Developmental Education Course

2021-03-24T08:30:00Z

In this report, researchers use data from a randomized control trial at five community colleges in Texas to examine contrasts in student experiences between corequisite remediation and standalone developmental education courses.

Evaluation of Delaware's Opportunity Funding and Student Success Block Grant Programs

2021-01-21T08:00:00Z

The authors examine the 2019-2020 implementation of two newly expanded Delaware weighted education funding programs, the Opportunity Fund and Student Success Block Grant, and emerging best practices, as reported by local education agency leaders.

Every Summer Counts

2020-12-17T09:15:00Z

This seventh report in a series presents longitudinal findings on the effectiveness of voluntary summer learning programs in five school districts. The authors also offer implications for policy on narrowing the achievement gap between students.

Designing and Sustaining Innovative High Schools

2020-12-17T09:00:00Z

In a five-year study, high schools adopted a set of design principles intended to prepare students for college and careers.

Building and Sustaining Innovative High Schools

2020-12-17T09:00:00Z

The Opportunity by Design initiative gave support to small schools of choice to adopt a set of design principles intended to prepare students for college and careers. This final report describes the methods and findings of the five-year study.

Benchmarks for Success

2020-12-10T08:45:00Z

National Guard Youth ChalleNGe is a residential intervention program to help teens who have dropped out of high school. Sites can compare the outcomes of their cadets with this set of population benchmarks derived from public datasets.

This School Year Could Be Another Casualty of the Pandemic

2020-11-16T08:00:00Z

Most U.S. schools are providing either fully remote or hybrid instruction as the pandemic continues to limit students' learning. Students are less prepared for grade-level work and those from vulnerable populations are most at risk of falling behind. Some 80 percent of teachers report burnout.

When Financial Aid Is Scarce

2020-10-09T09:30:00Z

This study estimates the effects of the Wisconsin Grant, a state-funded, need-based financial aid program for Wisconsin residents attending in-state colleges and universities.