RAND's research on pre-K, K-12, and higher education covers issues such as assessment and accountability, choice-based and standards-based school reform, vocational training, and the value of arts education and policy in sustaining communities and promoting a well-rounded community.
COMMENTARY
"Where are the moderate voices from the Arab world?" This common lament often leads to nostalgic evocations of the Golden Age of Islam, write Cynthia P. Schneider and Nadia Oweidat.
RESEARCH BRIEF
RAND researchers conducted a three-year study of New York City's promotion policy, using interviews, case studies, student surveys, and demographic and test score data to determine its effects on the outcomes of 5th-grade students held to the policy.
REPORT
In this summary of the efforts to reform Qatar University, the authors describe the motivation for reform, the design of the reform agenda, and the early stages of the implementation effort, with an eye toward identifying the challenges that remain.
REPORT
Effective counterinsurgency is dependent on understanding the local population. A survey of those living in Iraq's Anbar Province (once one of the country's most violent areas), reveals both the many improvements that have occurred, as well as the extent to which these Iraqis have suffered from the effects of war.
RESEARCH BRIEF
Describes the effort, begun in 2003, to reform Qatar University, including the impetus for reform, the design and implementation of the reform agenda, and a review of challenges that have been overcome and those that remain.
REPORT
Many analysts have examined the media that violent extremists use to communicate their core messages. Far less research, however, has been devoted to the growing body of creative works produced by Arab authors and artists that counter the intellectual and ideological underpinnings of violent extremism.
REPORT
Evaluates the long-term impacts of AmeriCorps service on participants, particularly in the areas of civic engagement, future volunteerism, appreciation of diversity, and a number of other job and life skills.
RESEARCH BRIEF
Describes the effort, begun in 2003, to reform Qatar University, including the impetus for reform, the design and implementation of the reform agenda, and a review of challenges that have been overcome and those that remain.
REPORT
In 2003–2004, the New York City Department of Education (NYCDOE) implemented a new promotion policy for 3rd-grade students, which was later extended to 5th, 7th, and 8th graders. NYCDOE asked RAND to conduct an independent longitudinal evaluation to provide evidence of the program's impact on 5th graders. This report, one in a series documenting the results of the study, identifies and reviews the literature on grade retention.
REPORT
In 2003–2004, the New York City Department of Education (NYCDOE) implemented a new promotion policy for 3rd-grade students, which was later extended to 5th, 7th, and 8th graders. This report, one in a series, identifies lessons learned about policy design and implementation through interviews with top-level administrators who oversee promotion and retention policies in states and districts with K–8 policies and programs that…
RESEARCH BRIEF
Describes a method that institutions can use to develop their own standards for scores on the Collegiate Learning Assessment, which measures students' critical thinking skills.
REPORT
The Collegiate Learning Assessment (CLA) is a measure of how much students' critical thinking improves after attending college or university. This report illustrates how institutions can set their own standards on the CLA using a method that is appropriate for the CLA's unique characteristics.
RESEARCH BRIEF
Describes RAND's evaluation of the progress made in the first years of Qatar's K-12 education reform.
RESEARCH BRIEF
Describes RAND's evaluation of the progress made in the first years of Qatar's K-12 education reform.
PERIODICAL
A section on U.S. health care reform accompanies features on piracy, education priorities, emerging technologies, and Arkansas antismoking programs; other stories discuss climate change, parolees, oil risks, Mexican security, and global drug policies.
REPORT
The RAND Frederick S. Pardee Center for Longer Range Global Policy and the Future Human Condition recently hosted a workshop that gave analysts and policymakers from many countries a collaborative opportunity to explore new methods and tools that can help improve long-term decisionmaking.
JOURNAL ARTICLE
Using two measures of job opportunities -- local unemployment rates and the percentage of local workers employed in jobs that require a bachelor's degree -- I find support for the warehouse hypothesis.
RESEARCH BRIEF
This research brief summarizes the development of a standards-based student assessment system in Qatar, lessons for policymakers in Qatar and elsewhere, and challenges in aligning the assessment with future changes in the curriculum standards.
PROJECT
RAND Gulf States, created to assist in the long-term recovery efforts in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama following Hurricane Katrina, has launched an in-depth study due out in 2010. The Displaced New Orleans Residents Survey will examine the current location, well-being and plans of former residents of the city.
COMMENTARY
Alabama has made significant economic progress in recent decades, attracting car manufacturers and new industrial development. The state now has an opportunity to address some systemic challenges in education, health care, and workforce development to be competitive in a global economy, writes Melissa Flournoy.
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