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.
Many factors contribute to a student's academic performance, but research suggests that, among school-related factors, teachers matter most. What's less clear is how to measure an individual teacher's effectiveness. A new RAND Education website features fact sheets, blog posts, research briefs, and more on this important issue.
Ten current and former African first ladies joined former U.S. first lady Laura Bush and Cherie Blair, wife of the former U.K. prime minister, today at a Pardee RAND Graduate School-organized forum focused on becoming more effective leaders.
In an effort to look beyond the 2012 U.S. election and promote "farsighted leadership in a shortsighted world," the latest edition of the RAND Corporation's magazine offers commentaries intended to transcend partisan rhetoric and foster policies that both presidential candidates could well accept.
Today's public policymakers have a unique opportunity to shape the future, but only if they focus on putting ideas into action and "get stuff done," said Robert B. Zoellick, the 11th president of the World Bank Group, at the Pardee RAND Graduate School commencement on June 23, 2012.
Most California school districts with new flexibility about how to spend $4.5 billion in education funds opted to move most of the money into their general funds to balance budgets and avoid teacher layoffs.
If prevention researchers build programs with developmentally relevant content, and provide this content in an engaging, confidential, and non-judgmental way, it can help middle school-aged children avoid alcohol.
A New York City program designed to improve student performance through school-based financial incentives for teachers did not improve student achievement, most likely because it did not change teacher behavior and the conditions needed to motivate staff were not achieved.
The loss of knowledge and educational skills during the summer months is cumulative over the course of a student's career and further widens the achievement gap between low- and upper-income students.
California school districts -- wielding new fiscal flexibility granted by state lawmakers -- cut deeply into several popular programs to balance local budgets, according to a study of 10 diverse districts released today.
Expanding measures of school performance beyond mathematics and English language arts will give educators better information when evaluating the academic achievements of schools.
"Darleen Opfer has excelled as a teacher, working with policymakers, and in academia, where she has explored education policy and school improvement," said RAND President and CEO James A. Thomson.
Data on the experiences of student veterans and campus administrators during the first year of the Post-9/11 GI Bill.
Coordinating the work of the many different institutions involved in after-school activities -- including schools, nonprofits and municipal agencies like parks and libraries -- holds the promise of making programs better and more accessible to urban children and teens who need them.
Middle school students in the United States feel less positive about learning conditions and report more physical and emotional problems at their schools than their peers in 11 other nations, according to a RAND Corporation study that highlights challenges facing American middle schools.
Community-Based Drug Treatment Programs Can Help Youths Curb Drug Use, Improve Mental Health.
Congress and the Obama administration should use the upcoming reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 to promote more consistent and rigorous academic standards across states, as well as more consistent and relevant teacher qualification requirements.
As the nation of Qatar reformed its education system from 2005 to 2007, teachers at new independent schools worked together to develop curricular contents that addressed new international curriculum standards in key subjects, applied significantly more student-centered teaching methods and provided more challenging learning environments.
The New York City Department of Education's test-based promotion and retention policy, which identifies and provides support for struggling students, has demonstrated positive effects for student achievement in fifth grade that continue into seventh grade.
California can improve its early childhood education system in an era of fiscal crisis and lay the foundation for improving access and quality in the future when more resources are available.
While the number of charter schools continues to grow, debate continues about whether charter schools provide a better education experience than traditional public schools. Proponents contend that charter schools expand educational choices for students, improve student achievement and provide much-needed competition to public schools.
The first multi-dimensional effort to quantify the disparities faced by African-American and Latino boys and men in California across a broad spectrum of health and social factors provides a disquieting outlook for their lives.
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