The challenge of transforming underperforming schools and improving student achievement drives RAND's commitment to education. RAND research on teachers and teaching explores a wide range of topics, including instructional practices, technology in the classroom, class size, teacher recruitment and retention, and teacher quality and effectiveness.
PERIODICAL
Andreas Schleicher of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development provides a global perspective on what drives high-performing educational systems.
PERIODICAL
Stories discuss world demographic trends, Afghan peace prospects, U.S. health care spending, California prisoner reentry, Latin American inequalities, global health, veterans' mental health, highway investments, teacher bonuses, and charter schools.
REPORT
Japanese translation of Support for Students Exposed to Trauma, including a series of teacher- or school counselor–led lessons aimed at reducing distress for middle school students who have been exposed to a traumatic life event. The program includes skill-building techniques geared toward changing maladaptive thoughts and promoting positive behaviors.
JOURNAL ARTICLE
This article examines what constitutes, contributes to, and is associated with high-quality coaches and coaching. Authors find that coaches generally held many of the qualifications recommended by state and national experts and principals and teachers rated their coaches highly on many indicators of quality. However, several common concerns about recruiting, retaining, and supporting high-quality coaches emerged.
JOURNAL ARTICLE
Child care studies that have examined links between teachers' qualifications and children's outcomes often ignore teachers' and children's transitions between classrooms at a center throughout the day and only take into account head teacher qualifications.
PROJECT
The Financial Literacy Center is developing and testing college curricula for financial literacy instruction, suitable for adult learners and pre-service K–8 teachers. The goal of this project is to educate as many young people and adults as possible in financial matters.
JOURNAL ARTICLE
The study relies on a survey of Ohio schools to ascertain information on vacancies for 2004-2005. The survey also collected information on principal perceptions of the impact of various school conditions and difficulty in hiring.
COMMENTARY
Motivation alone does not improve schools. Even if incentives inspire staff to improve practices or work together, educators may not have the capacity or resources to bring about improvement, writes Julie Marsh.
JOURNAL ARTICLE
Assesses the effect that missing data in student achievement records, and the assumption that such data are missing at random, have on value-added modeling approaches to using student achievement data to assess school and teacher performance.
MULTIMEDIA
In a TEDx presentation, Brian M. Stecher, Associate Director, RAND Education, suggests three steps we need to take to cultivate schools where students can thrive.
JOURNAL ARTICLE
The article concludes that to understand teacher learning scholars must adopt methodological practices that focus on explanatory causality and the reciprocal influences of all three subsystems.
NEWS RELEASE
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.
REPORT
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.
RESEARCH BRIEF
New York City's Schoolwide Performance Bonus Program did not improve student achievement at any grade level, perhaps in part because it provided no significant additional motivation beyond other accountability incentives.
JOURNAL ARTICLE
Results from a structural equation modeling process of 1,126 teacher survey responses in England show that schools have an orientation to learning that includes beliefs about learning, systems and supports for learning, and collective capacity for learning.
NEWS RELEASE
"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.
REPORT
A restructuring of the Ford Foundation's Collaborating for Education Reform Initiative yielded functioning collaboratives with varying abilities to meet their goals, depending on such factors as strong leadership and a positive funding environment.
RESEARCH BRIEF
Performance-based teacher evaluations should incorporate multiple measures of performance. Use of student test scores must support valid, reliable inferences. Evaluating teachers of nontested subjects/grades may require supplemental assessments.
JOURNAL ARTICLE
The analysis indicates that while the professional development of teachers in England is generally ineffectual and lacks school level systems and supports, the professional development and supports for professional learning by teachers in high performing schools display many of the characteristics associated with effective professional learning.
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