Rebecca Herman

Going Forward, Looking Back: Lessons from School Improvement Grants

The Every Student Succeeds Act takes effect this fall, returning significant power to states and local districts to set goals and prescribe strategies to lift achievement. As schools finalize their plans under the new law, they can learn from the shortcomings of School Improvement Grants.

How States and Districts Can Leverage the Every Student Succeeds Act to Improve School Leadership

The Every Student Succeeds Act provides states and districts with new chances to invest in school leadership. A review of interventions can serve as a starting point to enact relevant solutions and build the evidence base for what works.

Improving School Leadership: What Works

There is evidence that having strong school leaders is instrumental for improving the quality of teaching. But resource constraints and pressure to spend money directly on students have left interventions focused on principals largely overlooked. However, the new Every Student Succeeds Act may be changing the script.

Reauthorizing ESEA: What We Know and Where We Should Go with School Improvement

Federal policy should ensure that school improvement is a priority, that schools adopt proven reforms that fit the school context, and that schools and their districts are held accountable when federal resources are used for school improvement.

Report

Improving Instructor Hiring and Development at the Emergency Management Institute

The Emergency Management Institute is revising how it secures qualified, effective instructors. Researchers analyzed how instructors are hired and developed, pinpointed strengths and challenges, and identified best practices.

Report

Collaborating on University Principal Preparation Program Redesign: A Summary of Findings for University Principal Preparation Program Providers (Volume 3, Part 3)

University-based principal preparation programs (PPPs) prepare the majority of U.S. school principals. This targeted report shares findings from a study of an initiative to support improvements to PPPs, with an emphasis on findings for other PPPs.

Report

District Partnerships with University Principal Preparation Programs: A Summary of Findings for School District Leaders (Volume 3, Part 4)

This report shares findings from the RAND Corporation's five-year study of The Wallace Foundation's University Principal Preparation Initiative, with an emphasis on findings for school district leaders.

Report

State Partnerships with University Principal Preparation Programs: A Summary of Findings for State Policymakers (Volume 3, Part 5)

This report shares findings from the RAND Corporation's five-year study of The Wallace Foundation's University Principal Preparation Initiative, with an emphasis on findings for state policymakers.

Report

Redesigning University Principal Preparation Programs: A Systemic Approach for Change and Sustainability — Full Report (Volume 3, Part 1)

University-based principal preparation programs prepare the majority of U.S. school principals. This report described the methodology of and findings from a five-year study of an initiative designed to support improvements to such programs.

Report

Redesigning University Principal Preparation Programs: A Systemic Approach for Change and Sustainability — Report in Brief (Volume 3, Part 2)

University-based principal preparation programs prepare the majority of our country's school principals. This report shares findings from a five-year study of an initiative designed to support improvements to such programs.

Tool

School Turnaround Cost Analysis Tool

Some popular approaches to supporting low-performing schools include helping schools collect and use data to guide their planning. This tool helps education leaders assess potential costs of some of the more popular and research-supported approaches.

Report

Defense Security Cooperation University Expert Course of Instruction: Content, Design, Implementation

To develop an expert-level course of instruction for military and civilian security cooperation professionals, the authors of this report identify the needed knowledge and skills and the pedagogical methods that best cultivate them.

Report

Using State-Level Policy Levers to Promote Principal Quality: Lessons from Seven States Partnering with Principal Preparation Programs and Districts

The authors examine how seven states are using state-level policy levers to improve the quality of school principals.

Report

Optimizing the Contributions of Air Force Civilian STEM Workforce

RAND researchers reviewed existing academic and professional literature to gain insights into how organizations such as the Air Force should manage, support, and organize their civilian STEM workforce to best leverage talent and maximize performance.

Commentary

Improving 21st Century Skills in the U.S. Air Force

For a 21st century workforce, you need 21st century skills. The authors of this Perspective offer recommendations to the U.S. Air Force to use lessons learned in different sectors to develop a strategy for airmen to learn and use 21st century skills.

Report

Launching a Redesign of University Principal Preparation Programs: Partners Collaborate for Change: Executive Summary

The University Principal Preparation Initiative (UPPI) supports the redesign of principal preparation programs according to evidence-based principles and practices. This executive summary provides insight into the first year of UPPI implementation.

Report

Launching a Redesign of University Principal Preparation Programs: Partners Collaborate for Change

The University Principal Preparation Initiative (UPPI) supports the redesign of principal preparation programs according to evidence-based principles and practices. This report provides insight into the first year of UPPI implementation.

Tool

RAND School Leadership Intervention Evaluation Toolkit

This toolkit is a companion to School Leadership Interventions Under the Every Student Succeeds Act: An Evidence Review. The authors provide guidance and tools for designing and conducting evaluations of school leadership interventions.

Tool

Logic Models for Selecting, Designing, and Implementing Evidence-Based Leadership Interventions: Companion Guide to School Leadership Interventions Under the Every Student Succeeds Act

This guide describes six types of school leadership interventions, summarizes common components of evidence-based interventions, and unpacks the relationships between the intervention activities and student outcomes.

Report

School Leadership Interventions Under the Every Student Succeeds Act: Evidence Review: Updated and Expanded

This updated report presents a synthesis of the evidence base on school leadership interventions and describes the opportunities for supporting such interventions under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.

Report

Can the Air Force and Airlines Collaborate for Mutual Benefit? An Exploration of Pilot and Maintenance Workforce Options

This report explores ways the Air Force and commercial airlines could collaborate on issues related to their pilot and maintenance workforces by evaluating benefits, costs, and feasibility from the perspectives of both sides.

Report

Development of a K–12 Financial Education Curriculum Assessment Rubric

RAND researchers document the current state of the literature and advance a set of criteria for assessing the content, utility, quality, and efficacy of K-12 financial education curricula.

Tool

A Tool for Reviewing K–12 Financial Education Curricula

To help educators think about which curriculum to use, and to better understand the strengths and gaps in the curriculum currently being used, the RAND Corporation developed this tool for reviewing financial education curricula.