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Education Curriculum

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The set of courses that a school, university, or other educational institution offers—and, at times, requires for graduation—constitutes its curriculum; these courses may be determined at the school or district level, but more frequently they are influenced by educational legislation and policy. RAND has investigated and advised policymakers on curriculum development in schools worldwide, including helping to redesign the entire curriculum for Qatar's K-12 schools and universities.

Report

How Teachers Use Civics Instructional Materials

Jul 13, 2020

Teachers' instructional materials provide a window into civic education in schools. Where are public-school social studies teachers getting most of their instructional materials? And how are they using these materials to teach civics?
Report

How Are Educators Teaching and Leading Through the Pandemic?

Jun 22, 2020

U.S. teachers and principals shifted quickly to support students with distance learning during the early weeks of the coronavirus crisis. But unfortunately, the pandemic is likely to make existing inequalities worse.

Explore Education Curriculum

Commentary

Building Support for Social and Emotional Learning: Having an Evidence Base Is Critical

Students need more than proficiency in reading or math. Perseverance, active listening, empathy and good decision-making help kids succeed both academically and in life. Schools need access to high-quality social and emotional learning assessment measures to ensure programs will improve student learning and their futures.

Dec 14, 2017
Research Brief

How the ESSA Can Support Social and Emotional Learning

An evaluation of social and emotional learning (SEL) interventions can help states determine how they can use ESSA funding to support SEL programs and which ones meet ESSA evidence requirements.

Dec 5, 2017
Report

Social and Emotional Learning Interventions Under the ESSA

A review of social and emotional learning interventions for K–12 students can help education policymakers identify those that satisfy ESSA evidence requirements and meet their local needs.

Dec 5, 2017
Research Brief

Big Lift Participation and School Entry Indicators: Early Findings

This brief summarizes results from RAND's descriptive analysis of participation rates and school readiness outcomes for children served in the first year of the Big Lift collective impact initiative.

Nov 28, 2017
Report

Big Lift Participation and School Entry Indicators: Findings for the 2016–2017 Kindergarten Class

The Big Lift is a learning initiative extending from preschool to third grade in San Mateo County, California. This report provides descriptive analyses of participation in Big Lift programs along with measures of kindergarten-readiness at school entry.

Nov 28, 2017
Report

How to Sustain Summer Learning Programs

Summer learning programs can provide academic support to students who need it the most. But they tend to be threatened when budgets are tight. Can integrating these programs into school districts' core priorities and operations improve their sustainability?

Oct 23, 2017
Report

What Do U.S. Teachers Think of State Standards and Assessments?

Nearly all U.S. math and English teachers support the use of state standards for instruction. But the majority do not support using state tests to measure student mastery of those standards.

Oct 4, 2017
Commentary

Giving State Educators What They Need to Stand Apart—and Together

States have an opportunity to provide better instructional materials to teachers hungry for more resources aligned with state standards. By focusing on what they agree students should learn, states could work together to build curricula and shore up other key supports.

Apr 4, 2017
Report

Creating an Indicator of K–12 Classroom Coverage of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) Content and Practices

This report explores ways of measuring classroom coverage of content and practices in the Common Core State Standards for math and the Next Generation Science Standards to improve science, technology, engineering, and math education.

Mar 28, 2017
Report

Use of Open Educational Resources in an Era of Common Standards

EngageNY Curricula is commonly used in New York—in part due to educators' desire to help students meet state standards. Survey data shows EngageNY gives students more opportunities to engage in standards-aligned practices compared with other materials.

Mar 27, 2017
Report

Quality and impact of Centre-based Early Childhood Education and Care

The quality of Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) is key in its effectiveness in improving outcomes in children. We investigated what good ECEC quality consists of, and how it can be improved.

Nov 4, 2016
News Release

Teachers in Louisiana Are More Likely to Teach to State Standards Than Teachers in Other States

Louisiana teachers are more likely to consult classroom resources that address their state standards, and they report teaching and thinking about instruction in ways that differ from the norms seen among teachers in other states.

Oct 13, 2016
Report

Louisiana Teachers Think About and Implement State Standards

State education leaders' efforts to align instruction with standards appear to be making a difference. Louisiana teachers regularly consult classroom resources that address state standards, and are teaching in ways that differ from the norms in other states.

Oct 13, 2016
Report

Mathematics Audit of the DoDEA Schools: 2014–2015

This report is an audit of the then-current Department of Defense Education Activity mathematics program, built around standards established in 2009, to help prepare for a transition to Common Core State Standards, which began in 2014--2015.

Aug 10, 2016
Commentary

Inspiring Better Teacher Planning and Instruction or Just Adding Noise?

Teachers can and should have the freedom to select and develop at least some of their own instructional resources. But whether sites like Amazon Inspire will actually save teachers time and help them find high-quality resources is up for debate.

Jul 20, 2016
Journal Article

Detracking and Tracking Up: Mathematics Course Placements in California Middle Schools, 2003–2013

Between 2003 and 2013, the proportion of California eighth graders enrolled in algebra or a more advanced course nearly doubled to 65%. In this article, we consider the organizational processes that accompanied this curricular intensification.

Jun 1, 2016
Commentary

Technology Is Only Part of Personalized Learning

The concept of personalized learning has gained favor in recent years, partly because new technology applications help to facilitate it. But those who characterize this instructional approach as “students just using computers or other devices” are greatly oversimplifying it.

Mar 4, 2016
Journal Article

Academic Civic Mindedness and Model Citizenship in the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme

This study uses interview and survey methods to describe the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Programme's (DP) development of students' "academic civic mindedness" and "model citizenship" at four public schools in California.

Feb 22, 2016
Report

Evaluation of the Regional Choice Initiative

This evaluation describes the Regional Choice Initiative (RCI), a large-scale initiative in 17 school districts in Pennsylvania. The RCI sought to expand school choice and offer more-rigorous courses for students in grades 7 to 12.

Jan 8, 2016
Commentary

Strengthening Our Democracy Starts in School

The teaching of civics and other social studies courses has hit hard times in most states, driven in part by accountability systems that reward schools for math and reading scores. Yet civic education is critical to the stability of our democracy and seems warranted now more than ever.

Dec 17, 2015

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RAND Topic:
Education Curriculum

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