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Elementary Education

Elementary education comprises the period from when a student enters school, generally around the age of 5 or 6, until the student moves on to middle or secondary school, around the age of 12 or 13. RAND research in the area includes school reform, the role and effectiveness of teachers and school administration, and the increasing use of private-sector school management.

Research Brief

Research Brief

The Big Lift Preschool, Two Years In: What Have We Learned So Far?

The Big Lift preschool-third-grade initiative aims to boost children's reading proficiency. This second in a series of descriptive analyses shares follow-up data on 2016-2017 kindergarten class participants and initial data on 2017-2018 participants.

Dec 12, 2018
Report

Report

DoD STARBASE: Improved Measures for Participation, Outreach, and Impact

The Department of Defense's STARBASE program offers a curriculum in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics for students in underserved areas of the United States. This study focuses on the students served and STARBASE's outreach efforts.

Oct 30, 2018
Report

Report

The Big Lift Descriptive Analyses: Kindergarten Readiness and Elementary School Reading Outcomes for the 2016–2017 and 2017–2018 Kindergarten Classes

The Big Lift initiative aims to boost children's reading proficiency in San Mateo County, California. This second in a series of descriptive analyses shares follow-up data on the 2016-2017 kindergarten class and initial data for the 2017-2018 class.

Oct 10, 2018
Research Brief

Raising the Bar for Student Outcomes in Louisiana

Historically, Louisiana's education system has ranked near the bottom nationwide. However, early evidence suggests that the state's reform efforts may be helping to reverse this trend. What can other states learn from Louisiana as they examine their respective education policies and practices?

Aug 3, 2018
Research Brief

How Does Repeating a Grade Impact High School Persistence and Behavior?

New York City grade retention policies had little influence on student misbehavior and absenteeism. But retained students averaged fewer high school credits. Retention in earlier grades appears less likely to produce disadvantageous outcomes.

Jul 30, 2018
Report

Louisiana's Strategies for Improving Student Outcomes

Louisiana has received attention for some of its new education policies and promising early results. Its strategies for improving education quality and student outcomes offer lessons for schools nationwide.

Jun 28, 2018
Report

The Big Lift Implementation Study: Final Report

The Big Lift, a learning initiative extending from preschool to third grade initiative in San Mateo County, aims to increase third grade reading proficiency in the county. As part of a Big Lift evaluation, this report focused on collective impact design and activity pillars.

Jun 25, 2018
Journal Article

Journal Article

Student Writing Accepted as High-Quality Responses to Analytic Text-Based Writing Tasks

This study investigated teachers' assessment of their students' writing in response to analytic text-based writing tasks.

Feb 8, 2018
Journal Article

Journal Article

Written Feedback to Support Students' Higher Level Thinking About Texts in Writing

Writing tasks designed to elicit higher level thinking are best regarded as writing-to-learn opportunities that can support reading comprehension while meeting the new expectations of analytic writing.

Dec 1, 2017
Research Brief

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

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
Research Brief

Dual-Language Immersion Programs Raise Student Achievement in English

Portland Public Schools students randomly assigned to dual-language immersion programs outperformed their peers on state reading tests by 13 percent in grade 5 and by 22 percent in grade 8. Students gained proficiency in a second language with no drop in their performance in math or science.

Nov 3, 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

The Urgent Need for an Education Plan in Mosul

In addition to restoring Mosul's damaged infrastructure, efforts to stabilize the city must include a plan to rebuild education. Students need to make up years of missed K-12 and university education, and ISIS indoctrination needs to be undone.

Mar 27, 2017
Journal Article

Journal Article

Making a CASE: Improving Use of Text Evidence in Students' Writing

The authors present four criteria to focus on, using the acronym CASE, when helping students develop the skill of using text evidence to support claims in their writing.

Mar 13, 2017
Journal Article

Journal Article

Text-based Writing Assignments for College Readiness

The authors describe the features of text-based writing assignments that increase students' reading comprehension and analytic writing skills and put students on the path to college readiness.

Mar 13, 2017
Report

Education of EU Migrant Children in EU Member States

There are clear disparities in educational performance between EU migrants and non-migrants and expected life chance outcomes. Member states are implementing a number of measures with promising results. Building a strong evidence base could help determine what works when responding to EU-migrant children's educational needs.

Nov 16, 2016
Report

What Are Teachers' and Principals' Concerns About New State Tests?

Many U.S. states have recently made major changes to their K-12 testing programs. The media have reported growing dissatisfaction with the amount of testing and the use of tests in high-stakes decisions. So what concerns do educators have?

Oct 18, 2016
Essay

Personalized Learning: The Latest Buzz in Classroom Instruction

Students in personalized learning classrooms made greater gains in math and reading than their peers in other schools. But there are barriers to fully personalized learning, including rigid state standards and time demands on teachers.

Aug 22, 2016

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RAND Topic:
Elementary Education

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