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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

Four Lessons Learned from Implementing a Social and Emotional Learning Program to Enhance School Safety

This brief describes the implementation of Tools for Life®, a social and emotional learning program, in elementary and middle schools in Jackson, Mississippi, and evaluates the program's effects on school climate and safety.

Mar 17, 2020
Journal Article

Journal Article

eRevis(ing): Students' Revision of Text Evidence Use in an Automated Writing Evaluation System

We investigate students' implementation of the feedback messages they received in an automated writing evaluation system (eRevise) that aims to improve students' use of text evidence in their writing.

Feb 26, 2020
Journal Article

Journal Article

Automated Scoring of Students' Use of Text Evidence in Writing

The authors describe an approach to using automated essay-scoring technologies to provide information about students' skills at marshaling text evidence in the upper elementary grades.

Feb 26, 2020
Journal Article

Journal Article

eRevise: Using Natural Language Processing to Provide Formative Feedback on Text Evidence Usage in Student Writing

This paper presents the design and first classroom evaluation of eRevise, an Automated Writing Evaluation system for improving students' ability to use text evidence - a dimension of writing that is important for college and career readiness.

Feb 26, 2020
Journal Article

Journal Article

The Organizational Landscape of Schools: School Employees' Conceptualizations of Organizations in Their Environment

Based on my analysis, I extend theory on the role of neighborhood organizations in creating overlap and connection between the school and the community and extend work on organizational members' sense-making about the organizational field.

Jan 24, 2020
Report

Report

The Big Lift Descriptive Analyses: Progress Across Three Kindergarten Classes

In this report, the authors present results describing early learning outcomes of children from three kindergarten classes who were eligible to participate in The Big Lift, a preschool-third-grade initiative that aims to boost reading proficiency.

Jan 13, 2020
Report

Report

Social and Emotional Learning, School Climate, and School Safety: A Randomized Controlled Trial Evaluation of Tools for Life® in Elementary and Middle Schools

This report describes the implementation of Tools for Life®, a social and emotional learning program, in elementary and middle schools in Jackson, Mississippi, and evaluates the program's effects on school climate and safety.

Jan 9, 2020
Multimedia

Raising the Bar: Louisiana's Strategies for Improving Student Outcomes

Louisiana has received recent attention for some of its new education policies and promising early results. This video provides an in-depth description of Louisiana's approach to improving student outcomes since 2012.

Dec 4, 2019
Journal Article

Promoting Youth Well-Being Through Health and Education: Insights and Opportunities

Although well-being frameworks that integrate education and health exist, few of them have been examined rigorously to reveal how both educational and health outcomes can be achieved together.

Nov 26, 2019
Report

Report

Putting Professional Learning to Work: What Principals Do with Their Executive Development Program Learning

This report presents findings from part of RAND's evaluation of the National Institute for School Leadership's Executive Development Program (EDP) for sitting school principals, focusing on how principals applied their EDP learning and coaching.

Oct 7, 2019
Journal Article

Journal Article

Digital Feedback in Primary Maths: Evaluation Report

This report evaluates the efficacy of a digital feedback programme designed to maximise the impact of teachers' feedback on pupil outcome.

Oct 1, 2019
Essay

Investing in Principals Helps Students Succeed

Hiring good principals is one of the most important things a district can do for its students, second only to hiring good teachers. Students whose schools participated in a principal pipeline initiative outperformed their peers by six percentage points on reading tests and nearly three points in math.

Jul 5, 2019
Report

Do Educators Have What They Need to Teach Students with Disabilities?

To serve students with high-incidence disabilities, teachers need a supportive school culture, collaboration and planning time, resources and training, access to data, and tools for using data. Survey data sheds light on the extent to which these supports are available to general and special educators in U.S. schools.

Jun 27, 2019
Multimedia

Principal Pipelines: A Feasible, Affordable, and Effective Way to Improve Schools

A recent RAND report found that implementing “principal pipelines”—a strategic approach to the hiring, preparation, evaluation, and support of school leaders—can improve schools. In this congressional briefing, Susan Gates discusses the feasibility, effectiveness, and affordability of principal pipelines.

Jun 17, 2019
Report

Report

Raising the Bar for K–12 Academics: Early Signals on How Louisiana's Education Policy Strategies Are Working for Schools, Teachers, and Students

This report, part of a four-part series on the implementation and outcomes of Louisiana's education initiatives, focuses on Louisiana's strategies to support and improve K-12 academics.

Jun 11, 2019
Report

Report

Raising the Bar for Teacher Preparation: Early Signals on How Louisiana's Education Policy Strategies Are Working Across the State

This report, part of a four-part series on the implementation and outcomes of Louisiana's education initiatives, focuses on the state's strategies for K-12 teacher preparation.

Jun 11, 2019
Blog

Theresa May, Emotional Learning, Teachers: RAND Weekly Recap

This weekly recap focuses on Theresa May's resignation, social and emotional learning, the value of a good teacher, and more.

May 31, 2019
Report

Teacher and Principal Perspectives on Social and Emotional Learning

In recent years, the availability of resources to address the concept of social and emotional learning (SEL) has expanded in U.S. schools. What are educators' opinions of SEL? And what SEL-related programs, practices, and assessments are they implementing?

May 30, 2019
Research Brief

Support for Social and Emotional Learning Is Widespread

Most U.S. educators believe that social and emotional learning (SEL) improves student outcomes and school climate. They agree that students should develop and apply skills like managing emotions and setting and achieving positive goals. But teachers tend to assign greater importance to SEL skills than principals.

May 30, 2019
Research Brief

How Teacher Effectiveness Spills Over into Other Classrooms

Teachers' effectiveness ripples out beyond their own students and affects the experiences of their pupils' future peers. Ignoring these "spillover" effects underestimates a teacher's value by at least 30 percent.

May 28, 2019

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RAND Topic:
Elementary Education

Research conducted by

Researcher Spotlight

Lillian Flemons

Research Assistant

Lillian Flemons is a research assistant at RAND Europe working in the area of home affairs and social policy. She has a B.A. (Hons.) in modern and medieval languages from the University of Cambridge, with a focus on French, Spanish, Polish and Greek language, history and literature. Her M.Phil.…
Laura S. Hamilton

Senior Behavioral Scientist, Distinguished Chair in Learning and Assessment, Director, Center for Social and Emotional Learning Research

Laura Hamilton is a senior behavioral scientist and distinguished chair in learning and assessment at the RAND Corporation. She directs the RAND Center for Social and Emotional Learning Research and co-directs the American Educator Panels, RAND’s nationally representative survey panels of…

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