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Elementary Education

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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

Benefits and Drawbacks of the Four-Day School Week

Oct 7, 2021

A four-day school week is becoming more common, especially in states with large rural areas. Champions of the shorter week contend that it saves money, improves student attendance, and helps recruit and retain teachers to rural districts. But what does the evidence say?
Research Brief

Surges in Undocumented and Asylum-Seeking Children Prompt Need for Better K–12 Policies

Sep 30, 2021

Growing numbers of children from Central America and Mexico are arriving in the United States. As of March 2020, 321,000 undocumented and asylum-seeking children were enrolled in public schools. How are the schools managing, and what could be done to help them better prepare to assist these students?

Explore Elementary Education

Research Brief

Contributions to Research on Automated Writing Scoring and Feedback Systems

This brief summarizes research by experts at the RAND Corporation and the University of Pittsburgh to advance automated writing scoring and feedback systems for elementary school student writers.

Jun 22, 2022
Multimedia

A Snapshot of Anti-Bias Education in U.S. K–12 Schools: Findings from the 2021 American Instructional Resources Surveys

In this webinar, RAND Corporation researchers share data from a national teacher survey administered in spring 2021 concerning the extent to which public school teachers report addressing anti-bias education in their K–12 classrooms.

Apr 18, 2022
Report

Readiness to Implement Evidence-Based Practices in Public Elementary Schools: Findings from a National Survey of Teachers

Using survey data from a nationally representative panel of 1,065 public elementary school teachers, the authors of this report examined teachers' perspectives on their readiness to implement evidence-based practices at their schools.

Mar 23, 2022
Blog

Responding to Russia, Sex Trafficking, Anti-Bias Education: RAND Weekly Recap

This weekly recap focuses on the false choice between responding to Russia or deterring China, how substance use and sex trafficking are connected, providing anti-bias education in U.S. schools, and more.

Feb 25, 2022
Report

Anti-Bias Education in U.S. Public Schools

Teaching students explicitly about issues of identity, diversity, equity, and bias can lead to positive outcomes. Nearly three in four K–12 teachers reported that they provide such anti-bias instruction, but more than half said that their school's or district's curriculum materials did not adequately address anti-bias topics.

Feb 22, 2022
Report

Widening the Pathway: Implementation and Impacts of Alternative Teacher Preparation Programs Across Three Contexts

The authors describe implementation of three alternative teacher preparation programs—called Teacher Effectiveness and Certification (TEACh) programs—and their effect on teacher recruitment, teacher retention, and student achievement.

Dec 16, 2021
Report

The Big Lift Evaluation: Research Findings Five Years In

The authors examine participation rates, kindergarten readiness, and third-grade outcomes of children eligible to participate in The Big Lift™, a preschool–third-grade initiative to designed to boost reading proficiency.

Nov 9, 2021
Report

Does Four Equal Five? Implementation and Outcomes of the Four-Day School Week

The authors provide information on the implementation and outcomes of the four-day school week using quantitative and qualitative data from a variety of sources, including surveys of parents and students in 36 districts in three states.

Oct 7, 2021
News Release

Surges in Undocumented and Asylum-Seeking Children Prompt Need for Better K–12 Policies

491,000 children from Mexico and the Northern Triangle (Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador) arrived in the United States between fiscal years 2017 and 2019 and remained with unresolved immigration statuses. Of these, 321,000 were enrolled in U.S. K–12 public schools as of March 2020. About 75% settled in California, Texas, Florida, New York, Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey, Georgia, North Carolina, and Louisiana.

Sep 30, 2021
Report

Educating Newcomers: K–12 Public Schooling for Undocumented and Asylum-Seeking Children in the United States

This report models numbers of undocumented and asylum-seeking children crossing the U.S. southwest border, reviews the federal and state policy landscapes for their education, and provides case studies of how schools are managing education for them.

Sep 30, 2021
Report

Expanding Charter School Capacity: The Case of Propel Montour

Researchers examine the expansion of Propel Schools, a small, regional charter school network in southwestern Pennsylvania, to describe the academic and behavioral experiences of continuing and expansion students from fall 2017 to spring 2020.

Sep 29, 2021
News Release

Parents Remain Concerned About Safety of In-Person Instruction

A gap remains between white parents and Black and Hispanic parents in their preferences for in-person schooling, but it has narrowed since May. The RAND Corporation survey, funded by The Rockefeller Foundation, details parents' responses concerning school hesitancy and preferences for COVID-19 safety practices in U.S. schools in fall 2021.

Aug 18, 2021
Report

How Concerned Are Parents About the Safety of In-Person Instruction?

A RAND survey details parents' responses concerning school hesitancy and preferences for COVID-19 safety practices in U.S. schools. RAND fielded the survey July 16–29, just as the delta variant greatly increased the number of cases nationwide.

Aug 18, 2021
Research Brief

Supporting Principals to Lead on the Selection and Use of Instructional Materials in Classrooms

This brief discusses findings from several RAND reports on principals' roles with respect to instructional materials. Recommendations describe how stakeholders can prepare and support principals to lead in selecting and using instructional materials.

Jul 19, 2021
Blog

China's Ambitions, Origins of the Coronavirus, Income Inequality: RAND Weekly Recap

This weekly recap focuses on China’s quest for global primacy, understanding the coronavirus origin story, how parents feel about sending their children back to school, and more.

Jun 11, 2021
Report

What Parents Think About Kids Returning to Classrooms

As of May 2021, 84 percent of parents surveyed plan to send their children to school in person in the fall. Black and Hispanic parents are the most hesitant. Two-thirds of parents want to keep COVID-19 school safety measures in place, but only 52 percent plan to have their kids vaccinated.

Jun 10, 2021
Report

Changing the Subject: K–12 Teachers' Use of and Access to Science-Specific Instructional Materials, Feedback, and Professional Learning

In this Data Note, researchers use the 2020 American Instructional Resources Survey to examine how teachers' science instruction is supported and whether supports differ from those that teachers reported for English language arts and math.

Apr 21, 2021
Blog

COVID-19 Testing in Schools, Family Caregivers, U.S. Entrepreneurship: RAND Weekly Recap

This weekly recap focuses on COVID-19 testing in schools, giving a voice to family caregivers, preparing for daylight saving time, and more.

Mar 12, 2021

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RAND Topic:
Elementary Education

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