Skip to section navigation
Skip to page content

RAND > Topics >

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

Raising the Bar for Student Outcomes in Louisiana

This brief examines Louisiana's approach to improving student outcomes, highlighting overarching themes and identifying potential policy implementation challenges.

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
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 preschool-third grade early learning initiative 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
News Release

News Release

Teachers Reported Moderate Concerns and Need for Additional Professional Development Prior to 2015 Testing

The new Common Core State Standards changed expectations for what students should learn in English language arts and mathematics, and what teachers should know and teach in their classroom. Prior to the first round of K-12 standardized testing in 2015, most teachers had concerns about test difficulty and low student performance.

Feb 1, 2016
Commentary

Hawaii Reading Scores Improved After 'Preschool to Third Grade' Initiative

Hawaii's “preschool to third-grade” initiative significantly improved third-grade reading scores. The P-3 approach is a promising education reform that should be considered by those seeking to improve early education performance.

Dec 21, 2015
Commentary

A Comprehensive Approach to Early Education

A relatively new approach to improving long-term educational outcomes, called “preschool to third grade,” or P-3, focuses on the youngest students. Hawaii's recent initiative has been successful at raising third-grade reading scores.

Nov 23, 2015
Report

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.

Nov 5, 2015

1
2
3
4
5
6
Next

RAND Topic:
Elementary Education

Research conducted by