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Standards-Based Education Reform

The goal of standards-based reform is to establish objective metrics to assess student performance and teacher effectiveness, using standardized instructional materials and testing: Individual performance is measured against a set of common criteria rather than in relation to other students. RAND research considers the role of standards-based education reform, including the United States' No Child Left Behind law, in shaping global education policy.

Commentary

Louisiana's Education System Is Evolving: Here's What Parents Need to Know

Louisiana has taken big steps to improve its education policies and the education of the state's children, from birth to grade 12. Parents can help their children benefit from the reforms by being informed about the changes and knowing how to take advantage of new resources.

Sep 12, 2018
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
News Release

Options for Improving School Leadership

School leadership can have an important effect on student achievement. New federal rules offer states and school districts greater flexibility about how to use federal funds to strengthen school leadership.

Dec 13, 2016
Commentary

How States and Districts Can Leverage the Every Student Succeeds Act to Improve School Leadership

The Every Student Succeeds Act provides states and districts with new chances to invest in school leadership. A review of interventions can serve as a starting point to enact relevant solutions and build the evidence base for what works.

Dec 12, 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
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
Commentary

The Opt-Out Reckoning

Criticism of standardized testing is nearly as old as the testing itself. Will the opt-out movement promote meaningful and enduring changes in the educational system, and will these changes benefit the most at-risk and disadvantaged students?

May 10, 2016
News Release

American Teacher Panel Survey Looks at Teachers' Knowledge and Perceptions of State Standards

A high percentage of mathematics teachers report using instructional materials with some demonstrated evidence of alignment to Common Core State Standards. However, there is less evidence that state standards are playing a role in the materials English language arts teachers use.

Apr 18, 2016
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
Multimedia

Education Policy: Challenges in Implementing New Standards and Assessments

In this Events @ RAND podcast, a panel of educators and policy experts discuss Pennsylvania's approach to standards and assessment, what challenges remain, and what the future holds.

Oct 8, 2015
News Release

Innovative School Principal Development Program Demonstrates Positive Student Achievement Gains

Urban schools where principals received rigorous leadership training and support experienced larger gains in student achievement than schools led by principals who did not participate in the program.

May 13, 2014
Multimedia

No Child Left Behind: Ten Years Later

Laura Hamilton discusses what has been learned in the ten years since the No Child Left Behind Act was signed into law in January 2002, including recommendations for addressing key limitations as Congress considers reauthorization.

Jan 5, 2012
Multimedia

What We Know About Measuring School Performance

At this June 2011 RAND Policy Circle event in Pittsburgh, a selection of RAND's top experts in education policy shared fresh, evidence-based perspectives on measuring school performance.

Jun 16, 2011
Multimedia

Why We Need to Study the Tutors Audio Commentary

Based on the results of statewide standardized tests, more than 15 percent of U.S. schools are in need of improvement. The students attending these schools need help.

Jan 20, 2010
Multimedia

Ending Social Promotion: Examining the Effects of NYC's 5th-Grade Promotion Policy

In this Congressional Briefing held on October 19, 2009, researchers Jennifer McCombs and Lou Mariano discuss RAND's recently published evaluation of a test-based promotion policy implemented by the New York City Department of Education. The findings will be of interest as many states and school districts are implementing test-based requirements for promotion at key transitional points in students' schooling careers, thus ending the practice of promoting students who have failed to meet academic standards and requirements for that grade.

Jan 19, 2009
News Release

Study Finds That 'No Child Left Behind' Accountability Systems Are Largely in Place, But Act's Promises Remain Uncertain

After five years of effort, states have implemented most of the test-based accountability requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) of 2001, and now must focus their efforts on improving poor-performing schools that have been identified.

Nov 19, 2007
News Release

RAND Study Finds Qatar Successfully Implements Redesign of Education System

April 12, 2007 news release: RAND Study Finds Qatar Successfully Implements Redesign of Education System.

Apr 12, 2007
Commentary

Parents of Schoolchildren: Start Your Information Engines

Published commentary by RAND staff.

Oct 10, 2004
Content

Andrew McEachin

Senior Policy Researcher; Professor, Pardee RAND Graduate School
Education Ph.D. in education policy, University of Southern California; M.A. in economics, University of Southern California; A.B. in history, Cornell University
Content

Laura Stelitano

Associate Policy Researcher
Education Ph.D. in learning sciences and policy, University of Pittsburgh; M.Ed. in special education, George Mason University; B.A. in anthropology, Saint Vincent College

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RAND Topic:
Standards-Based Education Reform

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