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Student Achievement

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The hallmark of a successful education system is increasing or maintaining high student achievement. RAND research measures the effects of various types of school reforms on student achievement, with recent studies focusing on charter schools, No Child Left Behind, reform-oriented teaching, and classroom sizes.

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?
Report

Has COVID-19 Led to Divergent and Inequitable Pathways in Education?

May 27, 2021

Remote schooling is associated with fewer instructional opportunities and potentially poorer student outcomes compared with in-person schooling. Nevertheless, many schools will continue to offer a remote option after the pandemic has passed.

Explore Academic Achievement

Report

One Year into the Pandemic, What Secondary Math Teachers Said About Challenges to Standards-Aligned Instruction and Skipping Content

The authors use 2020 and 2021 Learn Together Survey data to examine challenges to standards-aligned instruction during COVID-19 reported by secondary math teachers and how frequently and why these teachers skipped standards-aligned math content.

May 11, 2022
Commentary

How to Make Sure Your Summer Learning Program Is Effective

In the best of times, it is no small feat to put together a quality summer learning program. Given that districts are focusing not only on academic recovery from COVID learning loss, but on retaining teachers, supporting students' and teachers' mental health, and addressing increases in misbehavior, they need immediate, digestible guidance for summer programming.

Mar 30, 2022
Report

Changes in School Composition During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Implications for School-Average Interim Test Score Use

The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic has exacerbated concerns about using school-aggregate test scores to monitor school performance. In this report, researchers investigate how changes to school composition may contaminate aggregate scores.

Jan 19, 2022
Journal Article

Developing School Leaders: Findings From a Randomized Control Trial Study of the Executive Development Program and Paired Coaching

This article presents the results of two randomized control trials evaluating the impacts of the National Center on Education and the Economy's Executive Development Program and coaching on schoolwide practices and performance.

Jan 12, 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

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
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
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
Commentary

Commit Now to Get Summer Programming Right

When summer programs are targeted to needs, intentionally designed, and well attended, they produce positive outcomes in math and reading. But these programs need federal support, and they require early planning.

Apr 15, 2021
Report

Getting to Work on Summer Learning: Recommended Practices for Success, 2nd Ed. — Executive Summary

The authors distill lessons about implementing and improving summer learning programs gleaned from a six-year study in the five urban districts participating in the National Summer Learning Project.

Mar 25, 2021
Journal Article

Relationships Between Teaching Practices and Student Outcomes

This chapter explores how the three domains of mathematics teaching explored in prior chapters are related to three different student outcome measures.

Feb 17, 2021
Report

Adapting Course Placement Processes in Response to COVID-19 Disruptions: Guidance for Schools and Districts

Because of the pandemic, spring 2020 end-of-year assessments were canceled and schools began the 2020-2021 year without assessment data. The authors compare three strategies to estimate missing test scores and help with course placement decisions.

Feb 16, 2021
Journal Article

Inequality in Household Adaptation to Schooling Shocks: Covid-induced Online Learning Engagement in Real Time

Using internet searches, we study real-time demand for online learning resources. Internet searches for online learning resources doubled during the pandemic. Increases were larger in are as with higher income and better internet access. The pandemic will likely widen achievement gaps along these dimensions.

Feb 3, 2021
Report

Do Teachers Perceive That Their Main Instructional Materials Meet English Learners' Needs? Key Findings from the 2020 American Instructional Resources Survey

In this Data Note, researchers draw on data from the spring 2020 American Instructional Resources Survey to examine teachers' perceptions of how their main materials meet the needs of English learners.

Jan 27, 2021
Report

Every Summer Counts: A Longitudinal Analysis of Outcomes from the National Summer Learning Project

This seventh report in a series presents longitudinal findings on the effectiveness of voluntary summer learning programs in five school districts. The authors also offer implications for policy on narrowing the achievement gap between students.

Dec 17, 2020
Journal Article

Examining Design and Statistical Power for Planning Cluster Randomized Trials Aimed at Improving Student Science Achievement and Science Teacher Outcomes

In this study, we consider strategies to maximize the efficiency of the study design when both student and teacher effects are of primary interest.

Nov 25, 2020
Multimedia

COVID-19 and the Digital Divide: Inequities in Online Learning

RAND senior policy researcher Julia Kaufman explains how the digital divide impacted teaching and learning when schools closed last spring in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Oct 16, 2020
Report

The Digital Divide and COVID-19

Findings from a survey of U.S. teachers reveal how limited home internet access has been a barrier to providing instruction amid pandemic-related school closures. The problem is particularly acute among high-poverty schools.

Sep 24, 2020

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RAND Topic:
Academic Achievement

Research conducted by

RAND Education and Labor