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Essay
Preventing Violence in Schools: How to Encourage Students to Report Threats
One of the most consistent findings in research on school shootings is that someone knew an attack was possible but didn't report it. There are ways schools can encourage students to come forward when they see or hear something concerning: tip lines, training, and a lot more trust.
Mar 9, 2023
Essay
Improving Media Literacy in Middle School
Middle schoolers can be savvy users of news and information—when they know where to look. But they're also easy marks for misinformation, disinformation, and trolls. Helping them find their way in today's media landscape is important both for their futures and for the future of democracy.
Sep 6, 2022

Explore Students

Commentary
Can Grade Retention Help with COVID-19 Learning Recovery in Schools?
Early grade retention is getting more attention as a potential way to make up for missed learning during the pandemic. But retaining kids without providing the necessary supports or failing to identify the right kids using objective criteria will likely yield ineffective results or even lead to adverse effects.
Mar 28, 2023
Report
Supporting Equitable Math Instruction in California: Findings from the 2022 Learn Together Survey and the 2022 American Instructional Resources Survey
In 2023, California will implement a new statewide math framework that will drive curriculum decisions for years to come. Researchers leveraged data collected from California math teachers to paint a picture of math instruction throughout the state.
Mar 21, 2023
Commentary
How Teachers Can Shield Students from Harm as Debates Rage over Race and Gender
By conveying to girls and students of color that they are individually capable of overcoming adversity—and that who they are matters—educators might soften the blow of public laws and policies that send the opposite message.
Feb 22, 2023
Report
Evaluation of Delaware's Opportunity Funding and Student Success Block Grant Programs: Third and Final Year
The authors evaluated two Delaware programs for local education agencies with students experiencing poverty and multilingual learners during the 2019–2020 to 2021–2022 school years: Opportunity Funding and the Student Success Block Grant program.
Feb 7, 2023
Report
Flexible Opportunity Funding Investments in Delaware: Lessons from District Leaders
The authors drew on surveys of Delaware local education agencies that received Opportunity Funding and describe the investments they made to improve the academic achievement of multilingual learners and students experiencing poverty.
Feb 7, 2023
Journal Article
Biliteracy Seals in a Large Urban District in New Mexico: Who Earns Them and How Do They Impact College Outcomes?
This study examined the college readiness of students who earned different types of seals, the number of students who met some requirements for a seal but did not earn one, and the effect of earning a seal on college outcomes.
Feb 7, 2023
Journal Article
Tasks and Feedback: An Exploration of Students' Opportunity to Develop Adaptive Expertise for Analytic Text-Based Writing
In this study, we apply a cognitive theoretical lens to investigate students' opportunity to develop their analytic text-based writing skills.
Jan 18, 2023
Report
Vermont Early Care and Education Financing Study: Estimated Costs, Financing Options, and Economic Impacts
Vermont is interested in expanding families' subsidies for early care and education (ECE) programs. This report estimates the costs of a high-quality ECE system with a well-compensated workforce and identifies possible funding sources.
Jan 17, 2023
Dissertation
The Impact of a Summer Program on the Development of Historically Underrepresented Minorities in STEM
Studies ways post-secondary institutions can better the diversity in their STEM disciplines by focusing on pre-college preparation and retention of historically underrepresented high school students by considering the case of a summer bridge program.
Jan 12, 2023
Project
Evaluation of California's Statewide Mental Health Prevention and Early Intervention Initiatives
The RAND Corporation is evaluating California's statewide prevention and early intervention programs, which aim to reduce negative outcomes for people experiencing mental illness.
Nov 30, 2022
Commentary
Federal Data Gaps on New Migrant Students Leave Schools Unable to Plan Ahead
Federal law requires U.S. public schools to serve all school-age children who come to their doors, no matter their immigration status. With thousands of children crossing the southern border each year, schools face complex challenges, foremost of which is simply knowing how many of these new students to expect.
Nov 9, 2022
Report
Early Childhood Educators in Hawai'i
A diverse, well-supported, and well-compensated workforce is essential for the delivery of high-quality early care and education (ECE) programs. What does the employment landscape look like for the ECE workforce in Hawai'i and what policy strategies can improve their compensation and working conditions?
Oct 25, 2022
Commentary
Ways to Help Students Report Threats to Their School
When students or others don't know how to report a threat or aren't willing to do so, important opportunities to protect students may be missed. Schools receive little guidance about how to implement an effective reporting program or how to build a robust reporting culture. A recent research effort helps to fill this gap, highlighting seven key implications for school safety planning.
Sep 29, 2022
Blog
Veterans Health Care, Media Literacy, Sleep Retreats: RAND Weekly Recap
This weekly recap focuses on the challenges of VA community care, the importance of improving middle schoolers' media literacy skills, tips to improve sleep, and more.
Sep 9, 2022
Report
Supporting Individual Willingness to Report School Safety Concerns
What can states, districts, and schools do to encourage people—especially students—to report threats of school violence so that preventive action can be taken?
Aug 25, 2022
Tool
How the Effects of Racial Bias Compound
Researchers illustrate the ways in which small effects of racial bias can compound over lifetimes. Users of this tool can adjust the amount of racial bias to see its effects on educational achievement, income growth, and wealth accumulation.
Jul 27, 2022
Research Brief
Six Skills for Success: How the National Guard Youth ChalleNGe Program Can Support Participants in Developing Portable Skills Employers Value
The authors of this research identify a set of common skills among high-paying, growing occupations that do not require a bachelor's degree for possible incorporation into the National Guard Youth ChalleNGe program curriculum.
Jun 30, 2022
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

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Research conducted by

Researcher Spotlight

Jennifer Sloan McCombs

Adjunct Policy Researcher

Jennifer McCombs is an adjunct policy researcher at the RAND Corporation. Her research focuses on evaluating the extent to which public policies and programs improve outcomes for children and youth facing disadvantage. Her studies combine implementation and outcome data to provide practitioners…
Lisa Sontag-Padilla

Behavioral and Social Scientist

Lisa Sontag-Padilla is a behavioral and social scientist at the RAND Corporation. She has over 15 years of research experience focusing on youth mental health and well-being, as well as expertise in college mental health, social emotional wellbeing, parent-child relationships, research design,…

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