A new University of California study shows that high school grades offer a good predictor of college performance. While SAT scores are commonly used in the admissions process, these scores appear to be heavily affected by a student's socioeconomic status. The study also suggests that the information available to college admissions officers accounts for only 30% of the grade variance in colleges.

Over the past three years, nine states have received $15 million in grants from the U.S. Department of Education (ED) to evaluate the impact of education technology on student achievement. The final reports will be submitted this fall, but all indications are that the states will report that the technology has helped students achieve. The technology programs, which range from one-to-one laptop initiatives for students to technology-based professional development for teachers, appear to improve student engagement, achievement, and discipline in the test states.

A new report from the Center on Education Policy shows that student achievement has increased and achievement gaps have decreased since the implementation of NCLB. However, the study cautions that it is unclear whether these increases can be attributed solely to the implementation of NCLB, or if other factors may have contributed to the apparent improvements.

According to a Gannett News Service analysis of test scores, some states that appear to be meeting the demands of NCLB may be setting standards too low to improve their ranking without significantly improving student achievement. In the most drastic example, 18% of the students in Mississippi passed the National Assessment of Educational Progress (which is only administered to a small percentage of students), although a whopping 89% passed the state reading test in 2005.

Most public schools in the United States follow the elementary school, middle school, and high school pattern. However, there are many different opinions about which grades should be included in each of these three divisions. According to a recent National Bureau of Economic Research study, Should Sixth Grade be in Elementary or Middle School? An Analysis of Grade Configuration and Student Behavior, students who entered junior high school in the 6th grade were about 1–3 percent less likely to complete high school than those who entered later.

California researchers attempting to determine whether traditional public schools or charter schools offer the best education opportunities for students have found that elementary students perform better in traditional public schools, while middle school students perform better with charters. High school students performed equally in both public and charter schools. Overall, the study demonstrates that further research is needed to explain the phenomenon and determine the future of charter schools in the U.S.

McREL's Summer 2007 Professional Development series of workshops continues with four two-day Balanced Leadership Institutes, in which school administrators will learn and apply insights from McREL's research on effective principals, as reported in School Leadership that Works: From Research to Results. On July 31-Aug.1, Balanced Leadership: An Overview will examine findings from research on principal leadership and the concepts of shared and balanced leadership. On Aug. 2-3, Balanced Leadership: Developing a Purposeful Community will engage participants in hands-on learning that promotes a deep understanding of the importance of creating a purposeful community. On Aug. 6-7, Balanced Leadership: Managing Change will show how to initiate, monitor, and lead change effectively. Finally, on Aug. 8-9, Balanced Leadership: Choosing the Right Focus shows how to focus your school on the school and classroom practices and leadership responsibilities that McREL research shows are positively associated with student achievement.

McREL is looking for fourth- and fifth-grade mathematics teachers from Colorado to participate in a study of Rick Stiggins' Classroom Assessment for Student Learning program. This study on classroom assessment practices and student achievement offers the opportunity for district teams to participate, free of charge, in a unique professional development program and to contribute to research on how quality assessments can support student success. For more information, contact Mya Martin Glenn at 303-632-5503 or mglenn@mcrel.org.

Principals can benchmark themselves against the best with McREL's Balanced Leadership Profile, a unique, research-based online survey which helps analyze leadership strengths and weaknesses. The Profile offers feedback from multiple perspectives, gives insight into school change efforts, and supports professional growth—and now the self-assessment version is being offered completely free.

This workshop, based on the book of the same name, shows participants how to apply the instructional strategies found in Classroom Instruction that Works to ELL students in K-6 classrooms. Participants will learn about the stages of language acquisition and how they relate to instruction as well as the research background and recommended practices for each of the nine categories of strategies.

This annual, congressionally mandated report provides a snapshot of education in the United States. The report reveals that high school students are taking more mathematics, science, social studies, arts, and foreign languages than in past years, largely due to an increasing number of students enrolled in Advanced Placement courses. In addition, the report shows the increasing diversity of enrollment in public schools, and the increasing enrollment in post-secondary education. This report is a summary of 20 of the 48 indicators evaluated in The Condition of Education 2007.

This report provides an in-depth look at student enrollment, teacher and staff populations, high school completion, and college graduation rates for 2004-05.

Although roughly one in five students attend rural schools, and almost one third of all public schools are classified as rural, education research in this area is consistently lacking. This report identifies shortcomings in the rural education research and suggests strategies for improvement, starting with creating a clear and precise definition of rural education.

This report summarizes CPRE's research in school financial policy over the past 15 years. The report is divided into the following sections:

Beginning in 2002, the RAND corporation began an investigation on how teachers, principals, and superintendents are responding to NCLB. The study found that, although each of the states implemented new accountability measures, the actual measures used varied widely from state to state. Despite these differences, schools and districts generally responded to the new accountability measures in similar ways, leading to both desirable and undesirable responses in the classroom.

 

Although educators in general were supportive of NCLB and the new accountability measures, many of them were conserned about certain aspects of these systems. Overall, there are still several factors that continue to hinder effective implementation of NCLB.

This new report examines the economic value of education in the workplace. The EPE Research Center analysis found that education levels rise steadily with higher-level jobs, which typically pay better than entry-level jobs. Ultimately, the report concludes that a high school diploma (without a college education) is insufficient to provide economic stability to individuals and families in the 21st century.

 

Early Reading First (ERF) is an NCLB-sponsored program intended to provide funding to preschools (particularly in low-income areas) to support the development of language and literacy skills. This evaluation finds that Early Reading First had a positive impact on preschool students' print and letter knowledge as well as the classroom environment and teacher practices, but not much impact on phonological awareness or oral language.