A new study published in Cognition and Instruction suggests that students from different racial backgrounds will benefit from learning groups that dovetail with their particular culture. In the study, black students performed best when they were encouraged to work hard by emphasizing their common ties. White students performed poorly in this setting, but excelled when they were encouraged to work hard for their own reward.

McKinsey & Company researcherss found that under-performing schools, particularly for poor and minority students, have a negative impact on the economy greater than the current recession. The report concludes that closing the various achievement gaps would increase our gross domestic product by $3–5 billion per day.

A new study from the University of Illinois finds that the racial achievement gap could be reduced by offering more challenging middle-school math classes in areas serving a high proportion of minorities. The study finds that the interaction between mathematics placement, student effort, and academic achievement amplifies over time, so that gains in middle school will produce even higher gains in high school courses.

Researchers have found that simple writing exercises can boost struggling students' self-confidence enough to increase their overall grades. While the gains were relatively small, and did not apply to students who were already proficient, the most interesting finding was that the improvement did not fade away with time.

New research from Vanderbilt University has found that charter school teachers are 230 times more likely to leave after a single school year than teachers in public schools. More than half of the charter school teachers who move on leave the teaching profession entirely.

High-poverty students are often taught with the least-effective instructional techniques. Web 2.0 technologies such as blogs, wikis, and videos can change that—at little or no extra cost, asserts Elizabeth Hubbell in the latest installment of the McREL blog.

Learn how to develop effective policy in support of good teaching and learning for today and tomorrow.

Education policy leaders will learn to apply critical elements of effective policy development by

• reviewing research on what works in education,
• understanding current policy contexts, and
• exploring trends of the future.

The Educational Testing Service reports that little progress has been made in reducing the achievement gap between poor or minority students and their peers in the past six years.

A recent study of the effectiveness of Project CRISS, ReadAbout, Read for Real, and Reading for Knowledge found that none of these programs raise student achievement. The study reports Reading for Knowledge actually had a negative impact on student achievement.

Students nationwide are not developing the higher-level reading and writing skills they need for academic success. This report emphasizes the urgency of this problem and presents recommendations for steps to improve literacy.

This report presents a long-term analysis of NAEP assessments for reading and mathematics. Reading scores showed improvement for 9- and 13-year-olds compared to 1971, but no significant improvement for 17-year-olds. Mathematics scores showed significant improvement for 9- and 13-year-olds, with no significant improvement for 17-year-olds.

Develop a step-by-step process for creating an alignment matrix, mapping assessments to standards, identifying gaps in instruction and achievement, and evaluating a school or district curriculum framework for appropriateness.

June 1–2, 2009, $575

Learn how to focus on the right content, deepen students' understanding of science, engage students, and encourage high-order thinking to make your science lessons stick.

June 8–12, 2009, $1,250

Explore three of the instructional strategies from Classroom Instruction that Works and learn how they can be used immediately in your afterschool settings: 1) nonlinguistic representation, 2) cooperative learning, and 3) reinforcing effort and providing recognition.

June 29–30, 2009, $199

Do you or does someone you know have a creative, unique educational program that is helping students reach new heights? Or is there a program you’d like to implement, if only you had the proper funding? The ING Unsung Heroes program offers grants ranging from $2,000 to $25,000 to help fund innovative classroom projects.

Application Deadline: April 30, 2010

McREL's magazine for educators, Changing Schools, has been named as a finalist for the 2009 Distinguished Achievement Awards, given by the Association of Education Publishers.