Educators have long asserted that the middle grade years (typically, grades six through eight) are a time of both great importance and vulnerability in students' K-12 schooling. Anecdotal and empirical evidence suggest that students encounter new social and emotional challenges, increased academic demands, and major developmental transitions during the middle grade years. In this study, we investigate whether and how students' achievement and attendance change between grade four and eight and identified moments during this period when students' achievement and attendance suggest that they will struggle to graduate from high school within four years.
August 1970
Geographic Focus: North America-United States (Northeastern)-New York-New York County-New York City
Education and Literacy;Employment and Labor
This program specifically focuses on innovative strategies that connected a state's adult basic education system with its community and technical college system. It purposely examines the extent to which the six Shifting Gears states gained "traction on the ground" by incorporating these innovative strategies into existing programs. Gaining this traction among adult basic education providers and community and technical colleges signals that states may be on a positive trajectory toward systems change.
By the end of the five-year period, four of the six Shifting Gears states had implemented innovative strategies to serve low-skilled adults. Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, and Wisconsin succeeded in enrolling a total of about 4,000 low-skilled adults in their innovative programs -- a modest number that is expected to grow considerably during the next several years as these strategies and program are embraced by more organizations within the states.
Each of the four states Shifting Gears teams pursued a "career pathway framework," creating new programs to help low-skilled adults transition from adult basic education to community and technical colleges and gain credentials with economic value.
The state teams stopped using Joyce resources to finance local projects at the start of Phase Two. Instead, they financed local program development and implementation by leveraging state dollars, encouraging use of traditional funding streams and engaging other stakeholders within state government and in the community (e.g., local philanthropy, community non-profits). These funding strategies have moved the Shifting Gears initiative beyond a "boutique" effort and closer to the desired goal of systems change.
August 1970
Geographic Focus: North America / United States (Midwestern) / Illinois;North America / United States (Midwestern) / Indiana;North America / United States (Midwestern) / Minnesota;North America / United States (Midwestern) / Wisconsin
This report contributes to the discussion of charter schools by providing evidence for charter students' performance in Massachusetts for six years of schooling, beginning with the 2005-2006 school year and concluding in 2010-2011.
With the cooperation of the Massachusetts Department of Education, CREDO obtained the historical sets of student-level administrative records. The support of Massachusetts DOE staff was critical to CREDO's understanding of the character and quality of the data received. However, it bears mention that the entirety of interactions with the Department dealt with technical issues related to the data. CREDO has developed the findings and conclusions independently.
This report provides an in-depth examination of the results for charter schools in Massachusetts. It is also an update to CREDO's first analysis of the performance of Massachusetts's charter schools, which can be found on the organization's website.
This report has three main benefits. First, it provides an updated rigorous and independent view of the performance of the state's charter schools. Second, the study design is consistent with CREDO's reports on charter school performance in other locations, making the results amenable to being benchmarked against those nationally and in other states. Third, the study includes a section on charter performance in the Boston area, where much attention has focused.
The analysis presented here takes two forms. We first present the findings about the effects of charter schools on student academic performance. These results are expressed in terms of the academic progress that a typical student in Massachusetts would realize from a year of enrollment in a charter school. The second set of findings is presented at the school level. Because schools are the instruments on which the legislation and public policy works, it is important to understand the range of performance for the schools. These findings look at the performance of students by school and present school average results.
August 1970
Geographic Focus: North America / United States (Northeastern) / Massachusetts
This paper offers an opportunity for state leadership to reflect upon their efforts and share their insights into re-engineering the policy and practices of our K-12 systems that were built over hundreds of years. In this paper, we introduce the concept of competency education and explain why the traditional time-based system is holding back our children and our nation. We will discuss the important initial steps taken by states in introducing competency education. Then we will draw on interviews with state leadership about their strategies, lessons learned, and the emerging policy infrastructure that is needed for full alignment with competency education. We close with some thoughts about creating a culture of competency within state agencies.
August 1970
Geographic Focus: North America-United States
Education and Literacy;Government Reform
This paper refocuses attention on the importance of supporting Ohio students. States may appreciate deregulated higher education because, like other forms of privatization, it reduces support, responsibility and oversight. University administrations may see opportunities to raise revenues through real estate deals, parking arrangements, subcontracting, reducing staff compensation, and changing other employment relationships. Private contractors and the business community may favor these arrangements because there are lucrative possibilities for contracts, real estate deals and other arrangements. But the point of the system is not to serve the needs of legislators, administrators or contractors -- it is to educate students. Students, families, employers and taxpayers need a vibrant higher education system capable of delivering affordable academic programs that connect to the 21st century economy.
August 1970
Geographic Focus: North America / United States (Midwestern) / Ohio
This fourth annual update on America's high school dropout crisis shows that for the first time the nation is on track to meet the goal of a 90 percent high school graduation rate by the Class of 2020 -- if the pace of improvement from 2006 to 2010 is sustained over the next 10 years. The greatest gains have occurred for the students of color and low-income students most affected by the dropout crisis. Many schools, districts and states are making significant gains in boosting high school graduation rates and putting more students on a path to college and a successful career. This progress is often the result of having better data, an understanding of why and where students drop out, a heightened awareness of the consequences to individuals and the economy, a greater understanding of effective reforms and interventions, and real-world examples of progress and collaboration. These factors have contributed to a wider understanding that the dropout crisis is solvable.
While progress is encouraging, a deeper look at the data reveals that gains in graduation rates and declines in dropout factory high schools occurred unevenly across states and subgroups of students (e.g. economically disadvantaged, African American, Hispanic, students with disabilities, and students with limited English proficiency). As a result, large "graduation gaps" remain in many states among students of different races, ethnicities, family incomes, disabilities and limited English proficiencies. To repeat the growth in graduation rates in the next ten years experienced in the second half of the last decade, and to ensure progress for all students, the nation must turn its attention to closing the graduation gap by accelerating progress for student subgroups most affected by the dropout crisis.
This report outlines the progress made and the challenges that remain. Part 1: The Data analyzes the latest graduation rates and "dropout factory" trends at the state and national levels. Part 2: Progress and Challenge provides an update on the nation's shared efforts to implement the Civic Marshall Plan to reach the goal of at least a 90 percent high school graduation rate for the Class of 2020 and all classes that follow. Part 3: Paths Forward offers recommendations on how to accelerate our work and achieve our goals, with all students prepared for college and career. The report also offers "snapshots" within schools, communities, and organizations from Orlando to Oakland that are making substantial gains in boosting high school graduation rates.
August 1970
Geographic Focus: North America / United States
Children and Youth;Education and Literacy;Poverty
This white paper focuses on an important and under-conceptualized thread in the weave of efforts needed to ensure that all students graduate from high school prepared for college and/or career training: enhanced student supports. It argues that in order to overcome the educational impacts of poverty -- the poverty challenge, schools that serve high concentrations of low income students need to be able to provide direct, evidence-based supports that help students attend school regularly, act in a productive manner, believe they will succeed, overcome external obstacles, complete their coursework, and put forth the effort required to graduate college- and career-ready. Next, it highlights the unique role that nonprofits, community volunteers, and full-time national service members can play in the implementation of these direct student supports. It concludes by exploring how federal and state policy and funding can be designed to promote the implementation and spread of evidence-based, direct student supports. The paper draws on the emerging evidence base to examine these topics, and calls upon the insights gleaned through the author's fifteen years of participant-observation in the effort to create schools strong enough to overcome the ramifications of poverty and prepare all students for adult success.
August 1970
Geographic Focus: North America / United States
Education and Literacy, Poverty
This summary presents the latest international research findings on social mobility, educational achievement, and other key characteristics of the four major Anglophone countries - the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada and Australia. The report, which highlights some of the key findings to be presented at a London summit jointly sponsored by the Sutton Trust and Carnegie of New York, is the latest in a continuing line of work investigating international comparisons of mobility.
In 2005, a Sutton Trust report catapulted the issue of Britain's low social mobility into mainstream public debate in the country. It highlighted that the chances of climbing (or dropping down) the income ladder had declined for today's adults compared with those from a generation before, and that Britain together with the US has the lowest social mobility of any advanced country for which there is data. In 2008 the Trust jointly organised with Carnegie of New York a summit exploring the factors behind low mobility in the US and UK.
The 2012 Sutton-Carnegie summit is a follow-up to the 2008 meeting, widening the scope of the study to compare and contrast the UK and US with Canada and Australia, two countries which have high mobility rates by international standards. Many of the key findings come from a new book Parents to Children published to coincide with the summit by the US based Russell Sage Foundation, following a partnership with the Sutton Trust and the Pew Trusts, also based in the US. The work is motivated by profound concerns that the educational performance and life chances of less privileged children continues to lag behind their more advantaged peers. The hope is that looking at international comparisons and the differences between countries will yield some lessons to improve mobility
August 1970
Geographic Focus: North America-United States, North America-Canada, Europe (Western)-United Kingdom, Australia-Australia
