Education Research Report:
This Week's Education Research Report
IB Primary- and Middle-Years Students Perform Better on International Assessments Than Their Peers at Non-IB Schools
A research study completed by the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER), on behalf of the International Baccalaureate (IB), examined student performance among IB and non-IB students on the International Schools’ Assessment (ISA) and determined that IB Primary Years Program (PYP) and IB Middle Years Program (MYP) students, in most instances performed as well or better than their non-IB peers across all four ISA assessment domains, including math literacy, reading, narrative writing, and expository writing. Particularly strong differences were observed in grade 10, the ...more »
The Condition of Education 2012
The 49 indicators presented in The Condition of Education 2012 provide a progress report on education in America and include findings on the demographics of American schools, U.S. resources for schooling, and outcomes associated with education. Report findings include: • In 2008-09, about three-quarters of the 2004-05 freshman class graduated with a regular diploma from public high schools. • From 2000 to 2010, undergraduate enrollment in postsecondary institutions increased from 13 million students to 18 million. During this period, undergraduate enrollment in private for-pro... more »
Second-Round State Applications for NCLB Waivers
This report analyzes the NCLB waiver applications submitted in the second round by 26 states and Washington, D.C. to the U.S. Department of Education in February 2012. Among the findings in the report is that, like the first round of applications, these states are proposing new accountability systems that will lead to greater complexity both within states and between states, but at the same time will be more integrated with states’ own existing accountability systems. Also, nearly all the state applications propose annual achievement targets and performance levels that are more nua... more »
Student Motivation: An Overlooked Piece of School Reform
This series of papers by the Center on Education Policy (CEP) underscores the need for teachers, schools, parents and communities to pay more attention to the role of student motivation in school reform. While there is no single strategy that works to motivate all students, or even the same student in all contexts, the many different sources reviewed by CEP suggest various approaches that can help improve student motivation, the report finds. For example, programs that tailor support to individual students who are at risk of losing motivation, that foster “college-going” cultures i... more »
Improving Mathematical Problem Solving in Grades 4 Through 8
Five strategies to improve students' mathematical problem-solving skills in grades 4 through 8 are described in a new practice guide from the What Works Clearinghouse (WWC). The practice guide, Improving Mathematical Problem Solving in Grades 4 Through 8, recommends that teachers: 1. Prepare problems and use them in whole-class instruction. 2. Assist students in monitoring and reflecting on the problem-solving process. 3. Teach students how to use visual representations. 4. Expose students to multiple problem-solving strategies. 5. Help students recognize and articulate math... more »
Findings From Discipline-Based Education Research Could Improve Undergraduate Science and Engineering Teaching
Discipline-based education research (DBER) has generated insights that could help improve undergraduate education in science and engineering, but these findings have not yet prompted widespread changes in teaching practice, says a new report from the National Research Council. Science and engineering faculty, institutions, disciplinary societies, and professional societies should all support high-quality DBER and the adoption of the evidence-based teaching strategies that have emerged from it, the report says. DBER is a collection of related research fields that investigate how ... more »
School district inequities are barrier to quality education for New York City's poor, Black and Hispanic student
In New York City public schools, a student’s educational outcomes and opportunity to learn are statistically more determined by where he or she lives than their abilities, according to a new report, A Rotting Apple: Education Redlining in New York City, released by the Schott Foundation for Public Education. Primarily because of New York City policies and practices that result in an inequitable distribution of educational resources and intensify the impact of poverty, children who are poor, Black and Hispanic have far less of an opportunity to learn the skills needed to succeed on... more »