Education Research Report:
This Week's Education Research Report
Memory training unlikely to help in treating ADHD, boosting IQ
*No evidence that working memory training programs improve general cognitive performance, research analysis shows * Working memory training is unlikely to be an effective treatment for children suffering from disorders such as attention-deficit/hyperactivity or dyslexia, according to a research analysis, "Is Working Memory Training Effective? A Meta-Analytic Review," published by the American Psychological Association. In addition, memory training tasks appear to have limited effect on healthy adults and children looking to do better in school or improve their cognitive skills. "Th... more »
Measuring Teacher Effectiveness
Research and experience make this clear: Great teachers change lives. They inspire and motivate students, and set them on a path for future success. By contrast, just one underperforming teacher can have a lasting negative impact on a student. Given this reality, significant time and attention has rightly been focused on ensuring that all children have outstanding teachers at the front of their classrooms. This includes improving how teacher performance is evaluated and using evaluations to guide a range of decisions about prepration, recruitment, training, assignment, salary, tenu... more »
What Teacher Preparation Programs Teach about K-12 Assessment
Teachers need to know what their students have learned in order to help them learn more. Data from assessments of all kinds — from informal oral quizzes to standardized tests — is the compass by which good teachers decide how best to teach their students. Drawing on the data collected for the National Review, this report from the National Council on Teacher Quality provides an overall appraisal of how well 180 teacher preparation programs in 30 states are preparing their elementary and secondary teachers candidates in this vital area. In their evaluation they asked three basic que... more »
Diverse Charter Schools: Can Racial and Socioeconomic Integration Promote Better Outcomes ?
To date, the education policy and philanthropy communities have placed a premium on funding charter schools that have high concentrations of poverty and large numbers of minority students. While it makes sense that charter schools have focused on high-needs students, thus far this focus has resulted in prioritizing high-poverty charter schools over other models, which research suggests may not be the most effective way of serving at-risk students. There is a large body of evidence suggesting that socioeconomic and racial integration provide educational benefits for all students, es... more »
What Matters for Staying On-Track and Graduating in Chicago Public Schools: A Focus on English Language Learners
This report builds on findings from earlier The University of Chicago UChicago Consortium on Chicago School Research reports to examine whether ninth-grade early warning indicators that are used to determine if students are on-track to graduate high school – such as absences, grade point average (GPA), and course failures – are as predictive of graduation for high school ELLs as they are for the general student population. It finds that course performance indicators are highly predictive of graduation for ELL students, and are actually more predictive than other ELL-specific indica... more »
Inclusion of Students with Disabilities in School Accountability Systems
This interim report presents descriptive information on school-level accountability, adequate yearly progress (AYP), and school improvement status of schools accountable and schools not accountable for the performance of the students with disabilities (SWD) subgroup under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. Based on U.S. Department of Education EDFacts data from the 2005–06 to 2008–09 school years for up to 40 states, key findings from the study include: • Across the 40 states with relevant data, 35 percent of public schools were accountable for the performance of the SWD... more »