THIS WEEK'S EDUCATION RESEARCH REPORT
Intervention Improves First-Generation Students’ Academic Performance
College students who do not have parents with 4-year degrees (first-generation students) earn lower grades and encounter more obstacles to success than do students who have at least one parent with a 4-year degree (continuing-generation students). This study tested a novel intervention designed to reduce this social-class achievement gap with a randomized controlled trial (N = 168). Using senior c
FEB 20
NO SAT/ACT: College results just as good
This study examines the outcomes of optional standardized testing policies in the Admissions offices at 33 public and private colleges and universities, based on cumulative GPA and graduation rates. The study also examines which students are more likely to make use of an optional testing policy, and how optional testing policies can offer important enrollment and financial planning benefits. Four
Multilingual Children Beyond Myths and Toward Best Practices
This report debunks the myth that multilingualism is harmful to children, and offers guidance to parents (e.g., to speak language or languages in which they are comfortable), teachers (e.g., not to discourage parents from speaking L1), researchers, and policy makers on ways to promote positive language development in children from multilingual families. Children can become fluent in two languages
FEB 19
Prison-based education declined during economic downturn, study finds
State-level spending on prison education programs declined sharply during the economic downturn, with the sharpest drop occurring in states that incarcerate the most prisoners, according to a new RAND Corporation study. (Also see a separate post on this report: New Report Links Prison Education Programs to Reduction in Recidivism)Large states cut spending by an average of 10 percent between the 20
Transfer Incentives for High-Performing Teachers: Final Results from a Multisite Experiment
This study examined the impact of the Talent Transfer Initiative (TTI) on both student achievement and teacher retention in 10 school districts across seven states. The initiative gave bonuses to high-performing teachers for them to transfer to and stay in low-performing schools. Transfer teachers could receive up to $20,000 over 2 academic years. They were eligible to volunteer to participate if
States Need More Support Linking Education Data to Guide Early Childhood Efforts
Although federal and state agencies fund an array of early care and education (ECE) services and collect data documenting those services, a report released today found that most states could do much more to link this data to guide decision-making for programs serving young children. The 2013 State of States’ Early Childhood Data Systems report, released by the Early Childhood Data Collaborative, i
Critical Thinking Skills Among Elementary School Students: Comparing Identified Gifted and General Education Student Performance
Education reform efforts, including the current adoption of Common Core State Standards, have increased attention to teaching critical thinking skills to all students. This study investigated the critical thinking skills of fourth-grade students from a school district in Texas, including 45 identified gifted students and 163 general education students. Identified gifted students outperformed gener
New Report Links Prison Education Programs to Reduction in Recidivism
The U.S. Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) today announced research which explores knowledge gaps and opportunities for leveraging academic and vocational education programs to improve the reentry outcomes of incarcerated adults and juveniles. The findings confirm the results of a previous report that showed the effectiveness of these programs. The research released today
FEB 18
Kids With ADHD May Benefit From 'Brain Wave' Training in School: Study
New research suggests that children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) may benefit from getting a type of training during school hours that monitors their brain waves to help improve attention.The study involved 104 elementary school children with ADHD who were randomly assigned to one of three groups: a brain-wave monitoring ("neurofeedback") group; a cognitive attenti
Conditional Promise of College Scholarship Improves GPAs of High School African American students
As federal, state, and local governments look to increase college enrollment and graduation among minorities and low-income students, the midsized urban school district of Kalamazoo, Michigan, has found a hopeful model. Funded by anonymous donors, the scholarship is awarded to graduates based on the number of years they attended Kalamazoo Public Schools, with students enrolled by 9th grade receivi
Class size reduction helps raise student achievement
The evidence that class size reduction helps raise student achievement is strong according to Professor Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach’s report, Does Class Size Matter?, published today by the National Education Policy Center (NEPC) at the University of Colorado Boulder. The report provides a comprehensive review of class-size research. According to Professor Schanzenbach, class-size reduction has be
FEB 15
High School Students Who Experience “Job-Shadow” Opportunities in STEM Environments, More Likely to Consider a STEM Career Path
Students exposed directly to work environments in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields are more likely to decide to follow paths that will lead to such careers, according to the findings of “Vocational Anticipatory Socialization of Adolescents: Messages, Sources, and Frameworks that Influence Interest in STEM Careers,” published online in the National Communication Association's
Action video games help people with dyslexia learn to read
In addition to their trouble with reading, people with dyslexia also have greater difficulty than typical readers do when it comes to managing competing sensory cues, according to a study reported February 13 in Current Biology, a Cell Press publication. The findings suggest that action video games might improve literacy skills in those with dyslexia, which represent five to ten percent of the pop
Talking to infants really matters
Fifty years of research has revealed the sad truth that the children of lower-income, less-educated parents typically enter school with poorer language skills than their more privileged counterparts. By some measures, 5-year-old children of lower socioeconomic status (SES) score two years behind on standardized language development tests by the time they enter school.In recent years, Anne Fernald,
A strategy that narrows academic achievement gap by 63 percent
Research finds discussion of social class improves grades of first-generation studentsAmericans don't like to talk about social class. But new research from Northwestern and Stanford universities suggests that, at least in college and university settings, they should do just that.An upcoming article in "Psychological Science" describes a novel one-hour intervention that closed by 63 perc