THIS WEEK'S EDUCATION RESEARCH REPORT
Improving academic performance with physical fitness
Physical fitness in childhood and adolescence is beneficial for both physical and mental health throughout life. However, a growing body of evidence suggests that it may also play a key role in brain health and academic performance. In a new study scheduled for publication in the Journal of Pediatrics, researchers studied the independent and combined influence of components of physical fitness on
JUN 19
Effects of State-Mandated High School Science and Mathematics Course Graduation Requirements
Increased high school dropoutMathematics and science course graduation requirement (CGR) increases in the 1980s and 1990s might have had both intended and unintended consequences. Using logistic regression with Census and American Community Survey (ACS) data (n = 2,892,444), researchers modeled CGR exposure on (a) high school dropout, (b) beginning college, and (c) obtaining any college degree. Po
JUN 18
California's Education Systems Face Critical Choices at All Levels
Students from Immigrant Families Particularly AffectedAs California recovers from a severe budget crisis that hit immigrant students particularly hard, policymakers and education leaders face critical choices with respect to financing, implementation of new academic standards and future directions for the state’s high school, post-secondary and adult education systems. These decisions hold signifi
Finding Schools Exceeding Achievement Expectations with High-Risk Students
State education leaders are often interested in identifying schools that have demonstrated success with improving the literacy of students who are at the highest level of risk for reading difficulties. The identification of these schools that are “beating the odds” is typically accomplished by comparing a school’s observed performance on a particular exam, such as a state achievement exam, with h
JUN 17
Early school start times tougher on economically advantaged elementary children
Middle- and upper-class elementary school students in Kentucky demonstrated worse academic performance when they were required to start classes early, compared to peers whose school day started later, according to research published by the American Psychological Association.Researchers led by Peggy S. Keller, PhD, of the University of Kentucky, theorized that earlier school start times would be as
Quality of Teacher Preparation: Programs Still Failing to Prepare Nation’s Teachers
The National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) released its 2014 Teacher Prep Review – an annual assessment of the nation’s teacher preparation programs – with a much expanded and more comprehensive evaluation. The Review uncovers early evidence that teacher preparation programs are beginning to make changes. It arrives at a time of heightened, unprecedented activity across the nation to improve
Wide Gap Exists Between Educational Aspirations and Preparation for Hispanic Students
Although 83 percent of Hispanic students aspire to earn a postsecondary degree, just under a fourth are academically prepared to reach that goal, according to a new report released today by ACT and Excelencia in Education.The joint report, The Condition of College & Career Readiness 2013: Hispanic Students, shows that 24 percent of ACT-tested Hispanic 2013 high school graduates in the United S
JUN 16
Children in low-income homes do better in kindergarten if moms work when they are babies
Kindergarteners from lower-income families who were babies when their mothers went to work outside the home fare as well as or even better than children who had stay-at-home moms, according to new research published by the American Psychological Association.This finding, in a study published in APA's journal Developmental Psychology, is contrary to the findings of previous studies of children bor
Student Absences Reduce Achievement, Snow Days Don't
Despite the fact that the average American student is absent more than two weeks out of every school year, most research on the effect of instructional time has focused not on attendance but on the length of the school day or year. Student and school fixed effects models using Massachusetts data show a strong relationship between student absences and achievement but no impact of lost instructiona
Long-Run Impacts of Double-Dose Algebra
This paper studies an intensive math instruction policy that assigned low-skilled 9th graders to an algebra course that doubled instructional time, altered peer composition and emphasized problem solving skills. The research shows substantial positive impacts of double-dose algebra on credits earned, test scores, high school graduation and college enrollment rates. Test score effects unde
Income Inequality, Social Mobility, and the Decision to Drop Out of High School
This paper considers the role that high levels of income inequalityand low rates of social mobility play in driving the educationalattainment of youth in low-income households in the United States. Using high school degree status from five individual-level surveys,this analysis reveals that low-socioeconomic status (SES) students,and particularly boys, who grow up in locations with greater levels