Education Research Report

Education Research Report

Education Research Report

The critically important role rest may play in learning

by Jonathan Kantrowitz / 45min

In a study of healthy volunteers, National Institutes of Health researchers found that our brains may solidify the memories of new skills we just practiced a few seconds earlier by taking a short rest. The results highlight the critically important role rest may play in learning. "Everyone thinks you need to 'practice, practice, practice' when learning something new. Instead, we found that restin

APR 11

Autism rate rises 43 percent in New Jersey

by Jonathan Kantrowitz / 1d

A new report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which uses research by Rutgers University, shows a significant increase in the percentage of 4-year-old children with autism spectrum disorder in New Jersey. The study found the rate increased 43 percent from 2010 to 2014 in the state. The report, released April 11, found that about one in 59 children has autism. New Jersey's rate wa

Gender gap in spatial reasoning starts in elementary school

by Jonathan Kantrowitz / 1d

It is well-established that, on average, men outperform women on a spatial reasoning task known as mental rotation -- imagining multi-dimensional objects from different points of view. Men are not, however, born with this advantage, suggests a major meta-analysis by psychologists at Emory University. Instead, males gain a slight advantage in mental-rotation performance during the first years of f

2019 NATIONAL REPORT Maximizing the Relationship Between Mindset and Student Success

by Jonathan Kantrowitz / 2d

Complete report New findings from the Center for Community College Student Engagement(CCCSE) indicate that mindset may play an important role in student engagement. Students who have more productive mindsets are more engaged and have higher GPAs. Thus, understanding mindset—and helping students improve their academic mindsets—may open new avenues for improving student success. While there is a gr

50-State Comparison: States’ School Improvement Policies

by Jonathan Kantrowitz / 2d

Using school accountability systems and other metrics, all states identify the lowest-performing schools for more intensive improvement strategies. Improvement strategies can include forms of alternative governance of the school, often referred to as turnaround strategies . States may also require low-performing schools to develop a school improvement plan, which may be based on a needs assessmen

APR 10

Teaching styles and achievement: Student and teacher perspectives

by Jonathan Kantrowitz / 2d

This study analyzes the relationship between the use of modern and traditional teaching styles and the achievement in math and reading in primary education. Teamwork and class discussions—modern practices—are strongly related to better achievement, while rote learning and individual work—traditional practices—to lower achievement. But that association is only significant when using students’ repo

The effect of online testing on measured student achievement

by Jonathan Kantrowitz / 2d

Nearly two dozen states now administer online exams to deliver testing to K-12 students. These tests have real consequences: their results feed into accountability systems, which have been used for more than a decade to hold schools and districts accountable for their students’ learning. This study examines the rollout of computer-based testing in Massachusetts over 2 years to investigate test mo

An important part of the gender gap in the salaries of K-12 educator stems from male educators having additional income

by Jonathan Kantrowitz / 2d

This study e xamines gender gaps in the salaries of K-12 educators. This is an occupation where direct gender discrimination is less likely since salaries are determined by a union pay scale and women constitute the majority of employers. Using data from the American Community Survey (ACS), researchers find a gender gap of $12,000 in the personal income of K-12 educators, with only part of this g

Financial bonus to National Board certified teachers in high poverty schools - no detectible effects on student test achievement

by Jonathan Kantrowitz / 2d

This study examines a teacher incentive policy in Washington State that awards a financial bonus to National Board certified teachers in high poverty schools. Researchers find that the bonus policy increased the proportion of certified teachers in bonus-eligible schools by improving hiring, increasing certification rates of incumbent teachers, and reducing turnover. Depending on the method, they

More women needed in top education leadership roles

by Jonathan Kantrowitz / 2d

Women comprise the majority of the education workforce—except at the very top. A new report from Chiefs for Change, a bipartisan network of state and district education leaders, provides a detailed, state-by-state analysis of inequities in education leadership and outlines solutions to help more women, and women of color in particular, become district superintendents and state chiefs. The report,

State policies and practices in the selection and implementation of digital instructional materials

by Jonathan Kantrowitz / 2d

A new report, State K12 Instructional Materials Leadership Trends Snapshot summarizes current state policies and practices in the selection and implementation of digital instructional materials. This report is based on the 2019 updates to the Digital Instructional Materials Acquisition Policies for States (DMAPS) online portal. Since its inception in 2015, DMAPS has been updated annually and expa

Best Practices Around the Nation for Driving Broadband Connectivity and Access for Students

by Jonathan Kantrowitz / 2d

SETDA, the principal membership association of U.S. state and territorial digital learning leaders, today released a new national report, State K-12 Broadband Leadership: Driving Connectivity, Access and Student Success . This report highlights the powerful impact of state leadership in driving critical policy decisions at the state level to support broadband networks, bandwidth capacity, Wi-Fi i

The annual State Higher Education Finance (SHEF) report

by Jonathan Kantrowitz / 3d

For sixteen years, the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO) has produced the annual State Higher Education Finance (SHEF) report to broaden understanding and enable analysis of state-level and national funding and enrollment trends over time. The SHEF report provides the earliest possible review of state funding for higher education for the most recently completed fiscal

Early Adolescents’ Adjustment at School

by Jonathan Kantrowitz / 3d

This study examined group differences by grade (fifth graders in elementary school and sixth graders in middle school) and gender in academic (behavioral and emotional engagement, academic self-concept, and worry) and socio-emotional adjustment (self-esteem, social satisfaction, social self-concept, and worry). Self-report data were collected from 1,003 students in the fall and spring of the scho

APR 09

New to college? Spend some time alone

by Jonathan Kantrowitz / 3d

IMAGE: Spending time alone isn't necessarily bad, especially for first-year college students. A new study shows that a positive motivation for seeking solitude can be a predictor for successful adjustment to... view more Credit: University of Rochester photo / J. Adam Fenster Transitioning from high school to college can be stressful. Trying to fit in, making new friends, missing old ones and hom

Mishandled Guns in Schools

by Jonathan Kantrowitz / 3d

A comprehensive analysis finds there have been more than 60 publicly-reported incidents of mishandled guns at schools in the last five years, including: A teacher’s loaded gun falling from his waistband during a cartwheel. A student grabbing an officer’s gun while the officer attempted to subdue the student. A teacher unintentionally firing a gun in class during a safety demonstration. Until very

Countries that help working class students get into university have happier citizens

by Jonathan Kantrowitz / 4d

A study has shown that 'inclusive' educational policies that help working class students access higher education, such as delaying streaming children according to their ability until they are older, lowering the cost of private education, and increasing the intake of universities so that more students can attend all act to reduce the 'happiness gap' between the rich and poor. Research shows that

APR 08

Estimates of emergency department visits for suicide attempts, thoughts among kids, teens JAMA Pediatrics

by Jonathan Kantrowitz / 4d

Many children with suicide attempts/suicidal thoughts present to emergency departments (EDs). An analysis of U.S. ED data from 2007 to 2015 estimates annual visits almost doubled from 580,000 to 1.12 million for suicide attempts/suicidal thoughts by children ages 5 to 18 years. As a proportion of all pediatric encounters in EDs, suicide attempts/suicidal thoughts increased from 2.17 percent in 20

Privately funded CT RISE program raises a number of key issues in public education

by Jonathan Kantrowitz / 4d

Complete report The CT RISE program interacts with a number of key issues in public education, including: how we define, quantify, and measure student learning; teacher autonomy; teacher morale; student data privacy; and the role of philanthropists and other external and private interests in our public schools. This report takes CT RISE as a concrete and revealing case study. NHPS (New Haven Publ

Children starting school today will graduate better prepared for their futures if they have a strong social and emotional foundation

by Jonathan Kantrowitz / 4d

The future of learning is here. As schools and educators consider how to approach the rapidly changing realities of education, new research suggests children starting school today will graduate better prepared for their futures if they have a strong social and emotional foundation, developed in a personalised learning environment. This new research draws on multiple sources, including a collabora

Principal Pipelines: A Feasible, Affordable, and Effective Way for Districts to Improve Schools

by Jonathan Kantrowitz / 4d

Research across the decades has confirmed that effective school leadership is associated with better outcomes for students and schools. A high-quality school leader affects dozens of teachers and hundreds or thousands of students. It is a pivotal role. From 2011 to 2016, The Wallace Foundation, through its Principal Pipeline Initiative (PPI), provided funding and technical assistance to support s

Attending school with crime-prone peers, rather than living in the same neighborhood increases arrest rates at age 19 - 21

by Jonathan Kantrowitz / 5d

This paper examines how elementary-aged peers affect cognitive and non-cognitive outcomes from adolescence to adulthood. Results indicate exposure to these peers reduces achievement and increases antisocial behavior during middle and high school. More importantly, the researchers estimate that a five percentage point increase in school and neighborhood crime-prone peers increases arrest rates at

Risk Preferences of Children and Adolescents in Relation to Gender, Cognitive Skills, Soft Skills, and Executive Functions

by Jonathan Kantrowitz / 5d

This study involves experiments eliciting risk preferences with over 1,400 children and adolescents aged 3-15 years old and an assessment of cognitive and executive function skills. The researchers find that adolescent girls display significantly greater risk aversion than adolescent boys. This pattern is not observed among young children, suggesting that the gender gap in risk preferences emerge

APR 05

Screen time -- even before bed -- has little impact on teen well-being

by Jonathan Kantrowitz / 7d

Data from more than 17,000 teenagers show little evidence of a relationship between screen time and well-being in adolescents . The study, published in Psychological Science , a journal of the Association for Psychological Science , casts doubt on the widely accepted notion that spending time online, gaming, or watching TV, especially before bedtime, can damage young people's mental health. "Impl

Many fields that support a significant number of U.S. jobs see little CTE course-taking in high school,

by Jonathan Kantrowitz / 8d

The recent reauthorization of the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act—the principal federal education program supporting career and technical education (CTE)—expressly aims to “align workforce skills with labor market needs.” How Aligned is Career and Technical Education to Local Labor Markets? , co-authored by Pepperdine University associate professor Cameron Sublett and Fordham I

Education Research Report