THIS WEEK Education Research Report

Education Research Report

THIS WEEK 

Education Research Report

YESTERDAY

State Policies to Address COVID-19 School Closure

by Jonathan Kantrowitz / 18h

The COVID-19 crisis led to a near-nationwide closure of K-12 public schools. Many states are not planning to re-open schools for face-to-face instruction for the remainder of the 2019-20 school year. Governor Gretchen Whitmer has announced that Michigan will end face-to-face instruction, require schools to submit plans for distance learning, and suspend many requirements for assessment and instru

Major Academic Impacts from COVID-19 Closures for Students, Especially in Math

by Jonathan Kantrowitz / 1d

NWEA, a not-for-profit provider of assessment solutions, released today projections that current school closures due to the COVID-19 global pandemic could result in substantially lower achievement levels for students. The forecasts leveraged previous NWEA research on summer learning loss (also known as summer slide) and used a national sample of over five million students in grades 3-8 who took M

Boys are More Confident than Girls When it Comes to Math, Survey Shows

by Jonathan Kantrowitz / 1d

Gender gap exists in math even among top U.S. high school students, according to surveyor Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics A national survey of 16- to 18-year-olds shows that even among some of America’s top high school students, not only do boys favor math more than girls, but they also have more confidence in math class. The survey, conducted by Philadelphia-based Society for Indu

Public policies push schools to prioritize creating better test-takers over better people

by Jonathan Kantrowitz / 1d

Personal growth and job skills have taken a backseat to an increased focus on standardized test scores in schools across the nation, according to new University at Buffalo-led research. The study, which analyzed the educational goals of principals at thousands of public, private and charter schools over two decades, found the shift in priorities is most pronounced in public schools. The change in

Effects of 3 Interventions on Student Achievement

by Jonathan Kantrowitz / 1d

The What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) recently reviewed the research on three interventions designed to improve student academic achievement. Two interventions— Web-Based Intelligent Tutoring for the Structure Strategy and Word Generation —aim to improve literacy skills by providing supplemental instruction and practice. The third, the eMINTS Comprehensive Program , aims to improve student achieveme

APR 08

An experimental study demonstrates the effectiveness of online learning

by Jonathan Kantrowitz / 2d

High-quality online courses are no less effective than traditional classes when it comes to student learning outcomes. Online courses provide an opportunity to expand access to high-quality education without increasing costs: the number of students that universities will be able to enroll increases by 15-18%. The results of a study carried out jointly by HSE University researchers and US research

STEM students learn as well online as in classrooms

by Jonathan Kantrowitz / 2d

Students learned just as much in online STEM college courses as they did in traditional classroom settings, and at a fraction of the cost, according to a first-of-its-kind study. The study tracked more than 300 students in Russia, where top universities standardize online classes for use by institutions with fewer resources. It has important implications for the teaching of science, technology, e

APR 07

After affirmative action bans, underrepresented student enrollment lags demographic trends

by Jonathan Kantrowitz / 3d

In states that have banned affirmative action, the share of underrepresented minorities among students admitted to and enrolling in public universities has steadily lost ground relative to changing demographic trends among those states' high school graduates, according to new research. The study, by Mark Long at the University of Washington and Nicole Bateman at the Brookings Institution, was pub

Students who listened to Beethoven during lecture -- and in dreamland -- did better on test

by Jonathan Kantrowitz / 3d

College students who listened to classical music by Beethoven and Chopin during a computer-interactive lecture on microeconomics -- and heard the music played again that night -- did better on a test the next day than did peers who were in the same lecture, but instead slept that evening with white noise in the background. Over the long haul -- when students took a similar test nine months later

Labor Market Outcomes for High School Career and Technical Education Participants

by Jonathan Kantrowitz / 3d

Today , the National Center for Education Statistics released a new Data Point that examines how the early labor market outcomes of public high school graduates vary by the number of career and technical education (CTE) credits earned during high school. The report compares outcome among graduates who were not enrolled in postsecondary credential programs 3 years after high school graduation (in

APR 06

Which states provide postsecondary data on school report cards?

by Jonathan Kantrowitz / 4d

Full report According to 2019 guidance from the U.S. Department of Education, school report cards should include what students are doing after high school graduation “to the extent postsecondary enrollment data are available.” And the data should be disaggregated by racial and ethnic subgroup and whether students have a disability, are English learners or are from low-income families. 32 states p

APR 02

50-State Comparison: Secondary Career and Technical Education

by Jonathan Kantrowitz / 9d

Career and technical education came up in nearly half of governors’ State of the State addresses this year. It is often one piece of a statewide workforce development strategy, particularly as policymakers look toward building the structures and pipelines for career-relevant education and training before college. This new resource captures policies pertaining to secondary CTE in all 50 states and

MAR 31

Parents should limit screen media for preschoolers

by Jonathan Kantrowitz / 10d

New research from University of California, Davis, suggests that parents should delay introducing their children to any screen media, as well as limit preschool-age children's use of mobile devices, including smartphones and tablets. The research was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association Pediatrics this week. Over a two-and-a-half-year period, researchers assessed 56 childr

Writing about content reliably enhanced learning

by Jonathan Kantrowitz / 10d

This meta-analysis examined if students writing about content material in science, social studies, and mathematics facilitated learning ( k = 56 experiments). Studies in this review were true or quasi-experiments (with pretests), written in English, and conducted with students in Grades 1 to 12 in which the writing-to-learn activity was part of instruction. Studies were not included if the contro

Should intelligence tests be used in identifying giftedness

by Jonathan Kantrowitz / 10d

Research in educational psychology consistently finds a relationship between intelligence and academic performance. However, in recent decades, educational fields, including gifted education, have resisted intelligence research, and there are some experts who argue that intelligence tests should not be used in identifying giftedness. Hoping to better understand this resistance to intelligence res

Child Safety Account (CSA) report lacks research to substantiate its policy recommendations

by Jonathan Kantrowitz / 10d

A recent Heartland Institute report argues for Child Safety Account (CSA) programs that would enable parents to access taxpayer dollars by asserting that their child feels unsafe in school. The CSA money could be used by the 

Education Research Report