Cpre Knowledge Hub

In recent decades, new networks for school improvement (NSI) have proliferated across the country. These emerging networks present education leaders with an opportunity to build dynamic infrastructures to engage schools and improve teaching and learning. A new CPRE workbook, authored by five researchers from Teachers College at Columbia University and the University of Michigan, offers seven lessons for successful NSI management, based on years of interviews and observations in the field. Workbook coauthors Priscilla Wohlstetter (Teachers College) and Angela Lyle (University of Michigan) join CPRE Knowledge Hub managing editor Keith Heumiller to discuss the workbook, and some important takeaways for NSI stakeholders across the U.S.

Despite extensive training and career preparation, roughly a quarter of all new teachers will leave their position after only a year. A significant contributor, according to researchers, is teacher stress. In a new article in Phi Delta Kappan Magazine, University of Texas at Austin researcher Christopher J. McCarthy details more than a decade of research into teacher stress, including the interplay between school resources, demands, coping resources, and job satisfaction. McCarthy joins CPRE Knowledge Hub managing editor Keith Heumiller to discuss his findings, his new Kappan article, and some key takeaways for those hoping to reduce or prevent teacher stress in their own schools. Read more about "Education in a Stressed Out Nation" in the November 2019 issue of Phi Delta Kappan Magazine.

Nobel Prize-winning economist James Heckman joins CPRE Director Jonathan Supovitz to discuss the latest research into the Perry Preschool Project, a landmark 1960’s study that examined the impacts of high quality preschool on at-risk children. More than 50 years later, Heckman finds that the program has not only changed the lives of its former students, but the lives of their children as well. Heckman and Supovitz discuss the study and some important takeaways for early childhood policy, practice, and future research.

New research finds that spending cuts following the 2007 economic recession had significant impacts on student achievement, particularly in districts serving low-income and minority populations. The study, led by Penn State University's Kenneth Shores and George Mason University's Matthew Steinberg, found that students in counties most affected by the recession lost approximately a quarter of their expected annual gains between grades three and eight, compared to students in the least impacted counties. Shores and Steinberg join CPRE Knowledge Hub managing editor Keith Heumiller to discuss their findings, and some important lessons learned from one of the most challenging periods in American history.

A new study led by the University of Colorado Boulder's Allison Atteberry provides the first rigorous evidence of the impact of full-day preschool on children’s school readiness skills. The study, co-authored by University of Virginia researchers Daphna Bassok and Vivian C. Wong, finds that full-day preschool can have significant positive impacts on student vocabulary development and teacher-reported measures including literacy, math skills and social-emotional development. Atteberry joins CPRE Knowledge Hub managing editor Keith Heumiller to discuss the team's findings and their potential implications for policy, practice, and future research.

School district secessions - wherein communities "splinter" from an established district to form their own - have become increasingly common in the last 20 years, particularly in the southern U.S. According to a new study co-authored by Penn State University's Erica Frankenberg, those secessions can have significant impacts on local communities and schools, and lead to increased racial segregation between districts. Frankenberg joins CPRE Knowledge Hub managing editor Keith Heumiller to discuss her team's findings, and their implications for education policy, local government, and future research.

At both the local and national levels, American immigration enforcement efforts have had significant impacts on students, schools, and their surrounding communities, according to two recently published studies. In a study led by Stanford University's Tom Dee, researchers examined county-level partnerships between Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and local law enforcement agencies, and the impacts of those partnerships on schools and students. Another study, led by UCLA's Patricia Gandara and Loyola Marymount University's Jongyeon Ee, examined the perceptions of thousands of educators, counselors and other school staff across to U.S. to determine how immigration enforcement policies had affected their students. We speak with all three researchers about their research, and what their findings might say about the nation's current approach to immigration enforcement.

In an effort to improve the identification, assessment, and hiring of qualified teaching candidates, the Los Angeles Unified School District adopted a new "Multiple Measures Teacher Selection Process" in the 2014-15 school year. According to a new study led by USC PhD candidate Paul Bruno, the system has notably impacted outcomes such as teacher attendance, classroom evaluations, and student performance. Bruno joins CPRE Knowledge Hub managing editor Keith Heumiller to discuss his findings and some important takeaways for districts, school leaders, and practitioners across the country.

Do accountability policies under standards-based reform efforts disproportionately impact teachers over principals and district officials? A new multi-state study led by the University of Pennsylvania's Adam Kirk Edgerton set out to examine how policy environments differ for each group, and how gaps between them can impact outcomes like teacher preparedness and classroom instruction. Edgerton joins CPRE Director Jonathan Supovitz to discuss his findings, and some important takeaways for teachers, school leaders, and policymakers across the U.S.

Head Start, the nation’s largest publicly funded preschool program, holds licensed centers and agencies accountable through a set of defined quality standards. A new study led by Northwestern University's Terri Sabol, however, finds that the overall quality rating of a Head Start center can vary substantially, depending on which classrooms are evaluated. Sabol joins CPRE Knowledge Hub managing editor Keith Heumiller to discuss her team's findings and their implications for educators, policymakers, and future research.

In the largest study of its kind, dozens of researchers set out to learn if a short, online intervention could foster a growth mindset in students, and whether it could positively impact academic achievement. Lead author and University of Texas at Austin researcher David Yeager joins CPRE Knowledge Hub managing editor Keith Heumiller to discuss the study, which involved 12,500 students at 65 schools across the U.S. Yeager also discusses some noteworthy findings and key takeaways for policy, practice, and future research.

Responding to workforce demands and growing pressure on students to earn a post-secondary degree or certificate, U.S. high schools have increasingly focused on "college readiness." It's a concept, however, that can be difficult to formally define. In a new study led by the University of Washington's Julia Duncheon, researchers explored how a teacher's background, academic focus, and personal experience can influence their definition of "college readiness." Duncheon joins CPRE Knowledge Hub managing editor Keith Heumiller to discuss her findings and their potential implications for instruction, policy, and future research.

The Wallace Foundation's six-year, $85 million "Principal Pipelines" initiative led to notable gains in reading, math, and leadership turnover across more than 1,100 urban schools, according to a new study from the RAND Corporation. The study, led by RAND Office of Research Quality Assurance Director Susan Gates, also found that some of the most effective elements of the initiative can be implemented at little cost. Gates joins CPRE Knowledge Hub managing editor Keith Heumiller to discuss her findings and some important takeaways for districts and stakeholders across the country.

Social-emotional learning (SEL) competencies like self-efficacy and conscientiousness can be predictive of long-term academic achievement. But they can also be difficult to measure. In a new study led by NWEA's James Soland, researchers investigated whether assessment metadata - the way students approach tests and surveys - can provide useful SEL data to schools and educators. Soland joins CPRE research specialist Tesla DuBois to discuss his findings, their implications, and the promise and limitations of student metadata in general.

The advanced placement (AP) program has rapidly expanded in recent years, causing some to question whether certain courses - including AP science and math - can be successfully offered in less-resourced schools. In one of the first studies of its kind, a team of researchers set out to chart the "frontier" of AP expansion, and the fidelity with which schools offered AP science for the time. University of Washington Professor Mark Long discusses the team's findings and some important implications for school leaders, policymakers and future research.

From property tax to "soda tax," U.S. cities have found creative ways to fund and grow free, high quality preschool programs. Now families - and researchers - are reporting on the personal and academic benefits of those programs for local children. We welcome Shante` Brown (Director of Operations, PHLpreK), Milagros Nores (Research Co-Director, NIEER) and Phil Sirinides (Senior Research Specialist, CPRE) to discuss two growing programs in Seattle and Philadelphia, and their unique approaches to fostering quality and improving access.

From kindergarten to the workforce, disadvantaged students face significantly longer odds than their advantaged counterparts, according to a new report from the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce (CEW). The report, which found that less talented students from affluent beginnings are more than two times as likely to begin a successful career as even the most talented students from disadvantaged families, paints a stark picture of status, race, and lifelong achievement gaps in the U.S. Georgetown CEW Director Anthony Carnevale joins CPRE Knowledge Hub managing editor Keith Heumiller to discuss the report and its implications for education, federal policy, and the concept of upward mobility.

A new, wide-ranging study led by Michigan State University's Todd Elder finds that a student's race can play a significant role in whether or not they are identified with a disability. Elder joins CPRE Knowledge Hub managing editor Keith Heumiller to discuss his study - which analyzed birth and education records for every child born in Florida over a ten-year span - and its potential implications for practitioners, policymakers, and future research.

Performance-based funding, which ties a portion of a college’s state support to outcomes like graduation rates and degree production, remains one of the most widely used accountability drivers in higher education. In recent years, however, researchers have found that it can have unintended consequences for underrepresented student groups. One of those researchers, Seton Hall University’s Robert Kelchen, led a national study of colleges and universities to understand the impact of performance-based funding, and whether targeted bonuses can boost enrollment rates for minorities and low-income students. He joins CPRE research specialist Robert Nathenson to discuss his findings and their potential implications for higher education policy across the U.S.

From high-stakes testing to heightened federal accountability, the No Child Left Behind Act brought myriad changes to American classrooms. According to two new studies by the University of Dayton’s Meredith Wronowski, it also had significant unintended impacts on teacher perceptions – including increased feelings of stress and demoralization – and workplace turnover. Wronowski joins CPRE Knowledge Hub managing editor Keith Heumiller to discuss her findings, and offers some key takeaways for policymakers, teachers, and school leaders hoping to chart a different course in the Every Student Succeeds Act era.