May 09, 2011

NEW ENGLAND SECONDARY SCHOOL CONSORTIUM

In today’s world, a high school diploma has to mean something. This issue brief from the New England Secondary School Consortium’s Leadership in Action series explains how proficiency-based diplomas will ensure that all learners are prepared for success in college and beyond.

To make sure that every high school diploma certifies strong preparation for college, work, and life, the old system needs to change. In today’s world, a high school diploma has to mean something.

February 19, 2001

COLLEEN O’BRIEN AND JESSICA SHEDD

Low-income and minority students face more obstacles than their peers in four-year, postsecondary education. With a quickly growing minority population and its status as a hub of higher education, New England must address the unique needs of these students to ensure quality education is available to all.

Financial aid, pre-college preparation, attendance, and feel connected to campus are all critical to helping low-income and minority students succeed. Government, philanthropy, and institutions should offer support during the admissions and transfer processes, emphasize grant aid over loans, and create a community where low-income and minority students can thrive.

Low-income and minority students face many obstacles to success in postsecondary education, including financial, academic, and social barriers.

October 17, 2001

STEPHEN COELEN, PATRICIA CROSSON AND JOSEPH BERGER

Affirmative action in college admissions has been debated as a useful policy for creating qualified, diverse student bodies. The minority student population in New England colleges and universities is growing but remains lower than its white counterpart.

This report examines affirmative action admissions policies and their effects on diversity in higher education, as well as public perceptions of those policies. The most compelling conclusion from the report is that there is no significant evidence that colleges have lowered standards to admit a greater number of minority students.

By increasing educational access to a broader segment of the population, the region’s higher education institutions have taken crucial steps toward assuring the vitality and vibrancy of New England’s future economy and civic life.

June 04, 2003

BETH MILLER

Experiences during adolescence shape students’ futures as learners and individuals. Afterschool time presents opportunities for social-emotional and interest-driven learning through hands-on experiences—something that is sometimes missing from school curricula.

This report draws on research from a range of fields to establish the context for afterschool programs and their role in academic success. By examining afterschool programs, the report provides an overview of positive outcomes that set students up for engaged, lifelong learning.

Communities, school systems and government [must work] together to overcome barriers to effective programs in order to provide young people with experiences that contribute to their development, safety and academic achievement.

October 01, 2004

DON HELLER AND PATRICIA MARIN

With college tuition rising faster than family incomes, state policy is barring low-income and minority students from receiving adequate aid for college tuition. This collection of research finds that many state merit aid policies favor granting funds to students who are already likely to go to college without aid, while not covering access for low-income and minority students.

The research is a follow-up to the 2002 report, Who Should We Help? The Negative Consequences of Merit Scholarships. This report further examines the possible consequences of merit-based aid, addressing specific programs and policies and describing the negative impact these programs may have on college access for low-income and minority students.

…Unmet need is a barrier both to students’ initial enrollment in college and to their ability to persist through and earn a degree.

April 18, 2006

ALICIA C. DOWD AND GLENN GABBARD

As the population of academically talented low-income students at community colleges increases, their rate of transfer to selective colleges and universities is decreasing. From cultural barriers to economic-driven institutional policy, low-income students are increasingly disadvantaged in the pursuit of spots at selective schools.

This study of access to elite, four-year institutions for transfer students addresses the widening education gap between low- and high-income students. To provide opportunities to accomplish students and diversify higher education, the researchers recommend authority figures, administrators, faculty members, and peers support low-income students with information, advising, and encouragement.

Together, highly selective institutions and community colleges have the potential to dramatically increase the number of low-SES (socioeconomic status) transfer students by encouraging talented community college students to apply, raising awareness of financial aid, and working to diminish cultural barriers.

May 30, 2006

THE AFTERSCHOOL ALLIANCE

The hours after school offer opportunities for academic and personal growth outside of the classroom, but many students spend the time unsupervised. The lack of access to quality afterschool programs and inadequate federal funding means just 14 percent of New England students participate in afterschool programs.

This 2006 report by the Afterschool Alliance is the first in a series that examines the need for afterschool programs and the work being done in the New England states to increase public support and availability. The report concludes with practical recommendations for citizens, officials, and community leaders to develop a regional push for afterschool programs for all.

New England is fortunate to have many strong afterschool programs that keep children safe, inspire them to learn and help working families. But there are not nearly enough afterschool programs in New England to meet the need.

June 29, 2006

STEPHEN P. COELEN AND JOSEPH B. BERGER

By 2020, New England is predicted to have a significant drop in the percentage of young people holding bachelor’s degrees or higher. The changing population, with varying levels of education, demands accommodation.

This 2006 report details the relationships between population demographics, educational attainment, and workforce quality. It concludes that making higher education more accessible and affordable will attract young people to secure a prosperous future for New England.

Anything we do to achieve high college participation, retention, and completion rates will have a positive, lasting effect on New England.

June 29, 2006

Answers to Frequently Asked Questions pertaining to the Foundation’s “New England 2020” report.

December 12, 2006

BLENDA J. WILSON

A competitive workforce where the basic requirement is a college degree calls for adults, as well as teenagers, to be college ready. Adult learners face numerous barriers to college completion, including family and job responsibilities, and lack of confidence in their own abilities.

The Nellie Mae Education Foundation (NMEF) partnered with the New England Literacy publication Center to create the New England Adult Basic Education (ABE)-to-College Transition Project, which funded 25 ABE-to-college programs in New England. In this 2006 article, former NMEF President Blenda J. Wilson reflects on the difficulties of pursuing postsecondary education and the successes of these bridge programs and their learners.

Today, adults with only a high school education are seriously handicapped in the job market and are hard-pressed to take care of a family, have choices and keep a safe distance from the poverty line. New England’s economy will be handicapped unless we help those adults find their way into college.

June 20, 2007

BETH M. MILLER

For many, summertime occupies a nostalgic place in our imaginations, conjuring up memories of relaxation, fresh air, and freedom. Summer is also a time when many children are given the opportunity to expand their horizons and build new skills. But for a significant number of children who do not have access to these experiences, the summer can be three months too many without meaningful learning opportunities.

This report examines the benefits of summer learning opportunities, drawing on research that attributes the achievement gap to a lack of access to quality summer programs. Recommendations for policymakers and researchers include tapping philanthropic organizations, spreading awareness, and collecting additional data on underserved populations.

For the significant numbers of children who do not have access to these experiences, the summer can be three months too many without meaningful learning opportunities.

October 16, 2008

JOBS FOR THE FUTURE

A historic leader in education, New England faces new challenges as its population diversifies amid an increasingly demanding economy.

This report assesses the implications of the region’s changing demographics and the skills needed to be a 21st century citizen. The authors recommend New England continue to develop its policies, practices, and partnerships to support underserved youth.

Education attainment and achievement indicators show that important segments of the population are not prepared for success in a knowledge-based economy.

April 27, 2009

The report reviewed six options that are likely to be considered in any comprehensive multiple pathways initiative. These options serve as potential building blocks that can be combined to create additional learning options for students.

The need to dramatically increase the number of young people who gain the credentials and skills necessary to succeed in 21st century America has never been clearer. One of the most promising ideas for achieving this goal is to establish “multiple pathways” for learners that lead to a variety of high-quality postsecondary options.

April 27, 2009

EPHRAIM WEISSTEIN AND DR. DAVID JACOBSON

High school graduation rates for students from traditionally underserved populations tend to be low—figures show that students from families with income in the bottom 20% dropped out of high school at six times the rate of those from higher income brackets.

It is obvious that the traditional high school system, as currently structured, is not meeting the needs of many students. This report offers alternatives, or “multiple pathways” for learners to be prepared for post-secondary options.

The need to dramatically increase the number of young people who gain the credentials and skills necessary to succeed in 21st century America has never been clearer.

July 16, 2009

ALBERT WAT AND CHRISANNE GAYL

In 2009, pre-K was the fastest growing sector in public education, but less than 30 percent of three- and four-year olds were served in publicly funded programs.

To provide all students with quality pre-K programs, communities can pool publications in collaborations between private and public partners. This 2009 report presents the benefits of and barriers to community-based partnerships and offers recommendations for communities and policymakers for forming and supporting partnerships.

While implementing a pre-k program in partnership with community-based organizations may require more time and effort, this strategy ultimately benefits all stakeholders: public schools, private providers, families and children.

November 16, 2009

B. MCLAUGHLIN AND T.L. PHILLIPS

Partnerships are effective ways for schools and community-based organizations to provide more meaningful summer learning experiences—making a real difference in the lives of children, families, and communities. But what do successful partnerships look like?

This report draws on findings from in-depth interviews conducted by the National Center for Summer Learning with 11 summer programs that have successfully developed collaborations between summer programs, schools and community organizations.

Summer programs are well-positioned to act as laboratories for larger school reform efforts because some of the more nontraditional school partners may occupy the summer education space in ways that are not typical during the school year (for example, youth learning in a summer residential camp setting).

January 13, 2010

ROSANN TUNG

The purpose of this review is to understand previous efforts at scaling up the use of performance assessments across districts and states. Through systematic description and comparison of seven large-scale initiatives, as well as analogous efforts from teacher certification, medicine, and law, the paper identifies the strengths and vulnerabilities in each initiative.

Performance assessments benefit students and teachers by providing more opportunities for students to demonstrate their knowledge and complex skills, by providing teachers with better information about student progress, and by encouraging schools to build professional collaborative cultures through integrating curriculum, instruction, and assessment.

June 20, 2010

LAURIE GAGNON

The perspectives of high school graduates offer a valuable source of understanding for educators and policymakers on how to ensure high-quality performance assessments can prepare all students for work and college.

Through a series of in-depth interviews with graduates from three Boston Public Schools with established performance-based assessment systems, the study analyzes graduates’ preparation for future academic, professional, and personal endeavors. Graduates describe the process of learning from performance assessment, the ways their learning prepared them for future schooling or work, and the areas in which they faced challenges.

[Performance assessments are] more like the real world [than tests]. It’s more like what is actually going to happen. If I have a problem, I will find out how to do it.

June 22, 2010

EPHRAIM WEISSTEIN AND FLORA TRAUB

In New England alone, 10%, or 142,000 young adults ages 18-24 are “disconnected” or leaving the public education system without the skills necessary to succeed in emerging careers. The region does not appear to have the necessary systems and supports in place to address the magnitude of the problem, and cannot afford to ignore it.

This study provides an overview of the scope, scale, and consequences of the current disconnected young adult challenge. The authors offer policy recommendations to make the education system more flexible for this high-risk population.

Too many young people and working adults leave school academically underprepared for the new economy, particularly individuals from low-income and other traditionally underserved groups who have had weak education experiences.

July 14, 2010

MICHELLE WILCZYNSKI

Middle-skill jobs will account for nearly 40% of job openings in the state through 2016.

Massachusetts has made significant investments in education and training for its workforce, especially in K-12 education, basic skills, and incumbent worker training. However, the state has under-invested in public higher education and vocational/technical training—two critical components of the state’s training infrastructure that must be better aligned to meet industry demand for middle-skill workers.

If Massachusetts is to realize its full economic potential, educational access must reflect the demands of a 21st-century economy and the realities of the 21st-century workforce.

October 07, 2010

JILL NORTON, LISA FAMULARO, MICHAEL BENNETT, AND IVY WASHINGTON

In an increasingly complex and global economy, the knowledge and skills required for students to be successful in college and beyond have deepened. Many schools argue that providing students with a broader set of skills that will enable them to thrive in the 21^st century—such as critical thinking, problem-solving, communication, and creativity—is vital. Even so, others maintain that students must continue to focus solely on mastering basic reading, writing and mathematics skills.

In 2010, the Rennie Center for Education Research & Policy conducted a statewide survey of superintendents, charter school leaders and principals to gauge the extent to which they support the integration of 21^st century skills into public education.

While the public debate about the merits of ’21st century skills’ continues, some schools and districts across the Commonwealth have already decided the direction they will take.

November 22, 2010

CHRIS STURGIS AND SUSAN PATRICK

Competency-based policy is often described simply as flexibility in awarding credit, or an alternative to the Carnegie unit. However, this does not capture the depth of transformation of a system shifting from a time-based system to a learning-based system.

This report explores the driving forces behind competency-based innovations and implementation issues, and highlights a number of challenges facing states and districts as they explore competency-based approaches.

In a proficiency system, failure or poor performance may be part of the student’s learning curve, but it is not an outcome.

January 25, 2011

MICHELLE RENEE AND SARA MCALISTER

In this report, the Annenberg Institute for School Reform (AISR) examines a growing body of literature on community organizing to understand how this strategy fits into systemic education reform. AISR’s research shows that community organizing for school reform has the potential to create equitable changes, develop innovative education solutions that gather insights from under-served communities, and build the long-term social capital of under-served communities both to support schools and districts and to hold them accountable for improving achievement.

Education organizing – unique in its blend of outside-in and inside-out strategies – is as much about building coalitions with school districts and policy-makers as it is about protesting against them.

January 31, 2011

MARIA IDALI TORRES, ET. AL.

Although Latinos comprise only 8.4% of Massachusetts’ population, their age structure (tilted toward the younger age groupings) and the constant influx of new immigrants from Latin America is transforming the state’s landscape of schools and workplaces.

The authors of this compilation of reports present the implications of the disparities (in education, economics, and health) for Latinos, and share their suggestions for improving the economic, social, and educational well-being of this growing population.

The future of the Commonwealth’s working-age population and tax base may well depend on Latino’s upward mobility.

February 14, 2011

ROBERT B. SCHWARTZ, RONALD F. FERGUSON, AND WILLIAM C. SYMONDS

The pathway from high school to four-year college is not for everyone. According to this report, roughly half of all young Americans are unprepared for success in today’s workforce.

Pathways to Prosperity calls for an intensive effort from employers, educators, government and nonprofit leaders to build pathways that link work and learning and are aligned with labor market demand.

This important and timely report offers a compelling assessment of a growing skills gap threatening young people’s ability to achieve the American Dream. It stands as a sobering call to action, offering effective ideas for making American education an engine for opportunity once again.

March 16, 2011

NEW ENGLAND SECONDARY SCHOOL CONSORTIUM

This issue brief from the New England Secondary School Consortium’s Leadership in Action series outlines how we can make sure our students are prepared for success in a new, global economy.

Today’s students need skills that their parents never needed to learn, they will encounter problems that we never faced, and they will be competing for jobs that do not yet exist.

March 29, 2011

NEW ENGLAND SECONDARY SCHOOL CONSORTIUM

This issue brief from the New England Secondary School Consortium’s Leadership in Action series outlines what we know about how students learn—and how we can use these insights to strengthen our high schools for student success.

When students believe that intelligence is genetic and unchangeable they often learn at slower rates and avoid challenges. But students who embrace new problems and overcome failures learn more and learn it faster.

April 11, 2011

NEW ENGLAND SECONDARY SCHOOL CONSORTIUM

This issue brief from the New England Secondary School Consortium’s Leadership in Action series looks abroad for ideas and lessons that will ensure that our students are culturally competent and prepared to succeed in a global economy.

When our students graduate, they will enter a world that is no longer defined by national borders, and they will be competing for jobs alongside ambitious, highly skilled workers from Europe, Asia, and countries across the globe.

April 25, 2011

NEW ENGLAND SECONDARY SCHOOL CONSORTIUM

This issue brief from the New England Secondary School Consortium’s Leadership in Action series outlines what it means to develop a 21st-century high school that will ensure our students are among the best educated in the world.

Combining classroom teaching with outside-of-school learning experiences—from community internships to online courses to ‘early college’ programs that give students a taste of higher education—will better prepare the next generation for the real-world challenges of adult life.

May 17, 2011

NEW ENGLAND SECONDARY SCHOOL CONSORTIUM

Personalized learning pathways encourage students to pursue their passions while encouraging them to take more responsibility for their education. This issue brief from the New England Secondary School Consortium’s Leadership in Action series outlines what personalized learning really means.

If all students are held to the same learning expectations, but are allowed to achieve those high standards in more creative and personally meaningful ways, every student can design a personalized pathway to graduation that prepares them for life.

June 07, 2011

NEW ENGLAND SECONDARY SCHOOL CONSORTIUM

This issue brief from the New England Secondary School Consortium’s Leadership in Action series explains that in today’s world, relevance, usefulness, and real-world application need to inform every dimension of the high school experience.

When students are engaged in real-world learning, they tackle the kinds of tricky, complex problems that do not always have clear answers—just like life.

June 20, 2011

COUNCIL OF CHIEF STATE SCHOOL OFFICERS

This report presents the vision of chief state school officers and state education agencies to dramatically improve student achievement through the development and implementation of next-generation state accountability systems.

This Roadmap serves as a foundational tool for states to take bold action in developing next-generation accountability systems that are based on the goal of college and career readiness for all students.

June 28, 2011

NEW ENGLAND SECONDARY SCHOOL CONSORTIUM

In today’s knowledge economy, where students are competing for jobs alongside highly educated and motivated graduates from every corner of the globe, education has never been more necessary or vital to our country’s economic competitiveness. This issue brief from the New England Secondary School Consortium’s Leadership in Action series outlines why education is so important to the future of our economy and democracy.

The majority of new jobs being created in the United States require more education, more specialized training, and more sophisticated skills than ever before. In the 21st century, a strong economy requires a strong education system.

July 01, 2011

CHRIS STURGIS, SUSAN PATRICK, AND LINDA PITTENGER

Education leaders and innovators met at the March 2011 Competency-Based Learning Summit to share knowledge and research related to competency-based learning. This paper summarizes the topics discussed, including learning time, the work of successful schools and districts, and tough issues such as accountability, equity, and assessment.

Students have been locked down by the concept of seat-time and locked out of the technological revolution that has transformed nearly every sector of American society, except for education.

July 14, 2011

BABETTE MOELLER AND TIM REITZES

While technology can serve as a powerful education tool, it cannot drive reform on its own. To be widely adopted, technology must be part of a comprehensive and systemic effort to change education. This report provides a look at the potential that technology offers and the steps needed to better understand when technology is most effective in student-centered learning—and for whom.

Technology can equip students to independently organize their learning process. So, instead of being passive recipients of information, students using technology become active users.

July 25, 2011

SUSAN PATRICK AND CHRIS STURGIS

Time and publications shouldn’t prohibit states from implementing student-centered, performance-based learning policies. This 2011 report offers recommendations for education leaders and state policymakers operating within such restrictions to work toward competency-based models of learning.

Just as there are multiple pathways for students to learn, there are multiple pathways for states to create room for innovation.

February 01, 2012

SUSAN NALL BALES, NATHANIEL KENDALL-TAYLOR, ERIC LINDLAND, MOIRA O’NEIL, ADAM SIMON

The first in a series of interpretive reports to emerge from the FrameWorks Institute’s Core Story of Education Project, this report outlines obstacles that prevent education reformers from engaging in meaningful public discussions about improving students’ skills development.

The public has little exposure to, much less practice with, connecting micro-processes of education – such as skills acquisition – with macro or structural educational issues.

February 01, 2012

ROBERT HALPERN

Nearly one-third of the four million youth who enter high school each year will drop out. The over-reliance on one institution—high school—to meet the full range of students’ development needs is choking the learning experience for a sizeable percentage of young people.

This report calls for creating a richer fabric of learning opportunities for youth. A much broader segment of society needs to collaborate to find the means to engage young people in meaningful learning.

Partnerships create a sum greater than its parts, in effect creating a richer, more varied learning landscape for young people.

February 05, 2012

CHRISTINA BROWN AND PASCALE MEVS

Standardized testing is just one form of assessment available to districts and schools. To generate a robust portrait of students’ achievement, policymakers and educators should consider quality performance assessments that measure mastery rather than memorization.

This 2012 report offers a definition for performance assessment and details examples of schools using these systems. The authors provide a framework and essential elements for implementing a performance assessment system, including aligned instruction and professional communities of practice.

Regardless of the standards or the assessments that measure them, all students should have the opportunity to engage in meaningful work that prepares them for the 21st century workplace.

March 01, 2012

BEN LEVIN, AMANDA DATNOW, AND NATHALIE CARRIER

School districts function as governing bodies, but also as supporters of change and advocates of equity. Implementing student-centered changes to pedagogy, culture, and more can help districts accomplish these objectives. This report, part of the Students at the Center series, details the state of student-centered learning in the United States, how and why districts are important in improving student success, and what they can do to foster student-centered practices.

The district is a key institutional actor in educational reform, providing instructional leadership, reorienting the organization, establishing policy coherence, and maintaining an equity focus.

March 01, 2012

BARBARA CERVONE AND KATHLEEN CUSHMAN

This report takes the reader inside six high schools widely regarded as exemplars of deep student learning. The authors unpack teaching practices and school structures at the heart of student-centered learning. Findings reveal commonalities among the schools, especially in allowing teachers to hone their craft through “daily acts of invention.

March 19, 2012

DAVID H. ROSE AND JENNA W. GRAVEL

Neuroscience research has established the human brain as highly individualized. To achieve student-centered learning, classroom design and instruction should reflect students’ need for individualization.

This 2012 report proposes universal design for learning (UDL) and digital media for creating student-centered classrooms that addresses a variety of students’ abilities and interests.

While providing access to information is often essential to learning, it is not sufficient. Success also requires that the means for learning—the pedagogical goals, methods, materials, and assessments of instruction—are also accessible.

April 19, 2012

HEIDI ANDRADE, KRISTEN HUFF, AND GEORGIA BROOKE

Student-centered assessment is a vital part of student-centered learning approaches. This paper examines the defining qualities of student-centered assessment and underscores the importance of student-centered assessment as part of a balanced system of formative, interim, and summative assessments.

Testing at its best actively engages students in the regulation of their own learning when they themselves determine the gaps in their knowledge and make plans for filling in those gaps.

April 23, 2012

NEW ENGLAND SECONDARY SCHOOL CONSORTIUM

This issue brief from the New England Secondary School Consortium’s Leadership in Action series outlines why professional learning communities may be the most effective, affordable, and sustainable school improvement strategy around.

If we really want to improve student performance, increasing the amount of time teachers are given to learn and plan together would be a great place to start.

July 19, 2012

SUSAN YONEZAWA, LARRY MCCLURE, AND MAKEBA JONES

Thoughtful educators personalize school every day—greeting students by name, offering academic help, checking in about serious family problems. But how can teacher-student relationships play a more formal role in personalizing education for students?

This 2012 report reviews research on personalization, emphasizing the importance of student-teacher relationships. The authors provide examples of personalization in schools, such as advisories and small schools, and suggest next steps for personalization, which include mastery-based instruction, digital technology, and college and career readiness.

Educators who use teacher-student relationships to create classroom environments that foster feelings of competency—particularly among students who have been marginalized for any number of reasons—can invigorate students who were previously disengaged.

July 19, 2012

ALFRED W. TATUM

Just 38% of 12th graders performed at or above a proficient level in reading in 2009. Despite efforts to close the achievement gap, African-American boys fare even worse in literacy.

This 2012 Students at the Center paper makes the case for deeper efforts in schools to help African-American boys achieve literacy, highlighting outcomes of proficient reading including personal development, economic vitality, and global participation.

Because reading comprehension forms the foundation for learning just about anything after fourth grade and for functioning in society, educators need to pay more attention to how literacy instruction can safeguard academic and personal well-being.

July 20, 2012

ERIC TOSHALIS AND MICHAEL J. NAKKULA

Teachers are constantly attempting to persuade students to participate in meaningful class activities and motivate students to achieve. When teachers are successful, classrooms come alive with exploration, discovering and learning. When they fall short, young people tune out, disengage, and, ultimately, fail.

The authors of this report synthesize research on achievement motivation, school engagement, and student voice to conclude that the more educators use student-centered approaches to reinforce student agency, the more motivation and engagement are likely to rise.

The movement to raise standards may fail if teachers are not supported to understand the connections among motivation, engagement, and student voice.

July 20, 2012

CHRISTINA HINTON, KURT W. FISCHER, AND CATHERINE GLENNON

Technological breakthroughs make research in human biology and cognitive science more relevant for education than ever before. The authors of this report suggest that student-centered approaches support learning in the brain—and such approaches have the potential to support academic achievement and close achievement gaps, particularly for underserved youth.

Students’ genetic predispositions interact with learning experiences to give rise to a wide range of individual differences.

July 20, 2012

ROCHELLE GUTIERREZ AND SONYA E. IRVING

Many students feel disconnected from mathematics, often taught without context or relation to everyday life. Black and Latino/a students–typically underserved groups, may struggle with math more than their peers.

This 2012 report advocates for connecting math to students’ lives to engage and help them become lifelong learners and world citizens. The authors review research on ethnomathematics, adult and out-of-school contexts for learning math, and social justice mathematics to broaden understanding of where, when, and for whom math happens and the implications for teaching and learning.

Developing students’ confidence, enlarging their repertoire of mathematical strategies, and building a mathematical identity that builds upon one’s culture or community may be as important as increasing scores on standardized tests.

July 22, 2012

CHRIS STURGIS

This brief, published in 2012, details what makes a “good” competency and how education leaders and reformers can begin thinking about, designing, and implementing competency-based education.

Competency-based education, based on learning objectives that empower students, requires thoughtful design and implementation. Powerful competencies must include both learning objectives and clear performance criteria that allow students to identify their performance levels and what they need to improve upon.

By maintaining a laser focus on learning, allowing time to be a variable and powerful competencies to set the bar, we can create an education system that produces high achievement for students from all income levels, across all racial and ethnic communities.

October 01, 2012

JAMES PELLEGRINO

To achieve their full potential in college and beyond, high school students need to develop a range of skills and knowledge that facilitate mastery and application of English, mathematics, and other school subjects. At the same time, students need to be equipped with skills like problem-solving, communication, and critical thinking to succeed in today’s economy.

This report describes the important set of key skills that today’s students need to increase deeper learning, college and career readiness, student-centered learning, and higher-order thinking.

Because 21st century competencies support deeper learning of school subjects, their widespread acquisition could potentially reduce disparities in educational attainment, preparing a broader swathe of young people for successful adult outcomes in work and other areas of life.

October 24, 2012

NEW ENGLAND SECONDARY SCHOOL CONSORTIUM

This issue brief from the New England Secondary School Consortium’s Leadership in Action series explains what “learning standards” are and how to implement them in the classroom.

Standards do not stifle teacher creativity—in fact, they can give rise to even greater innovation through the power of collaboration, sharing, and collective thinking.

November 01, 2012

MOIRA O’NEIL, NATHANIEL KENDALL-TAYLOR, AND TIA REMINGTON-BELL

This report from the Frameworks Institute’s Core Story on Education Project analyzes and identifies media frames regarding assessment. The report finds that media coverage typically equates assessment with standardized testing, associates assessment with teacher accountability, and associates education reform with the need for improved student test scores.

The idea that teachers are professionals who use evidence derived from multiple assessment tools to improve the quality of their teaching is a vital message to communicate in order to structure a more complete narrative around assessment.

November 01, 2012

MOIRA O’NEIL

This report from the FrameWorks Institute’s Core Story on Education Project analyzes and identifies media frames regarding skills and learning. The report finds that skills and knowledge are narrowly framed in mainstream news outlets. Media coverage typically presents skills acquisition in individual economic or financial terms, focuses primarily on cognitive skills, and neglects the importance of quality learning environments and interaction among social, emotional, and cognitive processes.

Americans view learning as a profoundly individual endeavor. The media represents a strategic lever for widening public discourse about learning.

November 01, 2012

MOIRA O’NEIL

This report from the FrameWorks Institute’s Core Story of Education Project is part of a series that analyzes media discourse regarding learning, education, and education reform and how these discourses impact public understanding of an issue. The report examines how topics related to learning and education are regularly treated in the media, and explores the impact of these patterns on public thinking about education issues.

The media has the potential to expand the public’s assumptions about the actors who comprise the education system beyond students, parents and teachers.

November 15, 2012

LARRY MILLER, BETHENY GROSS AND MONICA OUIJDANI

This report provides a critical foundation for the delivery of student-centered learning by exploring three questions:

1) How is student-centered learning delivered?
2) What publications are needed to implement student-centered learning?
3) How does district spending on student-centered learning compare with spending on traditional schools?

Findings show that the implementation of student-centered approaches can be tailored and affordable for districts, schools and taxpayers alike.

Although the findings from this study cannot be generalized to all student-centered learning schools, the analysis reveals some consistent patterns in spending and offers valuable insights into potential factors that drive spending in these schools.

December 01, 2012

MOIRA O’NEIL, NATHANIEL KENDALL-TAYLOR, AND ABIGAIL HAYDON

This report from the Frameworks Institute’s Core Story on Education Project analyzes and identifies media frames regarding learning space and time. Key features of the media’s coverage of learning space and time include:

1. Innovation in learning space and time is a private sector enterprise
2. Global competition is the reason to reform learning space and time
3. Digital media is a major character in the media narrative about learning space and time
4. Media rarely describe how and why space and time influence learning.

Education experts… call for updating critical components so that schools provide the kinds of skills, knowledge and learning that students need to participate as engaged citizens in the 21st century information economy.

December 01, 2012

LAURA SHUBILLA AND CHRIS STURGIS

As states begin incorporating competency-based education into their policies, leaders must also ensure students receive the individualized support necessary for success in these systems.

This brief outlines design principles for supports and interventions in competency-based learning environments.

Fostering a growth mindset means encouraging persistence and effort as the key components of achievement. Students and adults with growth mindsets tend to see challenging situations as opportunities to learn things that they don’t currently know, rather than potential avenues for failure.

December 01, 2012

DAVID L. SILVERNAIL AND ERIKA K. STUMP

More Efficient High Schools in Maine: Emerging Student-Centered Learning Communities explores whether schools can be high performing, efficient, and student-centered at the same time.

Seven of Maine’s high schools were selected for the study, of which five were classified as “more efficient” by exhibiting higher student academic performance and a higher return on spending. Findings show that more efficient high schools demonstrate key characteristics of student-centered learning, and the report offers detailed examples of proven student-centered approaches.

Student-centered education systems provide all students equal access to the skills and knowledge needed for college and career readiness in the 21st century.

December 17, 2012

NEW ENGLAND SECONDARY SCHOOL CONSORTIUM

This issue brief from the New England Secondary School Consortium’s Leadership in Action series outlines how a proficiency-based learning model ensures that all learners graduate high school prepared for success in college and beyond.

High schools give out thousands of grades, report cards, and diplomas every year, but many of them would not be able to tell you what their students have specifically learned or not learned.

February 01, 2013

LIZ GLOWA AND SUSAN PATRICK

This brief addresses information technology as it relates to competency education, detailing the classroom, district, and state-level requirements of a student-centered system. The authors of the report analyze the knowledge of what makes up an effective competency-based information system.

The focus on reporting progress by mastery of academic standards has allowed the conversation with parents to move from ‘What’s my child’s grade?’ to ‘What does my child know and still need to learn?

February 01, 2013

SUSAN PATRICK AND CHRIS STURGIS

As students continue to drop off the “conveyor belt” of today’s factory-like school system, state policymakers are exploring student-centered alternatives to seat-time progression.

This issue brief describes competency-based systems and reforms in districts and schools from Maine to Florida, and makes suggestions for education leaders around changing policy, fostering progressive public discourse, and supporting teachers.

At the root of this work is a clear focus on ensuring that students have the opportunity to learn and develop the skills they need to succeed in life after graduation—whether that skill acquisition happens in the classroom or in the community.

February 05, 2013

NICHOLAS C. DONOHUE

This article by NMEF President & CEO Nicholas C. Donohue was published in the research compendium, Expanding Minds and Opportunities: Leveraging the Power of Afterschool and Summer Learning for Student Success.

In this piece, Donohue describes the potential that expanded learning opportunities can have in systematically changing a learning ecosystem. Expanded learning opportunities can serve as a “sweet spot” for school-community partnerships and collaboration.

New models are emerging that may help move our educational system from the ‘one-size-fits-all’ practice we have known it to be, to a design that might well be described as an orchestra.

March 19, 2013

MICHAEL ERARD

This report from the FrameWorks Institute’s Core Story of Education project presents “Weaving Skill Ropes” as an explanatory metaphor to help explain the concepts of skills and learning–specifically, what skills students need to succeed in a 21st century economy, how these skills are learned, and how cognitive and emotional learning skills are related.

Learning is the brain weaving skills into ropes. Learners need chances to develop all the strands, to learn how to weave and reweave them together, and to use the resulting ropes.

August 21, 2013

DAVID STEPHEN AND EVE GOLDBERG

At High Tech High schools in San Diego, students are evaluated on mastery of content—not time spent in class. Students engage in multi-disciplinary and field-based learning opportunities to build skills like critical thinking, problem solving and communication. Each teacher works to develop a personalized school culture, which is supported externally by a network of community members, parents and professionals.

Four design principles facilitate a student-centered school culture: personalization; adult world connection; common intellectual mission; and teacher as designer.

November 08, 2013

TANNA CLEWS AND MICHAEL E. DUBYAK

In its first Education Indicators for Maine report, Educate Maine assesses the state’s education pipeline according to ten indicators of success, from public pre-K to on-time college graduation. The authors emphasize the need for early childhood programs, college- and career-ready graduates, and more Mainers with post-secondary degrees to guarantee Maine’s future success. They also make recommendations for all members of the community to involve themselves in education reform.

Workforce skill level is the most important issue facing Maine businesses that wish to grow. It’s imperative that our public schools prepare students to be college- and work-ready, and that they graduate with demonstrated proficiencies.

November 13, 2013

BENJAMIN FORMAN, JULIANNE VIOLA, AND CAROLINE KOCH

To sustain Massachusetts’s economic growth and ensure all students graduate college and career ready, the state should look to its Gateway Cities, small to midsize urban centers that are home to one quarter of Massachusetts school-age youth, for opportunities to innovate.

This report documents the needs, hopes, and policy recommendations of those cities. Focusing on early education, social and emotional growth, pathways to college and career, and immigrants, leaders offer their vision for a revitalization of education and economic development in their communities and across the state.

The collaboration of the present must, over time, evolve into much larger, community-wide joint ventures that unify whole sectors of the city in a shared, ambitious pursuit of success for all children and families.

January 01, 2014

CHRIS STURGIS

How do you design grading policies that actually communicate academic performance to students and parents? As more schools and districts begin to develop competency-based pathways that allow students to progress based on demonstrated mastery of content knowledge and skills rather than just time spent in a classroom, it is imperative that they rethink their grading systems around competency.

You simply can’t give credit for less than a minimum level of proficiency.

January 13, 2014

KATIE BAYERL AND EVE GOLDBERG

In 2003, Asia Society launched a network of schools with an ambitious, two-part mission: close the achievement gap for low-income and historically underserved secondary students, and address the growing opportunity gap between what American schools typically teach and the knowledge, skills and dispositions required for full participation in a global economy.

This school profile dives deep into the curriculum that Asia Society is using to ensure its students are both college-ready and globally-competent.

When students have global competencies and global awareness, it both figuratively and literally expands what their horizons are, so that their lives can be much richer and their own estimation of what they can do grows incredibly.

January 29, 2014

NICKOLE RICHARDSON AND JOE FELDMAN

At Life Academy of Health and Biosciences (Life Academy) in Oakland, California, student voice and choice drives every decision: what and how to teach, what structure will equip students and teachers to know and believe in each other, and how to bring out the best in students.

At Life Academy, 99% of the student population is economically disadvantaged—yet students significantly outperform their peers at other district schools. Through the incorporation of student-centered approaches to learning, Life Academy has created structures, rituals and instruction that give students opportunities, voice, and multiple chances at success.

We champion kids and make them feel really successful and they are. They blow us out of the water all the time with what they’re able to do.

January 29, 2014

CHANNA MAE COOK-HARVEY

With a distinct focus on personalization and student engagement, Impact Academy of Arts and Technology High School (Impact Academy) stands out as a unique learning environment when compared to neighboring comprehensive high schools. At Impact Academy, students are expected to know how to synthesize information, determine what’s important, and present what they’ve learned. The school’s assessment model, exhibitions, and defenses become the ultimate measure of whether a student fully understands a concept.

With more than half of its students living in poverty, Impact Academy is an exemplar of what student-centered teaching and learning looks like in an urban center. This report explores how student-centered approaches and personalization have fostered a culture of success at Impact Academy.

Keeping students at the center, both when you’re designing curriculum and when you’re teaching, means incorporating as much student involvement as you possibly can—that’s where the whole project-based learning piece comes in.

January 29, 2014

HEATHER LEWIS-CHARP AND TINA LAW

City Arts and Technology High School (CAT) emphasizes a strong student-centered focus, student-based inquiry, self-reflection, student exhibitions and portfolio defenses, and ongoing professional development for teachers. CAT holds students to high academic expectations by nurturing strong relationships with the students and coherent instructional approaches and expectations to help provide consistency for their students, many of whom had not previously experienced academic success.

“Our mission is to transform students’ lives by preparing them for success in college in life…and we believe the core to that is preparing first-generation students, often students of color…for success in college,” says principal Daniel Allen.

This report from the Stanford Center for Opportunity Policy in Education (SCOPE) explores how CAT is using student-centered approaches to learning to ensure that all students, especially those who are underserved, are college-ready upon graduation.

CAT lets the students be themselves, and [because of that] they open up to learning.

January 29, 2014

DIANE FRIEDLAENDER

In this report, the Stanford Center for Opportunity Policy in Education (SCOPE) explores student-centered learning practices at Dozier-Libbey Medical High School (DMHS) in California—a school serving predominately low-income students and students of color.

Within just five years of opening, the school has seen achievement levels far exceeding schools with similar student populations. DMHS is using student-centered, experiential education to make learning relevant. The school is infusing its health care focus across its curriculum through interdisciplinary, project-based instruction that focuses on student mastery. This means students are engaged and are learning critical work-ready skills like collaboration, critical thinking, and communication.

Every student valued, every student challenged, every student prepared to succeed in a changing world.

February 01, 2014

MARIA WORTHEN AND LILLIAN PACE

Providing federal policymakers with a comprehensive vision for supporting state and local efforts to implement student-centered learning, this report describes barriers and opportunities within federal education policy education policy frameworks and identifies how the federal government is in a unique position to catalyze and scale student-centered learning.

It is time to move away from traditional assumptions about how schools should look, how teachers should teach, and how students should learn.

February 26, 2014

NEW ENGLAND SECONDARY SCHOOL CONSORTIUM

This issue brief from the New England Secondary School Consortium outlines what separates proficiency-based grading from traditional grading.

Proficiency-based grades separate academic achievement from behaviors.

March 20, 2014

KARIN HESS, BRIAN GONG, AND REBECCA STEINITZ

Ready for College and Career? Achieving the Common Core Standards and Beyond Through Deeper, Student-Centered Learning examines how to prepare students to succeed in postsecondary life.

The report finds that a range of cross-cutting skills like communication, innovation and self-regulation are crucial to student success. Student-centered approaches to learning can equip students with a range of skills necessary to succeed in the Common Core, college, and career.

Student-centered learning approaches may be one of our best means for achieving a more integrated and realistic vision of college and career readiness.

March 24, 2014

MASSACHUSETTS BUSINESS ALLIANCE FOR EDUCATION (MBAE) AND BRIGHTLINES

Massachusetts’ education system is high-performing when benchmarked against the rest of the country and even the world. However, the current system will not deliver the transformation needed to meet the demands of a new economy.

The report concludes that districts, schools and instruction must be transformed if students are to compete successfully in the global economy and Massachusetts is to remain a hub of innovation.

While the education system in Massachusetts might not be broken, it is certainly not equipped to meet the needs of the 21st century.

May 05, 2014

NEW ENGLAND SECONDARY SCHOOL CONSORTIUM

This issue brief from the New England Secondary School Consortium’s Leadership in Action series outlines what personal learning plans look like, and how schools are using them to help students achieve short and long-term learning goals.

Personal learning plans can bring greater focus, direction, and purpose to the decisions students make about their high school education.

June 12, 2014

STANFORD CENTER FOR OPPORTUNITY POLICY IN EDUCATION (SCOPE)

New research from the Stanford Center for Opportunity Policy in Education (SCOPE) finds that creating student-centered learning environments is one of the most promising ways to address the opportunity gap.

These student-centered environments emphasize supportive relationships between students and teachers in academic environments that are challenging, relevant, collaborative, student-directed, and connected to real-life situations. In all of California, schools studied as part of this project, African-American, Latino, economically disadvantaged, and English language learner students achieved above—and in some cases, substantially above—similar students in their districts and state.

This research consists of numerous reports and tools, including four case studies, a cross-case analysis of the research, a research brief, policy brief, and a practitioner tool—all of which can be downloaded from the SCOPE website.

Despite the many forces limiting learning opportunities for low-income students and students of color over the last decade, some schools have managed to create a context within which a rich, engaging curriculum is offered to all students in a manner that personalizes education and supports students’ individual needs.

June 24, 2014

LAWRENCE J. MILLER AND JANE S. LEE

States and districts have traditionally controlled the publications that go into schools and regulated the practices that governed them. Today though, school leaders who are empowered to make the decisions they think will most benefit students are organizing in new ways and attempting to provide students with a more personalized learning experience.

But even principals who use their newfound independence to aggressively reallocate publications say that persistent district, state, and federal barriers prohibit them from doing more. The authors of this report investigated the barriers principals cited, sometimes with the assistance of state education agencies, to determine whether there were work-arounds that principals didn’t realize. What the authors found is simultaneously troubling and encouraging: principals have far more authority than they think. Only 31% of the barriers cited were “real” – immovable statues, policies, or managerial directives that bring the threat of real consequences if broken.

Our conversations with educators, school and district leaders have helped us capture a snapshot of a promising but developing market.

July 15, 2014

CAROL MILLER LIEBER

The well-being of our next generation and the economic and social health of our nation are at risk when students are not equipped with the support necessary to succeed in college and beyond.

Personal Opportunity Plans (POPs) – an ongoing process designed to maximize a student’s academic and personal development – create a set of systems and structures for supporting students at every step along their path toward a satisfying and successful future. This paper aims to support the adoption of POPs in conjunction with districts’ and schools’ efforts to bridge the gap between advocacy and implementation.

By qualifying the student planning process with the words ‘personal’ and ‘opportunity,’ POPs have the potential to become meaningful and empowering experiences for the entire range of learners.

September 23, 2014

CECILIA LE, REBECCA E. WOLFE AND ADRIA STEINBERG

In competency-based schools, students advance based upon mastery of material, rather than time spent in a classroom in age-based cohorts. In a competency-based model, teachers provide customized supports to help propel everyone to proficiency.

The Past and The Promise: Today’s Competency Education Movement is the first paper in Students at the Center’s new Competency Education Research Series. This paper lays a foundation for assessing the potential of competency-based models, grounded in an exploration of the outcomes from previous like-minded efforts.

Competency education is one important part of a broader vision of education reform that places students at the center of their learning.

October 02, 2014

THE RENNIE CENTER FOR EDUCATION RESEARCH & POLICY AND MASSBUDGET

This report asks how school districts can support diverse learners with a menu of opportunities that lead to high school graduation and postsecondary success. Building Multiple Pathways looks closely at four different routes to a high school diploma, including costs and implications for developing a more coordinated and comprehensive approach to supporting student success.

While the traditional school structure may work for some students, it undoubtedly is a barrier for many.

October 02, 2014

COLIN A. JONES

Students facing family, health and economic challenges enter schools with complex barriers to success. This report from MassBudget and the Rennie Center for Education Research & Policy examines what effective wraparound services look like, and how they might be implemented in Massachusetts and across the country.

Wraparound services have the potential to help children, families, and teachers alike.

October 02, 2014

THE RENNIE CENTER FOR EDUCATION RESEARCH & POLICY AND MASSBUDGET

While many agree that the classroom teacher is the single most important in-school factor in student learning, there is much debate about the structures, experiences and policies that best nurture teacher growth. In recent years, however, it has become increasingly clear that early career induction and mentoring are critical leverage points for beginning teacher development. Intensive professional supports during a teacher’s first few years in the classroom have been linked to positive effects on job satisfaction, commitment, and retention, as well as overall effectiveness.

For example, research notes that mentoring from an experienced teacher in the same discipline reduces a new teacher’s risk of leaving at the end of the first year by about 30 percent. And, a recent review of the literature found that students of beginning teachers who participated in early career induction programs had higher gains on academic achievement tests. Unfortunately, intensive induction and mentoring experiences are not part of many teachers’ initial workplace experiences. This lack of support undermines the stability and long-term development of the profession and the potential for beginning teachers to emerge as future education leaders.

It has become increasingly clear that early career induction and mentoring are critical leverage points for beginning teacher development.

October 13, 2014

SUSAN PATRICK AND SARA FRANK BRISTOW

This paper highlights components of competency education in international practice, to inform US policymakers and decision makers seeking to implement high-quality competency pathways at the state or local level. The report includes a brief lesson in the international vocabulary of competency education and explores practices in Finland, British Columbia (Canada), New Zealand and Scotland.

Policymakers and educators abroad are exploring diverse ways of structuring teaching and learning in both time and space.

November 04, 2014

RAND EDUCATION AND JOBS FOR THE FUTURE

Competency-based education is designed to promote equity by preventing students from falling behind. In practice, however, poorly implemented competency-based programs could inadvertently increase inequity – in opportunities and outcomes. This paper examines equity concerns in competency education through the lens of family income.

Equity is both a central goal and fundamental value of competency education.

November 04, 2015

KIRK WALTERS, TONI M. SMITH, STEVE LEINWAND, WENDY SURR, ABIGAIL STEIN & PAUL BAILEY

Today, far too many students see mathematics as a subject to be endured, rather than a subject of real-world importance and personal value. But this doesn’t have to be the case. When teachers use student-centered techniques to engage students in more active and authentic ways, they can transform math classrooms into lively learning environments in which students take charge of their own learning, collaborate with others, persist in solving complicated problems and make meaningful connections to the world around them.

A new study from the American Institutes for Research (AIR) finds that students in high-quality, student-centered classrooms are more engaged and demonstrate higher performance on problem-solving assessments.

Our quantitative analyses showed positive, significant relationships between the study’s measure of student-centered practices and students’ engagement and problem-solving skills.

March 23, 2015

SUSAN PATRICK AND CHRIS STURGIS

Today’s modern economy and higher education space demands a diverse and specialized array of academic, technical and problem-solving skills. To ensure students are both college and career ready, K-12 schools nationwide are exploring new approaches to provide greater personalization, ensuring every student has the knowledge, skills, and competencies to succeed. In this paper, Competency Works assembles insights from a two-day conversation with twenty-three field experts who work in competency education, personalized learning, and blended learning.

It’s no longer viable to rely on one-size-fits-all curriculum or move students on in age-based cohorts regardless of if they need more time or have the prerequisite skills for the next grade.

April 07, 2015

EDUCATION CONNECTION AND EDUCATION DEVELOPMENT CENTER (EDC)

Digital technology is here to stay, with new tools and media for learning finding their way into schools and young people’s lives each year. But even as interest in technology-enhanced instruction grows, many educators struggle with how to use technology in ways that promote student engagement and achievement. One promising approach, blended instruction, combines web-based learning with face-to-face classroom interaction.

In this report, Connecticut-based nonprofit EDUCATION CONNECTION finds that when blended learning is implemented in a student-centered fashion, students form strong, technology-enhanced connections with peers and teachers, and become more self-directed and confident learners.

Student-centered learning shows promise as a way to engage and motivate young learners, deepen their interactions with academic content, and achieve the positive outcomes that pave the way to long-term success.

April 29, 2015

NELLIE MAE EDUCATION FOUNDATION

While many of the concepts and approaches that comprise student-centered learning (SCL) have deep roots in learning theory, the cognitive sciences, and youth and child development, empirical research on SCL’s impact in K-12 classrooms remains limited.

To address this gap, the Foundation recently commissioned a series of studies that evaluate the effects of a variety of student-centered practices in secondary schools. The outcomes of this study were largely positive, demonstrating meaningful effects on student achievement and engagement.

Student-centered learning shows promise as a way to engage and motivate young learners, deepen their interactions with academic content, and achieve the positive outcomes that pave the way to long-term success.

June 01, 2015

CHRIS STURGIS

After five years of interviews and site visits with field leaders, this paper distills best practices from a handful of those converting to competency-based systems. Key highlights include strategies to engage, motivate, and teach all students to proficiency and mastery, shifts in instruction toward deeper learning and meaningful assessments for learning, and new models of distributed leadership and educator empowerment.

The traditional, time-based education system is failing students. Competency education creates a system-wide infrastructure that creates the necessary feedback loops to ensure that students are learning.

August 01, 2015

KNOWLEDGE WORKS

This policy framework identifies strategies to guide states and districts when scaling personalized learning. The framework – developed with insights from school districts, state education agencies, policymakers and education organizations – focuses on innovations around curriculum, assessment, learning environments, and partnerships to support scaling personalized learning.

Districts should have the opportunity to apply for increased flexibility in order to implement the conditions required to scale personalized learning.

August 01, 2015

JOBS FOR THE FUTURE AND THE COUNCIL OF CHIEF STATE SCHOOL OFFICERS

Student-centered learning is a powerful framework teachers can be used to deeply engage students and prepare them for college and careers. As student-centered learning becomes more widely practiced, educators will need to acquire new skills and knowledge that will allow them to create truly personalized, student-centered environments. This document serves to identify the knowledge, skills, and dispositions educators need to effectively implement personalized learning.

The development of Educator Competencies…serves as a first step in identifying the knowledge, skills, and dispositions that educators need in order to create and thrive in effective personalized, learner-centered environments.

October 28, 2015

EDUCATE MAINE

In this report, Educate Maine examines 10 indicators around education access, achievement, and participation for Maine students. Beyond promoting discussion, this paper serves as a call to action for increasing engagement, positive dialogue, and support for promising strategies amongst stakeholders so all Maine’s students receive the education they deserve.

If we are to address the very real achievement gaps that exist in our communities and in our schools, we will need to commit to making substantive changes in our systems in order to ensure that all students can achieve.

December 09, 2015

THE NELLIE MAE EDUCATION FOUNDATION AND PARTHENON-EY

Across the country, educators and leaders have adopted, adapted, created and implemented a broad range of technology supports to help deepen student-centered learning opportunities. To help the Foundation best assist its grantees in effectively leveraging technology supports, it engaged Parthenon-EY to assess the education technology landscape and pinpoint the needs of education practitioners pursuing student-centered learning practices.

Our conversations with educators, school and district leaders have helped us capture a snapshot of a promising but developing market.

April 19, 2016

AVARY CARHILL-POZA, PH.D. AND PANAYOTA GOUNARI, PH.D.

As schools look to raise standards and close achievement gaps, they need effective strategies for serving English language learners, the fastest-growing segment of the school-age population who have historically lagged behind their native English-speaking peers on state assessments and in graduation rates.

Flipped learning, which blends in-person and online learning to maximize student and teacher interactions, shows potential for accelerating English learners’ progress. In a flipped classroom, students access direct instruction on their own time, while class time is used for interactive lessons, collaborative projects, and personalized teacher support.

This study from the University of Massachusetts-Boston examines how flipped learning can be utilized to improve the language and content acquisition of adolescent English language learners.

Student-centered approaches to instruction show potential to close the achievement gap between English learners and their peers, supporting students’ acquisition of both academic language and content.

April 28, 2016

GABRIEL REIF, M.ED., GRETA SHULTZ, ED.D. AND STEVEN ELLIS, M.P.A.

What exactly does student-centered learning look like in New England schools?

This paper offers a comprehensive analysis of student-centered approaches in 12 schools across the region, highlighting the richness and complexity of these practices and the impact they have on students, staff and schools. This study additionally examines the broad array of factors within and beyond school walls that can foster and challenge the implementation of student-centered practices.

A lot of our students come from very traditional school settings where they haven’t had as much choice and voice. It takes a while for them to take that leap. It can be astounding to see how much people can get accomplished once they are fully invested. It’s not work anymore. It’s doing what you love.

May 24, 2016

OUR PIECE OF THE PIE

A growing body of evidence points to the efficacy of student-centered approaches in closing achievement gaps while also raising the bar for all students. This research, combined with the advent of the new Every Student Succeeds Act, provides major new opportunities for states and local school districts to reconsider how they can best provide educational opportunities for all students through student-centered approaches.

This policy brief presents a series of recommendations for building public will in support of student-centered learning, including policy priorities that can help to expand its practices more broadly at the local, state, and federal levels. It incorporates profiles of schools and programs which illustrate the power of student-centered learning in action.

We believe the time is right to redouble efforts to uncover and unleash students’ potential to learn and apply knowledge, to pursue and refine their talents, and to become the kinds of lifelong learners they will need to be for success in the balance of the 21st century.

June 29, 2016

AMERICAN INSTITUTES FOR RESEARCH

Competency-based education (CBE), an instructional approach that emphasizes what students learn and master rather than how much time they spend in school, is gaining popularity nationwide. CBE environments provide students with personalized learning, autonomy, flexibility, and responsibility for their own learning, which is theorized to improve learning behaviors.

This study aimed to rigorously examine the relationship between CBE practices and changes in these learning capacities (such as the skills, behaviors, and dispositions that enhance student capacity to learn in school).

To best understand how CBE may be positively influencing the learning of students, we need to more closely examine the implementation of specific CBE practices.

July, 2016

AIR’s Survey of Educational Policies and Practices Study of Competency-based Education Teacher Survey

October 28, 2016

EDUCATE MAINE

This is the fourth installment of an annual report by Educate Maine, developed to explore and understand Maine’s entire education system beginning in early childhood and continuing throughout adulthood. Using ten critical indicators around access, participation, and performance, the report provides a snapshot of the state’s education system. Beyond promoting discussion, this paper serves as a call to action for increasing engagement, positive dialogue, and support for promising strategies amongst stakeholders so all Maine’s students receive the education they deserve.

Maine has one of the highest high school graduation rates in the country – a point of pride – but too many of those students aren’t moving on to the next stage with all of the skills and knowledge necessary to succeed.

November 10, 2016

RESEARCH FOR ACTION

New Hampshire has become a leader in extended learning opportunities, an innovative approach to learning developed through workplace apprenticeships, online courses, independent studies, performance projects, internships and more. In this report, Research for Action provides a comprehensive analysis of ELO program effects in New Hampshire – specifically, how various components of district and school-level ELO implementation relate to student participation, and how ELO participation influences interim and longer-term student outcomes.

Extended learning opportunities are designed to expand the curriculum in powerful ways, separating learning from traditional school schedules and providing diverse students with varied and engaging contexts for acquiring new knowledge and skills.

October 15, 2018

FLORIDA SOUTHWESTERN STATE COLLEGE

While many states do not view online charter schools as an area for innovation within existing charter school regulations, New Hampshire has leapt into uncharted state policy and experimented with new pathways towards increasing student success by developing a unique funding system called “low-stakes completion-based funding”. This report looks to explore this model and inform state and school leaders of new possibilities for financing student learning in their virtual school sectors.

New Hampshire has developed a unique approach to performance-based budgeting—called completion-based funding (CBF) —that seeks to improve student outcomes by funding schools when students complete assignments rather than when they enroll in or attend classes.

April 10, 2017

UMASS DONAHUE INSTITUTE

Two important trends in American high school education are providing new opportunities for underserved students to access a high school diploma. Over the past decade, credit acceleration and recovery programs have become increasingly popular as schools seek ways to help struggling students catch up and graduate. Second, online learning has quickly gained traction as an alternate means of instructional delivery for high school students. Online credit recovery represents the convergence of these two innovations, offering flexible learning options for students with diverse learning needs.

How effective is online credit recovery at increasing student engagement and achievement? This study examines 24 Massachusetts high schools that developed credit recovery programs and provides insights and best practices for teachers and districts looking to implement them.

High schools and programs participating in the MassGrad initiative have demonstrated that offering online courses for credit recovery can improve key educational outcomes for underserved students.

June 13, 2017

CHRIS STURGIS AND SUSAN PATRICK

As our understanding of competency-based education has grown, so has our understanding of critical issues that must be addressed in order to ensure high-quality implementation and equitable access and outcomes. To chart the course for the next wave of innovation, implementation, and expansion in competency education, CompetencyWorks will convene the second National Summit on K-12 Competency-Based Education. In advance of the Summit, they have released new draft reports exploring key issues challenging the field of competency education:

• An Introduction to the National Summit on K-12 Competency-Based Education
• In Pursuit of Equality: A Framework for Equity Strategies in Personalized, Competency-Based Education
• In Search of Efficacy: Defining the Elements of Quality in a Competency-Based Education System
• Meeting Students Where They Are
• Fit for Purpose: Taking the Long View on Systems Change and Policy to Support Competency Education

The issues of equity, quality, policy for the long-term, and meeting students where they are, are all important to expanding the field of competency education.

June 23, 2017

LACY WOOD AND EMILY BAUMAN

Family engagement is increasingly recognized as a critical link in advancing school reform efforts, and the current emphasis on successful strategies for school turnaround necessitates research-based information and practices on effective family and community engagement approaches that support student achievement and school improvement.

To assist in the goal of understanding how family and community partnerships can promote school improvement efforts, this literature review strives to address the following questions:

1. What are the key components (practices, challenges, conditions, goals, and outcomes) of promising family-school partnerships that support school- and district-level reform?

2. How do promising partnerships involve families and communities in education reform?

These findings reveal that there is a demonstrable connection between family engagement, school improvement, and student outcomes. Schools and districts should focus not only on family engagement, but also on establishing strong partnerships and relationships with families and communities.

September 07, 2017

JOBS FOR THE FUTURE AND THE COUNCIL OF CHIEF STATE SCHOOL OFFICERS

The Leadership Competencies for Learner-Centered, Personalized Education(Leadership Competencies) serve as a first step in identifying the knowledge, skills, and dispositions leaders must master in order to build and sustain learner-centered, personalized schools and learning environments. The hope is that these competencies serve as a helpful step toward building present- and future-focused systems of education in which each student can fulfill their learning potential and head into postsecondary life ready to succeed in their careers and communities.

To develop and support effective leaders in education today, we must renew and refocus our attention on learning and the learner. While this may not sound radical, if we scratch the surface of this call, we’ll find a need for transformational leadership.

September 07, 2027

October 28, 2017

COMPETENCYWORKS

Competency-based learning is on the rise in high schools across America. This new report outlines four key issues – quality, equity, meeting students where they are, and policy – that are critical to enabling competency education to scale with quality and sustainability.

Designing for equity and quality is the only path forward to creating an education system that is effective for every student, not just for some. If we fail to do so, students will not receive the education they so deeply deserve and as a movement competency-based education may falter.

September 30, 2021

Welcome to the Nellie Mae Education Foundation Grantee Communications Toolkit! Based on feedback we’ve received from our grantee partners around communications needs, we’ve developed a toolkit for you to utilize to meet those needs.

Included in this toolkit:

• Building a Communications Plan
• Press Release Template
• Media Relations Best Practices: Pitching, Interviews, Op-Eds and LTEs
• Writing Newsletter/Email Best Practices: Subject Lines, Frequency, and Content Development
• Social Media Guide
• Messaging and Narrative Strategy in Today’s Socio-Political Context (Updated Summer 2021)
• Additional Communications Resources