Interactive Resources 

 

NeighborhoodInfo DC
www.neighborhoodinfodc.org
Through this website, the Urban Institute and the locally-run Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) provide neighborhood-level demographic, social and economic data and analysis to assist community organizations, nonprofits, government agencies, philanthropy and residents.  The Urban Institute will build, operate and maintain the technical infrastructure of NeighborhoodInfo DC, in addition to helping community organizations access and use the data.  LISC will conduct community outreach with organizations that have interest in using data to address neighborhood and citywide issues.

 

 

SchoolMatters.com
www.schoolmatters.com
The Education Data Partnership (EDP) developed this tool, which provides a national, searchable clearinghouse for education information and analysis.  EDP is a collaboration of the Council of Chief State School Officers, Standard & Poor’s School Evaluation Services, Achieve, Inc., and the CELT Corp, with funding by The Broad Foundation and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

 

 

Restoring the Balance between Academics and Civic Engagement in Public Schools
www.aypf.org/pubs.htm
The American Youth Policy Forum and the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development convened policymakers, researchers, and practitioners during 2004, producing this guide for supporting school-based civic engagement in schools.  The report's action plan centers around seven propositions: 1. civic engagement is central to public education; 2. the school mission should include the knowledge, dispositions, virtues, and skills of responsible citizenship; 3. civic knowledge and civic engagement are part of the learning "core," in addition to reading and mathematics; 4. civic engagement improves student engagement and academic performance, while reducing negative behaviors; 5. education reform efforts should be realigned to support integrated curricula; 6. a comprehensive action plan must clearly link civic engagement with academic subjects; and 7. success with these approaches requires collaboration between schools, families, higher education, business, philanthropy, government and the community.

 

 

www.educationnext.org/20052
In this article, Education Next invites four analysts to discuss lessons learned from the first three years of implementing the No Child Left Behind Act: Koret Task Force member John Chubb, education professor Robert Linn, and Kati Haycock and Ross Wiener from the Education Trust.  The four analysts express widely-ranging views, including changing the definitions of Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP), setting more realistic standards, and foregoing legislative action in favor of administrative changes.

 

 

Reading into Kindergarten: How to Make a Big Transition a Little Easier
www.getreadytoread.org/newsltr/Spring05/Spring05_Feature1.php
The National Center for Learning Disabilities encourages parents to communicate with their child's preschool and kindergarten teachers to prepare children for the transition between the two levels.  The NCLD recommends that parents use the Get Ready to Read! (GRTR!) screenings, keep track of their child's skill-building activities, and share these observations with their child's kindergarten teacher.

 

 

Evidence-Based Practice
www.annenberginstitute.org/VUE/index.html
This issue of Voices in Urban Education, from the Annenberg Institute for School Reform, defines evidence-based practice, discusses capacity-building and measurement, and explores district and state-level strategies for using evidence to improve instruction.

 

 

Biennial Evaluation Report to Congress on the Implementation of the State Formula Grant Program
www.ncela.gwu.edu/oela/biennial05/index.htm
The Office of English Language Acquisition, Language Enhancement, and Academic Achievement for Limited English Proficient Students (OELA) at the Department of Education issues its first report to Congress on serving English Language Learners under No Child Left Behind.  OELA reports that states have made significant progress in quickly developing English language proficiency standards and assessments for the over 4 million English Language Learners served by No Child Left Behind.

 

 

Investigation of Education Databases in Four States to Support Policy Research on Resource Allocation
www.sedl.org/pubs/catalog/items/policy84.html 
Policy researchers at the Southwest Educational Development Laboratory (SEDL) investigated how policymakers in four states can make use of existing data on resources and student performance, due to the need for states to invest scarce resources on academic achievement.  The report identifies which data are needed in order to answer certain policy questions.  Recommendations include translating data from state education databases into information that policymakers can readily use, as well as expanding the use of data by policymakers, state data managers, practitioners, and researchers.

 

 

Separate and Unequal, the State of the DC Public Schools Fifty Years after Brown and Bolling
www.parentsunited4dc.org/separate_and_unequal.htm
Parents United for the DC Public Schools reports that 50 years after desegregation mandates, public schools in the District remain highly segregated with fewer resources than public schools in the surrounding counties.  Findings include: 1. lower per-student funding than most of the surrounding suburbs; 2. higher proportions of  low-income students; 3. fewer foreign language, art, physical education, music, and vocational education classes than 50 years ago; 4. lower salaries for experienced teachers and principals; 5. little progress in repairing and replacing inadequate school facilities; 6. insufficient special education staff, facilities, and programming; 7. fewer athletic and extra-curricular activities than surrounding counties; 8. outdated school health services; and 9. a lack of accountability to city officials.  The report suggests amending the District of Columbia Charter to include the explicit right of all children to an adequate and meaningful public education. 

 

 

Designing Finance Structures to Satisfy Equity and Adequacy Goals
epaa.asu.edu/epaa/v13n15
University researchers suggest that education policies should consider both adequate funding and the efficient use of available resources.  The authors develop an economic model of equity, use judicial reviews to examine the concept, and discuss methods for determining adequate funding levels.  The second part of the article focuses on identifying the challenges that institutions face in efficiently raising achievement.  Findings include a description of how a state funding formula might provide a foundation for adequacy in all districts.

 

 

Five Steps to Reform Student Financial Aid
www.ppionline.org/ppi_ci.cfm?knlgAreaID=110&subsecid=900023&contentid=253196
In this Progressive Policy Institute article, the author identifies five steps for Congress, the President, and the federal government to simplify the federal higher education student financial aid system for students, their families, and administrators: 1. minimize the federal red tape; 2. reform the way funds are provided to states and institutions; 3. restrict which matriculating student borrowers will benefit from federally-paid interest; 4. consider such incentives as rewarding institutions for Pell grant recipients that graduate; and 5. intervene earlier with the most at-risk elementary and high school students, to promote better attitudes toward college-going and to raise aspiration levels.

 

 

Buried Treasure: Developing a Management Guide From Mountains of School Data
www.crpe.org/pubs/introBuried%20Treasure.shtml
This Center on Reinventing Public Education tool recommends that school leaders use seven education indicators in their decision-making: 1. reading and math achievement; 2. elimination of the achievement gap; 3. ability to attract students; 4. student engagement with the school; 5. student retention/completion; 6. teacher attraction and retention; and 7. funding equity.

 

 

Making College More Expensive: The Unintended Consequences of Federal Tuition Aid
www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=3344
In this policy analysis, the Cato Institute explores the "Bennett hypothesis" that federal student aid programs under the Higher Education Act (HEA) increase college tuition.  Using economic models, the author explains that HEA aid programs increase the demand for college, increasing tuition nationwide, which benefits both state governments and institutions of higher education.  The analysis recommends that Congress phase out federal aid programs, in order to stimulate lower tuition prices and several responses from the private market: 1. more private loans and scholarships; and 2. human capital contracts whereby students pledge future earnings in return for aid.

 

 

The Relationship of High School Graduation Exams to Graduation Rates and SAT Scores
epaa.asu.edu/epaa/v13n6/v13n6.pdf *
Researchers at Ball State University find that states requiring high school graduation tests have lower graduation rates and SAT scores than other states.  The report explores the disincentives created by high school graduation exams, finding that high stakes tests may discourage students from staying in school, while the need to teach test-related content may crowd out the critical thinking skills required on the SAT.

 

 

What the World Can Teach Us about New Teacher Induction
www.newteacher.com/pdf/PDK_Article_Jan05.pdf *
This NewTeacher.com article compares new teacher induction in the United States with the more comprehensive strategies used in Switzerland, Japan, China, New Zealand, and France.  American new teacher induction is often composed of sporadic, one-on-one mentoring without a formal structure.  The authors learn that the five countries mentioned employ highly organized, sustained induction programs that focus on professional learning and collaborative group work.

 

 

Why Segregation Matters: Poverty and Educational Inequality
www.civilrightsproject.harvard.edu/research/deseg/Why_Segreg_Matters.pdf *
The Civil Rights Project at Harvard University explores the implications of segregation by race, poverty, and educational opportunity throughout the country.  Findings include: 1. Concentrations of poverty isolate white students in the Midwest, black students in the South, and Latino students in the West; 2. The drop out problem is isolated in central cities where most black and Latino students go to school; and 3. Black and Latino students are more likely than white students to attend high poverty schools, which are often susceptible to high staff turnover and fewer certified teachers.

 

 

Works in Progress: A Report on Middle and High School Improvement Programs
www.csrq.org/worksinprogress.asp
The Comprehensive School Reform Quality Center reviews the key issues facing middle and high schools, including literacy, English language learners, violence, and transition.  The report also profiles strategies, including comprehensive school reform, that improve both academic and non-academic student  outcomes.