Year in Review: Highlights from 2017

From India and Laos to school districts in California, our research, resources, and multimedia provide insight into a wide array of topics across the U.S. and around the world. Explore highlights from our 2017 work:

Image of teacher in classroomTeacher Shortages: Top 10 Ideas from the First State ESSA Plans

How are states going to tackle teacher shortages – and keep their great teachers? This blog post includes an analysis of10 strategies from states’ new ESSA plans.

Read more about our ESSA work.


Image of kindergarten teacher with studentsThe Impact of Transitional Kindergarten on California Students

Among the findings from this final report: Transitional kindergarten gives students an advantage at kindergarten entry on a range of skills, is effective for all groups of students who participated, and has a lessened impact by the end of kindergarten.

Read more about our evaluation of the Study of California's Transitional Kindergarten Program.


Image of doctor with patient

Principles for Making Health Care Measurement Patient-Centered

This report offers a vision of measurement that is patient-driven, holistic, transparent, comprehensible and timely, and co-created with patients. These principles, and related examples, address a critical gap in measuring health care by placing patient preferences at the center.

Read more about our commitment to placing patients at the center of health care.


Image of preschoolersFive Things We Can Learn from Pre-K in Other Countries

Which programs and policies can we adopt from other countries to increase access to preschool programs in the U.S.? This blog post, based on our report, Connecting All Children to High-Quality Early Care and Education: Promising Strategies From the International Community, describes five distinguishing policy features that may make a difference.


Image of boy in Guatemala classroomLiteracy Around the World

This collection of our resources highlights the importance of promoting literacy as an instrument to empower individuals, communities, and societies. Explore our work in Mozambique, Laos, Guatemala, Egypt, Kyrgyzstan, and beyond.
 


Image of teacher with studentsSupporting Students Through Response to Intervention (RTI)

RTI is a multi-level prevention system to maximize student achievement and reduce behavioral problems. In this video, Dia Jackson describes the importance of implementing RTI with fidelity and how she provides coaching and professional development to schools to foster gains in student achievement.


Micro-credentials for Teachers: What Three Early Adopters Have Learned So Far

This report describes the experiences of three states implementing an approach to professional learning that provides teachers with the opportunity to learn and demonstrate competency in new skills, while also getting feedback from an outside evaluator and earning recognition for mastery.


Image of father and son holding handsFamily Engagement: Strengthening Family Involvement to Improve Outcomes for Children

Family engagement seeks better outcomes for children and families by actively involving them in the different systems that serve them. This video looks at how family engagement may improve both academic outcomes and mental health for children.


Infographic: Contingent Faculty by the NumbersSpotlight on Contingent Faculty

Colleges and universities are relying heavily on contingent faculty to increase flexibility and reduce costs. These resources explore this trend to determine where contingent faculty are most often hired and savings actually result in lower overall costs.
 


Image of two young adults conferring over a laptopMental Health Needs of Children and Youth: The Benefits of Having Schools Assess Available Programs and Services

How are schools responding to the challenge of children and youth who need programs and services that promote positive mental health and provide early intervention and treatment? This brief explores how continuous evaluation and assessment of a school’s mental health programming can benefit students, families, schools, and communities.


Latin America and the Caribbean - Youth Violence Prevention

The Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) region is home to less than 8% of the world’s population, but its rates of crime and violence are some of the highest in the world, with 37% of all homicides. The Latin America and the Caribbean-Youth Violence Prevention project’s overarching goal is to improve the capacity of USAID and its partners to successfully implement crime and violence prevention programming in the region.


Image of teachers at whiteboardLearning from Mixed Results: What's Next for Teacher Professional Development?

Research suggests that intensive, content-focused professional development improves teachers’ knowledge and some aspects of their practice, but not student achievement. In this podcast, Kirk Walters sat down with Mike Garet, who led the research, and three other experts to get their reactions to these findings.