This report finds that participation in Dolly Parton's Imagination Library (DPIL) has a number of short term and sustained benefits for students, regardless of family income level. DPIL participation was associated with lower retention rates in kindergarten, 3rd grade, and at any point from kindergarten through 3rd grade. Participants in DPIL also…

This document is the appendixes for the report, "Teacher Preparation and Employment Outcomes of Beginning Teachers in Rhode Island." This study examined these outcomes among beginning teachers in Rhode Island who were trained in a teacher preparation program in the state between 2012/13 and 2016/17 and who then taught for at least one…

The greening of the United States teacher workforce puts a premium on districts and schools hiring effective and persistent beginning teachers. Given the limitations of characteristics currently available at the time of hiring (e.g., academic ability measures, preparation type), we built off previous research in economics and psychology to…

Retention means repeating one or more courses in high school, rather than a full grade. Over 3,500 high school students were retained in 2011-12 in Wake County Public School (WCPSS), with the largest numbers in grades 9 and 10. Some students enter high school below grade level. In 2011-12, half the WCPSS high schools had greater than 30% of…

We examined the progress of kindergarteners who entered the Wake County Public School System (WCPSS) in 2008-09 and in 2010-11 who were identified as limited in English proficiency (LEP). For the 2008-09 cohort, English proficiency increased steadily over time. Few were able to exit LEP status in their first three years in WCPSS (10.5%); this…

One way to improve struggling schools' access to effective teachers is to use selective transfer incentives. Such incentives offer bonuses for the highest-performing teachers to move into schools serving the most disadvantaged students. In this report, we provide evidence from a randomized experiment that tested whether such a policy intervention…

The longitudinal study of the 2005-06 preschool in Wake County Public School System (WCPSS) found short-term gains during the preschool year, but limited impact by kindergarten and no average impact by the end of 3rd grade on achievement, retention rates, special education placements, or attendance. Small sample sizes limit conclusions that can be…

Character education has become one of the fastest growing reform movements in K-12 education today, partially in response to unacceptable levels of student misbehavior and inadequate endorsement of good character values (Williams 2000). Between 1993 and 2009, 36 states passed laws mandating or recommending some aspect of character education in…

In March 1997, all State, Territory and Commonwealth education ministers agreed on the national goal: that every child leaving primary school should be numerate and able to read, write and spell at an appropriate level. To provide focus for this goal, ministers also agreed to a sub-goal: that every child commencing school from 1998 will achieve a…

Few decisions by a school district are more controversial than the decision to close a school. School staff, students and their families, and even the local community all bear a substantial burden once the decision is made to close a school. Since 2001, Chicago Public Schools (CPS) has closed 44 schools for reasons of poor academic performance or…

This report presents the findings from the second National Assessment Program--Civics and Citizenship, conducted under the auspices of the national council of education ministers, the Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs (MCEETYA). The National Assessment Program--Civics and Citizenship measures Year 6 and Year…

Induction has become an increasingly popular strategy for school districts across the country that seek solutions for high attrition rates among teachers who are new to the profession. In Illinois public schools, the attrition rate among new teachers can be as high as 40 percent after only five years on the job. Such turnover levels are costly for…