A low-performing California school district experienced a dramatic turnaround when faculty members began studying student assessment data and working together to ensure students had the support they needed. Sanger Unified School District began its reform journey in 2004 when district leaders launched an effort to focus deliberately on student…

In its analysis of more than 15,000 high school transcripts, the Education Trust-West found that non-college-bound students tend to take a weak academic load and disconnected electives. As a result, far too many students--most often low-income students and students of color--are bound for low-level jobs, prepared for neither college nor career.…

To create the kinds of school-family partnerships that raise student achievement, improve local communities, and increase public support, schools need to understand the difference between family involvement and family engagement. Schools that emphasize the latter tend toward doing with families, rather than doing to families. These schools do more…

Broadening computer science learning to include more students is a crucial item on the United States' education agenda, these authors say. Although policymakers advocate more computer science expertise, computer science offerings in high schools are few--and actually shrinking. In addition, poorly resourced schools with a high percentage of…

Teachers and administrators at Health Sciences High and Middle College in San Diego, California, wanted to create a grading system that reflected understanding while still encouraging students to practice. They developed course competencies, or performance assessments, that teachers use to measure what students know and can do with the concepts…

In too many schools, science and mathematics are taught separately with little or no attention to technology and engineering. Also, science and mathematics tend to function in isolation from other core subjects. In California, Linked Learning: Pathways to College and Career Success connects core academics to challenging professional and technical…

The "elephant in the room" when we talk about preparing critical thinkers for the 21st century, Gallagher believes, is U.S. students' lack of reading proficiency and their general disinclination to read. Gallagher's provocative argument is that a significant factor behind the decline of reading in young people is a set of practices…

The challenges one faces inside the school are connected to and compounded by things that are happening outside. In fact, schools face a number of external demands and pressures that they have to address. Moreover, without the connections, support, and expertise that come from interacting with a host of people, organizations, and institutions on…

From 1998 to 2008, voters in California, Arizona, and Massachusetts passed anti-bilingual education ballot initiatives that required English-only instruction for the vast majority of the states' English language learners. The contentious political discourse leading up to the votes largely ignored the research on best practices for educating…

For the past two years, the Center for Research on Educational Equity, Assessment and Teaching Excellence at the University of California, San Diego, has designed and run Student-Created Research projects in eight racially diverse urban and low-income San Diego high schools. Students undertake research projects intended to guide school improvement…

Educators Linda Darling-Hammond and Diane Friedlaender share findings from their recent report highlighting five California high schools that have beaten the odds in supporting the success of low-income students of color. Animo Inglewood Charter High School, Stanley E. Foster Construction Tech Academy, June Jordan School for Equity, Leadership…

Multiple pathways connect college-preparatory curriculums with exceptional career and technical education, motivating students to learn by helping them answer the question, Why do I need to know this? Real-world learning is organized around such industry sectors as finance and business; health science and medical technology; building and…

Formative assessment has been receiving increasing attention in education. But from a classroom teacher's perspective, changing assessment practices is not always an easy, straightforward process. This article describes the experiences of five middle schools science teachers who met together weekly to exchange ideas about integrating formative…

Carolan and Guinn assert that differentiated instruction helps diversity thrive. Observing how experienced teachers practice differentiation in real-life situations helps teachers who are reluctant to try such strategies take the plunge. The authors draw on two observational studies they conducted of five expert teachers in a high-performing,…

A recent employer survey sponsored by the Partnership for 21st Century Skills found that the skills new job entrants most need for success in the workplace--oral and written communication, time management, critical thinking, problem solving, personal accountability, and the ability to work effectively with others--are the areas in which recent…