Education & Pedagogy

The white paper synthesizes existing literature around higher education for formerly incarcerated individuals and describes the need for more work in this area. More than 650,000 individuals are released from state and federal prisons and return to the community each year. However, most programming and research have been concentrated on correctional education. As a result, formerly incarcerated individuals are largely not recognized as a student group needing support, programming, and research in the higher education space. [Additional funding for this report from the Mayor's Office of Criminal Justice.]

This report presents Advanced Placement (AP) and International Baccalaureate (IB) examination participation and performance results in Texas public schools for the 2018-19 school year. Data are provided by student characteristics, including race/ethnicity; gender; and economic, at-risk, dyslexia, English learner, foster care, homeless, immigrant, migrant, and military-connected statuses. Data also are provided by participation in bilingual education or English as a second language, career and technical education, gifted and talented, special education, and Title I programs. [For "Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate Examination Results in Texas Public Schools, 2017-18," see ED604835.]

"Power, Constraint, and Policy Change" analyzes state court influence on state education finance reform. Beginning in the early 1970s litigants began filing suits in state courts to change state education funding in order to prevent disparities in education resources between wealthy and poor communities. These cases represent a fundamental policy debate in American society, pitting the importance of education against the cost and method of funding it. Through education finance, the authors explore how and why courts often end up determining and resolving policy funding debates. Education funding has involved both the federal constitution and state constitutions, as well as legislation and court-mandated remedies, which, ultimately, determine who and how we pay for this critical American value.

In 2020, 1.5 billion students in 188 countries/economies were locked out of their schools. Students everywhere have been faced with schools that are open one day and closed the next, causing massive disruption to their learning. With the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic still raging, the disruption to education has extended into 2021 and many education systems are still struggling to ensure learning continuity. The OECD -- in collaboration with UNESCO, UNICEF and The World Bank -- has been monitoring the situation across countries and collecting data on how each system is responding to the crisis, from school closures and remote learning, to teacher vaccination and gradual returns to in-class instruction. This report presents the findings from this survey, providing an overview of educational responses from OECD member and partner countries 18 months into the COVID crisis.

There is clear and growing employer demand for the skills that higher technical education (HTE) provides, and there are good economic outcomes for students completing higher technical courses. Despite this participation is low compared to other levels of education and many of our international competitors. In England, only 1 in 10 people has a level 4 or 5 qualification as their highest qualification; in Germany it's double that. From 8 July to 29 September 2019, the government held an online public consultation on its proposals to address these issues and reform classroom-based HTE in England. This was supplemented by six consultation events across the country and a user insights project carried out in Autumn 2019. A summary of the government's response to the consultation and its plans going forward is included in this report. [For "Higher Technical Education Consultation--Analysis. Research Report," see ED619874.]

The Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE) is an international, non-profit educational organization. The Association's purpose is to advance the knowledge, theory, and quality of teaching and learning at all levels with information technology. The "EdMedia + Innovate Learning" conference took place online July 6-8, 2021. These proceedings include 143 papers. Topics of the papers include: advanced technologies for learning and teaching; assessment and research; educational reform, policy, and innovation; evaluation and quality improvement advances; global networks, partnerships, and exchanges; innovative approaches to learning and learning environments; open education; technologies for socially responsive learning; virtual and distance education; and COVID-19 strategies for educators. [For the 2020 proceedings, see ED610435.]

A college degree is essential in our society, especially for students who historically have been left out of our higher education system. But with the current higher education information systems in place, it's difficult, if not impossible, for students and families to get the data they need to make an informed decision about the best institution for them. Drawing on lessons learned from a decade of efforts to collect and use better data, "Toward Convergence" provides important, foundational details that support and build on the findings outlined in "Answering the Call" and enumerates the technical details of the metrics framework. "Major Data Initiatives & Measures Crosswalk" is appended.

The National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE) recommends that the size of physical education class be consistent with those of other subject areas (e.g. maximum 1:25 for ES, 1:30 for MS, 1:35 for HS) for safe and effective instruction. When students with special needs are included in regular physical education classes, their placement should not cause an appropriate class size to be exceeded. Without a doubt, many physical education teachers today face class sizes larger than this (40+ students is not uncommon) and other similar situations like multiple classes sharing one activity space. This document was prepared to assist NASPE workshop participants and physical educators to work with this difficult situation while advocating for recommended class size. (Contains 5 resources.)

Contained herein is a developed and researched history of Public School Education in Delaware, current as of 1917. Contents include: (1) Colonial growth and development; (2) The first attempts at State Education; (3) The beginnings of public schools; (4) The first State taxation for schools; (5) The State system: Administration of Groves and Williams, 1875 - 1887; (6) The State system: Administration of the State Board of Education, 1887 - 1893; (7) The State system: Reorganization and development, 1898 - 1913; (8) The reorganized State board of education and its report of 1913; the State superintendency reestablished; the more recent legislation; (9) Retrospect and prospect; and (10) Public school statistics. A bibliography and an index are provided. (Contains 3 tables. Individual chapters contain footnotes.) [Best copy available has been provided.]

This paper studies the effect of free pre-school education on child outcomes in primary school. We exploit the staggered implementation of free part-time pre-school for three-year-olds across Local Education Authorities in England in the early 2000s. The policy led to small improvements in attainment at age five, with no apparent benefits by age 11. We argue that this is because the expansion of free places largely crowded out privately paid care, with small changes in total participation, and was achieved through an increase in private provision, where quality is lower on average than in the public sector. [This paper was produced as part of the Centre for Economic Performance's Education and Skills Programme.]

This report provides an overview of the current financial health of the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) funded higher education sector in England. This does not include directly funded further education or other colleges, or alternative providers of higher education. The analysis covers financial results for the academic year 2014-15, as submitted to HEFCE in December 2015, as well as the outcomes from the sector's Transparent Approach to Costing (TRAC) reporting for 2014-15, as submitted to HEFCE in January 2016. The report is being published to provide universities and higher education colleges with feedback on their financial performance in 2014-15. It also provides other stakeholders with information about the current financial health of the HEFCE-funded sector. This report focuses on the financial results for 2014-15.

"Straight A's: Public Education Policy and Progress" is a biweekly newsletter that focuses on education news and events both in Washington, DC and around the country. The following articles are included in this issue: (1) House Appropriations Subcommittee Sharpens Budget Knife: Subcommittee's Bill Would Cut Education Programs by $1.1 Billion; (2) Summer Waive(rs): Six Additional States and the District of Columbia Receive NCLB Waivers; To Date, Thirty-Two States and DC Have Received Waivers; (3) "Achievement Growth": New Report Labels U.S. Learning Gains "Middling" Compared to Rest of the World; and (4) "Education for Life and Work": National Research Council Report Says "Deeper Learning" Is "Essential" for Success in Twenty-First Century. (Contains 1 footnote.)

"Straight A's: Public Education Policy and Progress" is a biweekly newsletter that focuses on education news and events both in Washington, DC and around the country. The following articles are included in this issue: (1) "Building a Grad Nation": New Report Finds More than Half of States Increased High School Graduation Rate, Number of "Dropout Factory" High Schools Decreased by 23 Percent Since 2002; (2) Mission Critical: Senate HELP Committee Examines Key Role That a Quality Education Plays in America's Competitiveness; (3) "The MetLife Survey of the American Teacher: Teachers, Parents and the Economy": Teacher Job Satisfaction at Lowest Level in Two Decades, Survey Finds; and (4) New Platform for Learning: Duncan Discusses Role of Technology in Education, Calls It a "Game Changer". (Contains 1 footnote.)

Data are most useful when they are transformed into actionable information that people are able to access, understand and use. Thanks to both state and federal leadership, political commitment and investment of financial resources, states have made tremendous progress in the building of statewide K-12 longitudinal data systems. However, to ensure that state policymakers are able to better serve individuals living and working in their states, states must be able to follow individuals from early childhood through their K-12 education and into postsecondary and/or their careers as the majority of students do not follow the traditional education/workforce pathway. Most students transfer among and between two- and four-year institutions and/or the workforce. This policy brief provides an overview from the Data Quality Campaign (DQC) 2010 state analysis of education/workforce connections.

Fingertip Facts is a compendium of some of the most frequently requested data sets from the Utah State Office of Education. Data sets in this year's Fingertip Facts include: Core CRT Language Arts Testing, 2012; Core CRT Mathematics Testing, 2012; 2012 Public Education General Fund; 2011-2012 Enrollment Demographics; Public Schools by Grade Level, 2011-12; Number of Licensed Educators; Median Teacher Salary; Pupil-Teacher Ratio; Value of the Weighted Pupil Unit (WPU) for the 2012-13 School Year; Per Pupil Spending in Perspective, 2010; and Public School Enrollment. A Utah State Office of Education contact list is included.