Educators face growing pressure to utilize data for informed decision-making, yet the research supporting this movement remains underdeveloped. A recent Educational Administration Quarterly article delves into organizational factors influencing data use, drawing from four California school systems. Across traditional districts and charter management organizations (CMOs), state and federal accountability systems heavily shape data use. These systems prioritize data from state assessments and benchmark exams, crucial for program improvement and attracting families in charter schools. Organizational conditions, like decision-making structures, financial resources, and regulatory environments, impact resource allocation for data use. While financial constraints universally limit efforts, CMOs’ decentralized structures enable investments in human capital and technology. These findings highlight tensions arising from diverse accountability demands and propose revisiting metrics underpinning success. They also suggest avenues for sharing best practices, such as districts aiding teacher support while CMOs demonstrate advanced data management systems. Policymakers can leverage these insights to navigate accountability complexities and foster cross-system learning.

Current approaches to determining college readiness often rely on standardized placement tests in math and English, leading to nearly half of community college students being placed into remedial classes. However, research suggests that a significant portion of students placed in remediation based on these tests could succeed in college-level courses. By examining high school performance alongside placement test scores, studies have shown that using high school achievement data could significantly reduce placement errors and improve success rates in college-level courses. Integrating high school grades in placement decisions has demonstrated remarkable success, with programs like Long Beach City College’s Promise Pathways quadrupling placement rates in college English courses and significantly increasing completion rates in both English and math. These findings have influenced California’s community college system, prompting a shift toward multiple measures for placement, offering a more equitable and effective approach to remedial education. The adoption of a nuanced placement system utilizing various academic measures shows promise for improving outcomes and fairness in remediation.

Education policies often focus on evaluating the effectiveness of interventions without considering their costs. This oversight limits policymakers’ ability to make informed decisions about resource allocation. Understanding intervention costs in relation to their effectiveness is crucial for efficient policymaking. For instance, reducing high school dropout rates, a national priority, could alleviate substantial economic burdens, yet education budgets are limited. Researchers conducted cost-effectiveness analyses on five dropout prevention programs, finding considerable variations in costs and effectiveness. Remedial programs aimed at dropouts were notably more expensive per additional graduate compared to preventative programs, which targeted at-risk students still in school. These findings emphasize the need for cost-effectiveness assessments in educational program evaluations to guide policymaking effectively. Without such analyses, research evidence alone may not provide policymakers with a comprehensive view for decision-making, potentially leading to inefficient resource allocation.

Urban high schools often struggle with low attendance and high dropout rates, contributing to socio-economic and racial academic disparities. Attention has turned to students' experiences during summer breaks and the impact of large-scale summer employment programs on educational success. Recent research delves into the influence of such programs on high school students' attendance and academic achievements in the subsequent school year. Many cities, including those in California, offer publicly-funded summer employment programs not explicitly aimed at improving educational outcomes. Yet, these programs may enhance attendance and other educational factors. Employment can foster non-cognitive skills and positive habits while keeping students engaged during breaks. A new study, utilizing New York City's Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP) data, employs a lottery system for program allocation, creating a control group for causal analysis. Examining 36,550 applicants, the research reveals a 1 to 2 percent attendance increase on average, particularly beneficial for students at higher educational risk. SYEP also enhances the likelihood of attempting and passing statewide exams, indicating its positive influence despite not affecting test scores. Amid fluctuating public funding for such programs, this study highlights the potential impact of summer employment on academic outcomes. It provides crucial insights, suggesting that while not explicitly education-focused, summer youth employment programs may significantly contribute to addressing low school attendance issues.

Research into the gender gap in STEM fields indicates persistent disparities despite women's similar math abilities and educational achievements. While prior explanations focused on societal perceptions and work-life balance, recent studies, including "Pathways to Science and Engineering Bachelor’s Degrees for Men and Women" and "The High School Environment and the Gender Gap in Science and Engineering," delve into the crucial role of high school experiences in shaping STEM aspirations. Analyzing data from the National Education Longitudinal Study, these studies reveal that if female high school seniors held comparable STEM interests as males, the STEM degree gap could diminish by as much as 82 percent. Notably, disparities among high schools in attracting students to STEM fields based on pre-high school inclinations highlight the impact of factors like robust STEM curricula and reduced gender-segregated activities. Policy implications emphasize the potential effectiveness of high school interventions, signaling the need for further research and targeted strategies, as the lasting influence of the high school environment on STEM orientations presents a promising avenue for narrowing the gender gap in STEM.

A new study compares Hispanic students' performance on Advanced Placement (AP) English exams across California, Texas, and Arizona from 1997 to 2012. Significant differences were found among the states, with Arizona having the highest passing rates, California following, and Texas consistently showing the lowest passing rates. Despite increased Hispanic participation in AP English exams, most students didn't achieve scores for college credit or advanced placement. The College Board urged equity in AP classrooms, advocating for demographic parity in successful AP students. However, none of the states met this criterion for Hispanic students. Placing unprepared students in AP courses was highlighted as an issue, emphasizing the importance of aligning prerequisite curriculum for college readiness. While AP programs aim for wider access, reducing funding without addressing readiness and support risks being wasteful, missing opportunities to prepare students effectively for college. Efforts focusing on prerequisite skills and additional support for students are crucial to ensure AP participation truly aids in college preparation and success.

Recent state policies, such as Proposition 227 in California, advocate integrating English Language Learner (ELL) students into general education classrooms alongside non-ELL peers. While existing research has mainly focused on ELL student outcomes, a new study explores how the presence of ELL students impacts the social development of their non-ELL classmates, an area less explored in prior studies. Utilizing data from kindergarten and first grade students, the study examines the relationship between the number of ELL classmates and the social development of non-ELL students. Findings suggest a positive correlation: higher numbers of ELL classmates relate to reduced problem behaviors and enhanced social skills among non-ELL students. Additionally, teacher training in English as a Second Language (ESL) appears to amplify these positive effects. This understanding holds significance for California's educational landscape, witnessing an increase in ELL students in general education settings. Identifying influential classroom factors can shape more effective practices, particularly in fostering social development, crucial for lifelong educational success.

Teacher evaluation, driven by philanthropic support and federal mandates, heavily incorporates classroom observations in most states, where they carry significant weight—contributing to dismissals in 22 states and the District of Columbia. Despite their prevalence, educators disagree on observation protocols, frequency, announcement practices, and assessment tools. Many states opt for standards-based observations, recently endorsed through research like the Measures of Effective Teaching (MET) study, albeit these assessments were primarily designed to gauge instructional standards rather than predict student outcomes, displaying weak correlations with achievement. The concern over these observations lies in their demanding nature, with numerous scoring criteria and estimated costs of $3 billion annually for nationwide implementation. Calls for innovation in observations, aiming for speed and efficacy, sparked validation studies for the Rapid Assessment of Teacher Effectiveness (RATE). In seven experiments, RATE outperformed benchmarks, accurately identifying effective teachers in just 20 minutes of a lesson using a concise rubric after minimal training. It showcased higher reliability and effectiveness compared to instruments reviewed in the MET study, potentially offering cost-effective, efficient evaluations and early support for struggling teachers, benefitting student learning.