Curriculum development teams must review and select resources that align with standards, grade-level expectations and assessments. During the review process, a team should typically review five or more different resources and narrow them down to two, according to Align the Design, an ASCD publication co-authored by Ann Mausbach and Nancy J. Mooney in 2008. The […]

Evidence about a product’s effectiveness can help district leaders decide which educational technologies or instructional resources to purchase and use. Mathematica Policy Research created a guide to help educators determine which claims can be trusted and which are less reliable. The following is a summary of evidence that educators are most likely to encounter, from […]

Since Chicago Public Schools implemented the University of Chicago’s Freshman OnTrack indicator, the percentage of ninth-graders who’ve stayed on track, or earned the appropriate number of credits to graduate, has increased from 57 to 82 percent. Among the other data points: On-track rates improved for all students, but especially for African-American males whose on-track rate […]

Districts work to train educators to spot and respond quickly to signs of mental distress in students.

How does a dog help students score higher on tests? No, the dogs are not carrying the answers in a little barrel around their necks, Saint Bernard style. All it takes is simply having a dog—in this case, a goldendoodle named Bentley—in the room while the exam is underway, says Paul Woodin, a librarian at […]

Therapy dogs in schools can perform wonders: The animals relieve students' stress, help kids learn to read, and even boost test scores and attendance.

Last week, on the wall of a middle school cafeteria, administrators projected a large yellow slide on a screen, titled “Detention Today.” Displayed below, were the names of the seven middle-schoolers on the docket to be punished.

In Tempe, Arizona, the phone number for a suicide hotline is printed on every student's ID badge, teachers are trained to spot and respond to warning signs in students, and administrators don't use euphemisms when discussing the topic.