Issues: P-12 Education

Elementary and Middle School

MDRC’s initiatives seek to promote academic success, particularly in reading and math, and to ease the transition from middle school to high school, through innovative instructional programs, intensive professional development, and structural changes in schools.

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Brief

Changes in Preschool Classroom Quality

Quality improvement in early care and education often relies on annual classroom observations. This study examined biweekly ratings of classroom quality by teachers’ coaches over six months and found that quality varied over time. The findings suggest that the timing and number of quality ratings should inform program improvement decisions.

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Brief

Reconnecting Students to Educational Pathways

Schools have long struggled to reengage students who have poor attendance or who drop out—a situation that was exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. During 2021–2022, Communities In Schools introduced the Reengagement Coordinator Initiative, aimed at reengaging high school students who did not reenroll or were chronically absent.

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Key Documents

Issue Focus

Dynamic Tensions

Early Reflections from MDRC’s Evaluation of the Innovative Professional Development Challenge

In the Innovative Professional Development (iPD) Challenge, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is helping school districts redesign their teacher professional development systems to better support teachers in increasing student success. This Issue Focus, the second in a series, offers some early reflections from MDRC’s study of it.

The Impact of Family Involvement on the Education of Children Ages 3 to 8

A Focus on Literacy and Math Achievement Outcomes and Social-Emotional Skills

This report reviews 95 studies on how families’ involvement in children’s learning and development through activities at home and at school affects the literacy, mathematics, and social-emotional skills of children. The review also offers recommendations for additional lines of inquiry and discusses next steps in research and practice.

MDRC’s Findings on School Improvement Strategies

The Every Student Succeeds Act gives states greater responsibility for choosing strategies to improve underperforming schools. For over a decade, MDRC has rigorously evaluated school improvement strategies, collecting evidence that can help states determine which strategies are likely to work. This Issue Focus describes four of MDRC’s most recent studies.

ReSolve Math Study Focus Area: Elementary and Middle School Population: Children and Schools Intervention: Curricular/Instructional Reforms	City Year Evaluation Focus Area: Elementary and Middle School Population: Children and Schools Intervention: Student Services, Classroom Services, Case Management, Counseling/Advising Locations: California, Florida, New York, Texas	New York City’s Lab for Equity and Engagement in School Enrollment (the E3 Lab) Focus Area: Elementary and Middle School Population: Children and Schools Intervention: Behavioral Interventions Locations: New York
United2Read Focus Area: Elementary and Middle School Population: Children and Schools Intervention: Professional Development/ Teacher Training, Curricular/Instructional Reforms Locations: California, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania	Philly Reading Coaches Focus Area: Elementary and Middle School After-School/Out-of-School Time Population: Children and Schools Intervention: Reading Instruction, Tutoring Locations: Pennsylvania	Family Rewards 2.0 Focus Area: Financial Incentives Two-Generation Programs High School Elementary and Middle School Population: Populations with Low Incomes Children and Schools Families Intervention: Financial Incentives Locations: New York, Tennessee
Evaluation of Teach for America’s Redesigned Summer Training Institute Focus Area: Elementary and Middle School High School Population: Children and Schools Intervention: Professional Development/ Teacher Training Locations: Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Texas	The Expanding Children’s Early Learning (ExCEL) Network Focus Area: Preschool Elementary and Middle School Child Care and Early Education Population: Children and Schools Intervention: School Readiness, Professional Development/ Teacher Training, Classroom Services, Curricular/Instructional Reforms Locations: Massachusetts	Evaluation of Academic Language Interventions Focus Area: Elementary and Middle School Population: Children and Schools Intervention: Professional Development/ Teacher Training, Reading Instruction, Classroom Services, Curricular/Instructional Reforms
Higher Achievement Evaluation Focus Area: Elementary and Middle School After-School/Out-of-School Time Population: Children and Schools Intervention: Tutoring, Mentoring, Classroom Services, Counseling/Advising	Success Academy Charter Schools Evaluation Focus Area: Elementary and Middle School High School Population: Children and Schools Intervention: Charter Schools, Comprehensive School Reform, Curricular/Instructional Reforms Locations: New York	The High 5s Project Focus Area: Preschool Elementary and Middle School Child Care and Early Education Population: Children and Schools Intervention: School Readiness, Professional Development/ Teacher Training, Classroom Services, Curricular/Instructional Reforms
Estimating Power for Multiple Hypothesis Tests Focus Area: Preschool Elementary and Middle School High School Population: Children and Schools	Multi-Tiered Systems of Support for Behavior: Helping School Staff Support Appropriate Student Behavior Focus Area: Elementary and Middle School Population: Children and Schools Intervention: Professional Development/ Teacher Training, Classroom Services	Scaling Up the Success for All Middle School Math Program Focus Area: Elementary and Middle School Population: Children and Schools Intervention: Professional Development/ Teacher Training, Curricular/Instructional Reforms
Innovative Professional Development (iPD) Focus Area: Elementary and Middle School High School Population: Children and Schools Intervention: Professional Development/ Teacher Training, Curricular/Instructional Reforms Locations: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Oklahoma	PACE Center for Girls Focus Area: Foster Care and Juvenile Justice Youth and Juvenile Justice Elementary and Middle School High School Institutional Reform Transition to Postsecondary Population: Young Adults Children and Schools Intervention: Student Services, Classroom Services, Case Management, Counseling/Advising Locations: Florida	The SEED Foundation Focus Area: Elementary and Middle School High School Institutional Reform Transition to Postsecondary Population: Children and Schools Intervention: Classroom Services, Residential Youth Programs, School Readiness, Student Services Locations: Dist. of Columbia, Maryland
AVID College Readiness System Focus Area: Elementary and Middle School High School Transition to Postsecondary Population: Children and Schools Intervention: Professional Development/ Teacher Training, Curricular/Instructional Reforms Locations: Florida	Communities In Schools Focus Area: Elementary and Middle School High School Population: Children and Schools Intervention: Student Services, Case Management, Counseling/Advising Locations: North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas	Chicago’s New Communities Program Focus Area: Housing/Community Initiatives Elementary and Middle School Young People Who Leave High School Before Graduation Population: Populations with Low Incomes Locations: Illinois
Opportunity NYC Demonstrations Focus Area: Financial Incentives Two-Generation Programs High School Elementary and Middle School Population: Populations with Low Incomes Children and Schools Families Intervention: Financial Incentives Locations: New York	Response to Intervention (RtI) Programs for Struggling Elementary Readers Focus Area: Elementary and Middle School Population: Children and Schools Intervention: Classroom Services, Curricular/Instructional Reforms, Reading Instruction	Diplomas Now Focus Area: High School Elementary and Middle School Population: Children and Schools Intervention: Professional Development/ Teacher Training, Student Services, Classroom Services, Comprehensive School Reform, Case Management, Counseling/Advising, Curricular/Instructional Reforms Locations: California, Dist. of Columbia, Florida, Illinois, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas

The Success for All Reading and Whole-School Reform Model: An Evaluation of the Investing in Innovation Replication Focus Area: Elementary and Middle School Population: Children and Schools Intervention: Reading Instruction, Curricular/Instructional Reforms	Professional Development in Math Study Focus Area: Elementary and Middle School Population: Children and Schools Intervention: Curricular/Instructional Reforms, Professional Development/ Teacher Training	Formative Assessments of Student Thinking in Reading (FAST-R) Focus Area: Elementary and Middle School Population: Children and Schools Intervention: Reading Instruction, Curricular/Instructional Reforms Locations: Massachusetts
The Reading First Impact Study Focus Area: Elementary and Middle School Population: Children and Schools Intervention: Reading Instruction	Professional Development in Reading Study Focus Area: Elementary and Middle School Population: Children and Schools Intervention: Professional Development/ Teacher Training, Reading Instruction Locations: Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Ohio	Accelerated Schools Focus Area: Elementary and Middle School Population: Children and Schools Intervention: Accelerated Programs, Curricular/Instructional Reforms Locations: California, Hawaii, Illinois, Missouri, New York, South Carolina
Project GRAD Focus Area: High School Elementary and Middle School Population: Children and Schools Intervention: Comprehensive School Reform, Counseling/Advising, Financial Aid, Financial Incentives, Professional Development/ Teacher Training, Reading Instruction Locations: Georgia, New Jersey, Ohio, Texas	Talent Development Focus Area: High School Elementary and Middle School Population: Children and Schools Intervention: Career & Technical Education, Classroom Services, Comprehensive School Reform, Curricular/Instructional Reforms, Professional Development/ Teacher Training, Reading Instruction Locations: Pennsylvania	Extended-Service Schools Focus Area: After-School/Out-of-School Time Elementary and Middle School Population: Children and Schools Locations: Colorado, Georgia, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Montana, Rhode Island

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Elementary and Middle School

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