A closer look at math and science programs yields mixed results

A closer look at math and science programs yields mixed results New reports from the What Works Clearinghouse review the research on three programs designed to improve student achievement in math and science: Peer-Assisted Learning Strategies, Carnegie Learning Curricula and Cognitive Tutor, and Great Explorations in Math and Science (GEMS) The Real Reasons for Seasons. Findings were as follows: Peer-Assisted Learning Strategies, a peer-tutoring program for grades K-6 that aims to improve student proficiency in math and other disciplines, was found to have no discernible effects on mathematics achievement for elementary school students. Carnegie Learning Curricula and Cognitive Tutor, a secondary math curricula that offers textbooks and interactive software to provide individualized, self-paced instruction based on student needs, was found to have mixed effects on mathematics achievement for high school students. GEMS The Real Reasons for Seasons, a curriculum unit for grades 6-8 that focuses on the connections between the Sun and the Earth to teach students the scientific concepts behind the seasons, was found to havepotentially negative effects on general science achievement for middle school students.

Simple ways to improve learning A new article published by the Association for Psychological Science argues that educational outcomes can be improved by helping students to better regulate their own learning. The authors discuss ten techniques that might help them to do this. The techniques were selected on the grounds that they should be relatively easy to implement, and the article itself gives a clear review of each technique. The authors gave two techniques an overall high rating. The first of these was "practice testing," which is usually self-testing outside the classroom. The second was "distributed practice," essentially the opposite of "cramming," where study activities are spread over a single session or across multiple sessions. Some of the techniques with low- or moderate-utility ratings also showed promise, but there was insufficient evidence for a higher rating. The authors looked at all of the available evidence for each technique, and considered generalizability, issues for implementation, and an overall assessment of its utility - low, moderate, or high.

Moving to a "better" zip code isn't the answer A randomized experiment has explored whether or not where you live has an effect on life chances. Between 1994 and 1998, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Moving to Opportunity (MTO) for Fair Housing program recruited more than 4,600 families with children living in severely distressed public housing projects in five cities (Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York City). Some MTO families were offered the opportunity to use a housing voucher to move into private-market housing in wealthier neighborhoods, while the others were not. New research, led by researchers from the U.S. National Bureau of Economic Research, outlines the long-term (10-15 years) impact of the MTO program on children who were approximately 11 years old or younger at baseline. They discovered few detectable effects on achievement, education, employment, and a range of other health and risky behavior outcomes. However, there were some encouraging effects on mental health, primarily for girls and young women.

What makes children stressed?  A new research report from the Childhood Wellbeing Research Centre in the UK looks at family "stressors" and the impact on children's outcomes. The authors look at whether particular life events are especially detrimental, whether they have an impact across different outcomes (educational, social, etc.), and whether the effects of early childhood events persist into adolescence. They also look at the association between family factors and outcomes. The findings of the report are broad, especially as different family factors can be associated with different types of outcomes. Key findings include that extreme stressful events, such as homelessness, victimization, or abuse, can have long-term effects on children's outcomes. Some stressful events have an impact on children's emotional and social well-being but not their educational outcomes, and so their negative impacts may therefore be harder to pick up. The authors point out that in order to target interventions, it is important to understand which family circumstances are significant for child well-being at different ages, and how that varies across outcomes.

New tools for talking about education data The Data Quality Campaign has created a suite of ten tools for communicating messages about education data. Their goal is to help education stakeholders confront communication challenges and effectively communicate the value of data to meeting education goals. Resources include: Myths about Data Use Data Privacy, Security, and Confidentiality The Power of State Data: Message Map

Reading by third grade: Thinking beyond retention In his latest blog post, Robert Slavin, director of the Center for Research and Reform in Education, discusses reading-by-third-grade polices. He says, "If schools use the reading-by-third-grade movement as an opportunity to use proven practices throughout the primary grades, they can reap substantial savings by avoiding unnecessary retentions, and most importantly, they can make a life-changing difference for all of their students." Read the full post on Huff Post Education.