Illuminations and Insights
We shine a light on our partners, the work we've done across the country, and insights from our team members.
What does it take to create an equity-focused system of school accountability?
In pursuit of our mission to use data and evidence to help close opportunity gaps for the most vulnerable and historically marginalized students, EA applied for and received a research grant from the K12 Research for Equity Hub to explore how accountability systems can better promote equity in schools and districts. In this blog, we examine the benefits and challenges of bringing together our knowledge of predictive analytics and early warning systems to transform these accountability systems into transformational data systems for school improvement.
Student assets during COVID-19: The role of social-emotional learning and school climate in students’ academic progress during COVID
We analyzed data from K-12 public schools funded by NewSchools Venture Fund to examine longitudinal changes in students’ social-emotional learning (SEL) and school culture/climate (CC) survey measures, along with academic growth. In this blog, we summarize findings of our exploration of whether SEL and CC served as a protective factor against academic learning lag during COVID-19.
Fostering teacher innovation through classroom research: The design of Strategy Workshop, a new software application
How do we help foster teacher innovation? In this blog, we highlight how an exciting new software application paired with a model for teacher action research enables teachers to identify evidence-based instructional strategies, test them out in their classroom, and use data to determine if they really make a difference in student achievement.
Monitoring statewide academic recovery after COVID-19: Evidence from South Carolina
We have been using interim assessments across the state of South Carolina to monitor learning lag and recovery. Here, we present results from analyses using data from Fall 2021 and suggest data-driven approaches for targeting accelerated learning strategies to the students most in need.
Measuring the impact of test opt-out on achievement and growth
When examining patterns of test opt-out and its impact on student achievement and growth in South Carolina, EA found that test participation in 2021 was higher than expected, but still lower than historical rates. We found some evidence of the negative impact of test non-participation on aggregated achievement.
Beyond test scores: How one educator preparation program is improving students' attendance
We analyzed how New York City teachers from the Relay Graduate School of Education influenced students’ attendance. We found that Relay teachers had positive, statistically significant impacts on students’ attendance, especially for students from historically marginalized backgrounds.
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