The Northwest Evaluation Association’s (NWEA) recent brief, “Policy recommendations for addressing the middle school reading crisis,” provides insights on how state and local educational agency leaders can improve literacy outcomes.
Category: Achievement
New report identifies legislative trends targeting student data
Hundreds of bills aimed at ensuring that students, families and policymakers have access to the secure, timely information needed to navigate and understand education systems and the workforce were introduced across the country in 2025, according to Data Quality Campaign’s (DQC) latest report, Education and […]
Improving outcomes for students with disabilities begins with assessment
Despite decades of advocacy, students with disabilities often face significant gaps in educational outcomes. If local educational agencies aim to turn things around for this student group, WestEd experts suggest starting with supportive, coherent and effective assessment systems. An Aug. 14 webinar featured panelists discussing […]
Attendance Awareness Month: Study highlights immigration enforcement as factor in increasing absence rates
September is Attendance Awareness Month, a time when governance teams often look to re-examine policies and data related to school climate, chronic absenteeism, student wellness and more to address underlying causes of high absence rates among young people. School districts in California’s Central Valley experienced […]
Early literacy assessment outcomes show promising progress
A new report from Amplify, a curriculum and assessment company, provided a mixed bag of good and bad news surrounding early literacy. First, the good news: more young students are on track to learn to read and fewer are behind than during the pandemic. End-of-year […]
Preparing students to succeed in Algebra I
Too many teens enter Algebra I with significant gaps due to instructional inconsistencies and interruptions in their mathematics learning during their middle and elementary years, but new research provides recommendations on how to turn the trend around. A report released in May by TNTP, an […]
Survey shows student boredom may be hindering math recovery
Regardless of gender, race or ethnicity, students are largely tuning out during math instruction, according to the results of RAND Corporation’s first survey on the topic. Among middle and high school aged youth, 49 percent reported losing interest in math about half or more of […]
Promising initiatives embrace diversity in schools through academic and social-emotional shifts
California is one of — if not the — most culturally, linguistically, racially/ethnically and socio-economically diverse states in the country, and its students reflect that. Research shows that embracing the unique perspectives students bring to their campuses is vital to the academic achievement of all […]
Preparing students for life post-graduation
While 55 percent of high school graduates in 2019 planned to further their academic careers at a four-year college or university, just 35 percent of the Class of 2024 had the same aspirations, according to a new report. Still, it was the most popular post-grad pathway.
More adults recommend high schoolers pursue trade school than college, survey says
Results from a recent survey from the American Staffing Association (ASA) show that 33 percent of adults in the U.S. would recommend that graduating high school seniors opt to attend a vocational or trade program.











