Equity
It remains a critical challenge to ensure all children—regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, socio-economic status, and/or ability—have access to a high-quality education. We are at a pivotal time where communities and schools are navigating issues of equity, poverty, and opportunity gaps against a backdrop of shifting education policy. With access to exceptional data and a multi-disciplinary team of researchers and research partners, we are able to provide unique insight into these important issues.
This technical appendix outlines the methodology behind the projections in the NWEA research white paper, The COVID-19 slide: What summer learning loss can tell us about the potential impact of school closures on student academic achievement.
By: Megan Kuhfeld, Beth Tarasawa
Topics: COVID-19 & schools, Equity, Seasonal learning patterns & summer loss
COVID-19 closures & learning loss
In this webinar, Dr. Beth Tarasawa, Sal Khan, Dr. Jesus Jara, and Kimberly Cockrell share implications of recent research that provides some insights on potential academic impacts of COVID-19, as well as insights for action to help educators, policymakers, and families address and plan for the impacts of this extended pause in classroom instruction.
By: Beth Tarasawa, Megan Kuhfeld
Topics: COVID-19 & schools, Equity, Seasonal learning patterns & summer loss
Projecting the potential impacts of COVID-19 school closures on academic achievement
While COVID-19 learning interruptions are unprecedented in modern times, existing research on the impacts of missing school (due to absenteeism, regular summer breaks, and school closures) on learning can inform projections of potential learning loss due to the pandemic. In this study, we produce a series of projections of COVID-19-related learning loss and its potential effect on test scores in the 2020-21 school year based on estimates from prior literature and analyses of typical summer learning patterns of five million students.
By: Megan Kuhfeld, James Soland, Beth Tarasawa, Angela Johnson, Erik Ruzek, Jing Liu
Topics: Equity, COVID-19 & schools, Seasonal learning patterns & summer loss
The effects of early college opportunities on English Learners
English Learners (ELs) lag behind their peers in postsecondary attainment. New research reports findings from the first three years of an intervention that offers Early College opportunities in high schools serving large EL populations.
By: Diana Mercado-Garcia
Topics: English Language Learners, Equity, High school
Correlates of change in elementary students’ perceptions of interactions with their teacher
This study leveraged a racially/ethnically diverse sample of third and fourth grade students and teachers in a large, urban district to investigate whether stable student and teacher characteristics (e.g., sex) and observed quality of classroom interactions influenced change in students’ perceptions of interactions with their teacher.
By: Catherine Corbin, Erik Ruzek, Jason Downer, Amy Lowenstein, Joshua Brown
Topics: Equity, Social-emotional learning
Trends in children’s academic skills at school entry: 2010 to 2017
This study examines academic skills at kindergarten entry from 2010 and 2017 using data from over 2 million kindergarten students.
By: Megan Kuhfeld, James Soland, Christine Pitts, Margaret Burchinal
Topics: Equity, Early learning
Assessment education: Bridging research, theory, and practice to promote equity and student learning
This book focuses on practical uses of assessment in education and provides resources and strategies for teachers, administrators, and other educational leaders who strive toward data-informed instruction that balances the use of assessment to address opportunity gaps.
Edited by: Beth Tarasawa, Amelia Gotwals, Cara Jackson
Topics: Equity, Empowering educators