Assessing the Benefits of Extended Learning Programs

Assessing the Benefits of Extended Learning Programs PDF Author: Vincent M. Hamm
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : After-school programs
Languages : en
Pages : 113

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Book Description
The purpose of this study was to determine and describe the prevalence, characteristics, and structure of funding for extended learning programs in small, medium, and large public elementary schools in Georgia. The researcher also sought to identify principals’ perceptions of the benefits of extended learning programs. Although some data and literature exist relating the effect of extended learning programs to student achievement, additional data are needed at the state level. This study provides valuable information related to the characteristics and benefits of extended learning programs in Georgia elementary schools. The researcher compared third-grade mathematics Criterion Reference Competency Test mean pass rates, as measured by the Georgia CRCT, between schools that implemented an extended learning program and those that did not. The researcher also compared third-grade mathematics CRCT mean pass rates, as measured by the Georgia CRCT, among small, medium, and large Georgia public elementary schools. The researcher used a causal-comparative research design. A single survey instrument was used to collect data from elementary school principals across the state of Georgia. Two hypotheses were proposed to examine the effects of extended learning programs on mean third-grade mathematics CRCT pass percentages. Neither hypothesis was supported. An overall comparison of schools, either by program utilization or size, suggested no group experienced any greater degree of increased mathematics pass rate. However, principals surveyed in this study indicated that these types of programs were beneficial to their schools. Principals perceived that student performance had increased in mathematics and reading. According to principals surveyed in this study, extended learning programs provide students with opportunities to improve basic skills not available during the regular school day. One must consider if program success can solely be determined by standardized test score improvement.

Assessing the Benefits of Extended Learning Programs

Assessing the Benefits of Extended Learning Programs PDF Author: Vincent M. Hamm
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : After-school programs
Languages : en
Pages : 113

Get Book Here

Book Description
The purpose of this study was to determine and describe the prevalence, characteristics, and structure of funding for extended learning programs in small, medium, and large public elementary schools in Georgia. The researcher also sought to identify principals’ perceptions of the benefits of extended learning programs. Although some data and literature exist relating the effect of extended learning programs to student achievement, additional data are needed at the state level. This study provides valuable information related to the characteristics and benefits of extended learning programs in Georgia elementary schools. The researcher compared third-grade mathematics Criterion Reference Competency Test mean pass rates, as measured by the Georgia CRCT, between schools that implemented an extended learning program and those that did not. The researcher also compared third-grade mathematics CRCT mean pass rates, as measured by the Georgia CRCT, among small, medium, and large Georgia public elementary schools. The researcher used a causal-comparative research design. A single survey instrument was used to collect data from elementary school principals across the state of Georgia. Two hypotheses were proposed to examine the effects of extended learning programs on mean third-grade mathematics CRCT pass percentages. Neither hypothesis was supported. An overall comparison of schools, either by program utilization or size, suggested no group experienced any greater degree of increased mathematics pass rate. However, principals surveyed in this study indicated that these types of programs were beneficial to their schools. Principals perceived that student performance had increased in mathematics and reading. According to principals surveyed in this study, extended learning programs provide students with opportunities to improve basic skills not available during the regular school day. One must consider if program success can solely be determined by standardized test score improvement.

Evaluating Extended Learning Time on Urban Student Performance

Evaluating Extended Learning Time on Urban Student Performance PDF Author: Andrea Moss
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 80

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Book Description
In the United States, children between the ages of five and eighteen spend up to 85 percent of their time out of school. After the school day ends, working parents of school-age children and youth need to secure adequate after-school care. During after school hours, between the hours of 3 p.m. and 7 p.m., 19 percent of violent offenses committed by juveniles occur (U.S. Department of Justice, 2010). On the National Assessment of Educational Progress (2015) the average eighth-grade minority student performs at about the level of the average fourth-grade white student. These data indicate that the best use of time after school involves closing the achievement gap and providing a haven for school-age children and youth (Durlak & Weissberg, 2007). The literature notes mixed opinions concerning the impact of extended learning time in the form of after-school programs. Interested stakeholders believe that, despite the inconsistent findings of the effect of after-school programs on academics and student behavior, after-school programs can narrow the achievement gap through academic and social support, promote physical fitness, and offer refuge for children and youth. Researchers believe that these varied results may stem from the need for improved research designs and a determination of which children benefit the most from participation in after-school programs (Riggs & Greenberg, 2004). This study addressed the need for extended learning time in the form of after-school programs in urban schools. It sought to evaluate the effect of participation in school-based after-school programs on the academic and social behaviors of elementary and middle school students in an urban school district. It used an ex-post facto research design and included after-school participation, Ohio Achievement Assessment data in reading and mathematics, suspensions, school attendance and demographics including race, gender, age, disability, and English proficiency as variables. Participants included students in grades three through eight from two schools in an urban district. The researcher analyzed data to compare participants in an after-school program to non-participants according to the variables mentioned above. The results of this study showed that after-school programs academically and socially benefit urban elementary and middle school students.

Learning from Summer

Learning from Summer PDF Author: Catherine H. Augustine
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780833096609
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
RAND researchers assess voluntary, district-led summer learning programs for low-income, urban elementary students. This third report in a series examines student outcomes after one and two summers of programming.

Knowing What Students Know

Knowing What Students Know PDF Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309293227
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 383

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Book Description
Education is a hot topic. From the stage of presidential debates to tonight's dinner table, it is an issue that most Americans are deeply concerned about. While there are many strategies for improving the educational process, we need a way to find out what works and what doesn't work as well. Educational assessment seeks to determine just how well students are learning and is an integral part of our quest for improved education. The nation is pinning greater expectations on educational assessment than ever before. We look to these assessment tools when documenting whether students and institutions are truly meeting education goals. But we must stop and ask a crucial question: What kind of assessment is most effective? At a time when traditional testing is subject to increasing criticism, research suggests that new, exciting approaches to assessment may be on the horizon. Advances in the sciences of how people learn and how to measure such learning offer the hope of developing new kinds of assessments-assessments that help students succeed in school by making as clear as possible the nature of their accomplishments and the progress of their learning. Knowing What Students Know essentially explains how expanding knowledge in the scientific fields of human learning and educational measurement can form the foundations of an improved approach to assessment. These advances suggest ways that the targets of assessment-what students know and how well they know it-as well as the methods used to make inferences about student learning can be made more valid and instructionally useful. Principles for designing and using these new kinds of assessments are presented, and examples are used to illustrate the principles. Implications for policy, practice, and research are also explored. With the promise of a productive research-based approach to assessment of student learning, Knowing What Students Know will be important to education administrators, assessment designers, teachers and teacher educators, and education advocates.

Making Summer Count

Making Summer Count PDF Author: Jennifer Sloan McCombs
Publisher: Rand Corporation
ISBN: 0833052713
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 119

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Book Description
Students typically lose knowledge and skills during the summer, particularly low-income students. Districts and private providers can benefit from the evidence on summer programming to maximize program effectiveness, quality, reach, and funding.

Education for Life and Work

Education for Life and Work PDF Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309256496
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 203

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Book Description
Americans have long recognized that investments in public education contribute to the common good, enhancing national prosperity and supporting stable families, neighborhoods, and communities. Education is even more critical today, in the face of economic, environmental, and social challenges. Today's children can meet future challenges if their schooling and informal learning activities prepare them for adult roles as citizens, employees, managers, parents, volunteers, and entrepreneurs. To achieve their full potential as adults, young people need to develop a range of skills and knowledge that facilitate mastery and application of English, mathematics, and other school subjects. At the same time, business and political leaders are increasingly asking schools to develop skills such as problem solving, critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and self-management - often referred to as "21st century skills." Education for Life and Work: Developing Transferable Knowledge and Skills in the 21st Century describes this important set of key skills that increase deeper learning, college and career readiness, student-centered learning, and higher order thinking. These labels include both cognitive and non-cognitive skills- such as critical thinking, problem solving, collaboration, effective communication, motivation, persistence, and learning to learn. 21st century skills also include creativity, innovation, and ethics that are important to later success and may be developed in formal or informal learning environments. This report also describes how these skills relate to each other and to more traditional academic skills and content in the key disciplines of reading, mathematics, and science. Education for Life and Work: Developing Transferable Knowledge and Skills in the 21st Century summarizes the findings of the research that investigates the importance of such skills to success in education, work, and other areas of adult responsibility and that demonstrates the importance of developing these skills in K-16 education. In this report, features related to learning these skills are identified, which include teacher professional development, curriculum, assessment, after-school and out-of-school programs, and informal learning centers such as exhibits and museums.

How People Learn

How People Learn PDF Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309131979
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 386

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Book Description
First released in the Spring of 1999, How People Learn has been expanded to show how the theories and insights from the original book can translate into actions and practice, now making a real connection between classroom activities and learning behavior. This edition includes far-reaching suggestions for research that could increase the impact that classroom teaching has on actual learning. Like the original edition, this book offers exciting new research about the mind and the brain that provides answers to a number of compelling questions. When do infants begin to learn? How do experts learn and how is this different from non-experts? What can teachers and schools do-with curricula, classroom settings, and teaching methodsâ€"to help children learn most effectively? New evidence from many branches of science has significantly added to our understanding of what it means to know, from the neural processes that occur during learning to the influence of culture on what people see and absorb. How People Learn examines these findings and their implications for what we teach, how we teach it, and how we assess what our children learn. The book uses exemplary teaching to illustrate how approaches based on what we now know result in in-depth learning. This new knowledge calls into question concepts and practices firmly entrenched in our current education system. Topics include: How learning actually changes the physical structure of the brain. How existing knowledge affects what people notice and how they learn. What the thought processes of experts tell us about how to teach. The amazing learning potential of infants. The relationship of classroom learning and everyday settings of community and workplace. Learning needs and opportunities for teachers. A realistic look at the role of technology in education.

The Science of Learning and Development

The Science of Learning and Development PDF Author: Pamela Cantor
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 100039977X
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 245

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Book Description
This essential text unpacks major transformations in the study of learning and human development and provides evidence for how science can inform innovation in the design of settings, policies, practice, and research to enhance the life path, opportunity and prosperity of every child. The ideas presented provide researchers and educators with a rationale for focusing on the specific pathways and developmental patterns that may lead a specific child, with a specific family, school, and community, to prosper in school and in life. Expanding key published articles and expert commentary, the book explores a profound evolution in thinking that integrates findings from psychology with biology through sociology, education, law, and history with an emphasis on institutionalized inequities and disparate outcomes and how to address them. It points toward possible solutions through an understanding of and addressing the dynamic relations between a child and the contexts within which he or she lives, offering all researchers of human development and education a new way to understand and promote healthy development and learning for diverse, specific youth regardless of race, socioeconomic status, or history of adversity, challenge, or trauma. The book brings together scholars and practitioners from the biological/medical sciences, the social and behavioral sciences, educational science, and fields of law and social and educational policy. It provides an invaluable and unique resource for understanding the bases and status of the new science, and presents a roadmap for progress that will frame progress for at least the next decade and perhaps beyond.

Investing in Successful Summer Programs

Investing in Successful Summer Programs PDF Author: Jennifer Sloan McCombs
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781977402592
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 162

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Book Description
Research evidence suggests that summer breaks contribute to income-based achievement and opportunity gaps for children and youth. However, summertime can also be used to provide programs that support an array of goals for children and youth, including improved academic achievement, physical health, mental health, social and emotional well-being, the acquisition of skills, and the development of interests. This report is intended to provide practitioners, policymakers, and funders current information about the effectiveness of summer programs designed for children and youth entering grades K-12. Policymakers increasingly expect that the creation of and investment in summer programs will be based on research evidence. Notably, the 2015 Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) directs schools and districts to adopt programs that are supported by research evidence if those programs are funded by specific federal streams. Although summer programs can benefit children and youth who attend, not all programs result in improved outcomes. RAND researchers identified 43 summer programs with positive outcomes that met the top three tiers of ESSA's evidence standards. These programs were identified through an initial literature search of 3,671 citations and a full-text review of 1,360 documents and address academic learning, learning at home, social and emotional well-being, and employment and career outcomes. The authors summarize the evidence and provide detailed information on each of the 43 programs, focusing on the evidence linking summer programs with outcomes and classifying the programs according to the top three evidence tiers (strong, moderate, or promising evidence) consistent with ESSA and subsequent federal regulatory guidance.

The Quality Imperative

The Quality Imperative PDF Author: Daniel Princiotta
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 44

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Book Description
Extended learning opportunities (ELOs) provide safe, structured learning environments for students outside the traditional school day. ELOs include afterschool and summer learning programs as well as before-school, evening, and weekend programs. ELOs come in many forms and can include tutoring, volunteering, academic support, community service, organized sports, homework help, and art and music programs. ELOs are based in schools, 21st Century Community Learning Centers, child care centers, and community-based organizations, such as 4-H Clubs and Boys and Girls Clubs. No matter where they are located, ELOs complement what children and youth learn during school in ways that support student success. For this reason, effective ELOs should be considered an integral part of state elementary and secondary (K-12) education systems. All ELOs, however, do not produce similar results. In fact, low quality ELOs fail to show positive impacts and can even have negative effects on children. Therefore, governors, chief state school officers, and other state leaders should act to support the development, sustainability, and availability of high quality ELOs. To improve ELO quality, state leaders have initiated efforts to develop program standards, create program self-assessment tools, and provide technical assistance to local programs. State leaders can build on and strengthen these efforts by integrating them into a broader state ELO quality system. State leaders can take the following actions to implement a comprehensive state ELO quality system: (1) Establish an ELO quality team of key stakeholders to envision, develop, and administer a state ELO quality system; (2) Identify federal and state funding sources to support ELO quality; (3) Specify state goals for ELOs and set research-based ELO program standards; (4) Measure the extent to which ELOs meet program standards and demonstrate expected results.; (5) Provide incentives to improve ELO quality; (6) Support a strong ELO workforce; and (7) Connect students with high quality ELOs. Implementing these seven strategies can help state leaders boost ELO quality to better support children, families, and communities. This guide discusses why high quality ELOs are important, the features of high quality ELOs, state actions to develop an ELO Quality System (detailing each of the seven actions listed above), and next steps. (Contains 113 notes.).