School Improvement: Curriculum and Instruction

SRI's education researchers evaluate the design, implementation, and impact of a variety of educational programs designed to improve pedagogy and content learning. These school improvement curriculum and instruction studies are conducted within specific subject areas such as mathematics, science, history, language arts, adult literacy, and arts education, or for specific curricula, such as the International Baccalaureate program.

Projects

teenage girl student doing her homework
Impact Evaluation of Michigan’s Striving Readers Program

SRI is evaluating the effectiveness of a program for struggling adolescent readers.

Topics: Educational Impact Evaluation Policy Analysis Reading, Writing and Humanities School Improvement School Improvement: Curriculum and Instruction School Improvement: Student Success Special Education/Disability
teenage students in a classroom
Bridging the Divide: High School and College Dual Enrollment

SRI studied programs across several states that offer college enrollment to high school-age students, and recommended improvements.

Topics: Community College: Transitions School Improvement School Improvement: Curriculum and Instruction School Improvement: Student Success
three teenage students working on a laboratory activity
Evaluation of the California Linked Learning District Initiative

SRI is examining the impact of this program that combines strong academics with real-world experience. Its goal: to help students build a strong foundation for success in college and careers—and life.

Topics: 21st Century Skills Educational Impact Evaluation Evaluation Planning and Design Extant Data Analysis Randomized Controlled Trials and Quasi-Experimental Designs Research into Practice and Scale-up School Improvement School Improvement: Curriculum and Instruction School Improvement: Student Success
Young male teacher smiling at camera with students behind him
Study of the Rio Grande Valley Center for Teaching and Leading Excellence

SRI is analyzing the impact of the Center's efforts to recruit, support, and train effective teachers in Texas.

Topics: School Improvement School Improvement: Curriculum and Instruction School Improvement: Student Success Teacher Quality and Learning
students at computers in a classroom
Evaluation of CISE Pathways to Revitalized Undergraduate Computer Education

The National Science Foundation asked SRI to evaluate its program to transform undergraduate computing education on a national scale.

Topics: 21st Century Skills Community College: Transitions Higher Education and Workforce Development Learning Technologies School Improvement: Curriculum and Instruction Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Education
young girl holding up a paper marked with an A-plus
Evaluation of the California Subject Matter Projects

SRI has conducted surveys, case studies of programs in each of the nine projects, and quasi-experimental analyses of the effects of the CSMP on student achievement. Additionally SRI has provided technical support for sites’ local inquiry projects.

Topics: Evaluation Planning and Design School Improvement: Curriculum and Instruction Teacher Quality and Learning
two teachers talking in a hallway
High School Leadership Initiative

Improving California high schools through leadership capacity building. SRI is evaluating an initiative that supports the development and implementation of leadership structures and practices associated with effective schools and positive student outcomes.

Topics: Case Studies in Education Evaluation Planning and Design Extant Data Analysis Implementation Evaluation School Improvement School Improvement: Curriculum and Instruction
teacher helps young student read a book
Evaluation of the McKnight Foundation’s Education + Learning Program

SRI is evaluating the McKnight Foundation’s effort to improve the literacy achievement of pre–K through third grade students in the Twin Cities through pathways that integrate and enhance prekindergarten through third grade literacy education.

Topics: Case Studies in Education Early Childhood Educational Impact Evaluation Extant Data Analysis Implementation Evaluation Randomized Controlled Trials and Quasi-Experimental Designs School Improvement School Improvement: Curriculum and Instruction School Improvement: Student Success Teacher Quality and Learning
screenshot of the SCORE software application
Studying Topography, Orographic Rainfall + Ecosystems

STORE uses Google Earth to help students investigate projected climate changes in their own areas.

Topics: Assessment Design and Evaluation Atmospheric Studies Case Studies in Education Community College: Transitions Energy and Sustainability Learning Technologies Research and Development Programs Research on Learning School Improvement: Curriculum and Instruction Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Education Software Engineering
Carbon emissions map used by students to investigate warming
Data Sets and Inquiry in Geoscience Education (DIGS)

DIGS engages students in looking at real data about climate change to differentiate between possible greenhouse gas and urban heat island impacts.

Topics: Energy and Sustainability Research and Development Programs Research on Learning School Improvement: Curriculum and Instruction Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Education

Press Releases

Classroom
Study Finds Beginning Teachers in California Face a Bumpy Path to a Teaching Career

California state policies designed to promote and enhance the effectiveness of beginning teachers fail to match employment realities. Most significantly, beginning teachers often do not get the support they critically need to be effective in the classroom.

Topics: Case Studies in Education School Improvement School Improvement: Curriculum and Instruction Teacher Quality and Learning
School Children
Helios Partners with SRI International to Create Center for Digital Learning

Helios Education Foundation is partnering with SRI by investing $1 million to seed a Center for Digital Learning in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Center will create a portfolio of digital learning projects to enhance student achievement in STEM subjects.

Topics: 21st Century Skills School Improvement: Curriculum and Instruction School Improvement: Student Success Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Education
AP science class
National Science Foundation-funded Study to Examine if New AP Science Courses Advance Student Progress onto Science and Engineering Career Track

New research study will provide the first experimental evidence on the effects of high school students taking an inquiry-based AP science course and whether it impacts educational progress and success in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) subjects.

Topics: 21st Century Skills Educational Impact Evaluation School Improvement: Curriculum and Instruction School Improvement: Student Success Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Education
Seventh-graders at laptop
Department of Education Funds Four-Year Research Evaluation of Mathematics Online Tutoring System

Research team to study seventh-grade mathematics students and teachers in more than 50 schools throughout Maine.

Topics: 21st Century Skills Out-of-School Learning Research on Learning School Improvement: Curriculum and Instruction School Improvement: Student Success Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Education
two students working at a computer
SRI Report Compares the Global Use of Technology in Education

A new report from SRI International's Center for Technology in Learning compares the use of educational technology for K-12 students in 21 countries.

Topics: Early Childhood Higher Education and Workforce Development International Education Reform School Improvement: Curriculum and Instruction School Improvement: Student Success
SRI International to Evaluate Effectiveness of Teacher Professional Development on Middle School Student Writing Performance

SRI International launched a four-year study to evaluate the effectiveness of teacher professional development middle school student writing performance, and will be conducted in collaboration with the National Writing Project (NWP).

Topics: School Improvement: Curriculum and Instruction
SRI International Study Shows Increased Middle School Mathematics Learning with Technology-Based Approach

SRI International has provided compelling evidence that SimCalc, a technology-enhanced mathematics program, has increased middle school students’ mathematics learning.

Topics: School Improvement: Curriculum and Instruction Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Education

Publications

California’s Beginning Teachers: the Bumpy Path to a Profession

This study addresses education policies that affect beginning teachers in California—induction, clear credentialing, evaluation, and tenure.

Topics: Case Studies in Education School Improvement School Improvement: Curriculum and Instruction Teacher Quality and Learning
Special Education Services Received by Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders from Preschool Through High School

Using three national data sets, this study examined the age trends in special education services received by students with Autism Spectrum Disorders from preschool through high school.

Topics: Behavioral Health Policy Analysis Research on Learning School Improvement School Improvement: Curriculum and Instruction School Improvement: Student Success Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Education Special Education/Disability Statistical Analysis
Evaluation of the California Subject Matter Project: Cross Case Summary

The CSMP is a network of nine discipline-based statewide projects, each of which supports a number of regional sites housed on university campuses throughout California.

Topics: Evaluation Planning and Design School Improvement: Curriculum and Instruction Teacher Quality and Learning
Evaluation of the California Subject Matter Project: California Physical Education-Health Project Case Study

Imagine a physical education classroom in which students who are learning to catch a ball receive instruction on the mechanics of how to stand and hold their hands in order to catch it and the knowledge of why they should do so.

Topics: Evaluation Planning and Design School Improvement: Curriculum and Instruction Teacher Quality and Learning
Evaluation of the California Subject Matter Project: The California Arts Project Case Study

The President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities recently reviewed arts education and found the arts to be an important avenue through which schools can prepare students to be creative problem solvers who think “outside the box to address challenges.”

Topics: Evaluation Planning and Design School Improvement: Curriculum and Instruction Teacher Quality and Learning
Evaluation of the California Subject Matter Project: California Science Project Case Study

The California Science Project network of 18 sites strives to provide high-quality, standards-based professional development for teachers throughout the state.

Topics: Evaluation Planning and Design School Improvement: Curriculum and Instruction Teacher Quality and Learning
Evaluation of the California Subject Matter Project: History-Social Science Project Case Study

This case study describes the development of the CHSSP, an organization of teachers, historians, and associated scholars that provides training, teacher development, and leadership opportunities.

Topics: Evaluation Planning and Design School Improvement: Curriculum and Instruction Teacher Quality and Learning
Evaluation of the California Linked Learning District Initiative: Year-Two Report, Executive Summary

Two years into an initiative designed to embed and test this approach within nine California school districts, SRI's evaluation findings reveal signs of progress, areas for improvement, and promise for positive student outcomes.

Topics: 21st Century Skills Educational Impact Evaluation Evaluation Planning and Design Extant Data Analysis Randomized Controlled Trials and Quasi-Experimental Designs Research into Practice and Scale-up School Improvement School Improvement: Curriculum and Instruction School Improvement: Student Success
Contextualized Learning and Assessment

Contextualized instruction involves developing activities that involve students in applying knowledge in real-world situations, working on teams, reflecting on what they learned through an activity, and involves teachers in coaching more, which requires more formative assessment.

Topics: Assessment Design and Evaluation Community College: Transitions School Improvement: Curriculum and Instruction
Evaluation of the California Subject Matter Project: California Mathematics Project Case Study

SRI is studying the effectiveness of the state's ability to provide high-quality teachers across disciplines. One of the most striking features of the partnership between Bellevue and NBMP is the extent to which it developed organically.

Topics: Evaluation Planning and Design School Improvement: Curriculum and Instruction Teacher Quality and Learning
Landmark Study Analyzes California Arts Education (B-Roll)

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