This REL Appalachia blog summarizes a recent IES report, examining Algebra I course taking pathways and outcomes based on students’ performance on Virginia’s grade 5 statewide math test, which showed significant equity gaps. The blog further encourages systematic data analysis related to course taking access and student success and includes practical advice on accomplishing this, including ideas on specific data points to pull and use.
Deborah L. Jonas
SRI Author
Dropout prevention in the time of COVID-19
Students on the path toward dropping out of high school often exhibit signals that they are at risk well before they stop engaging in school. As school closures due to COVID-19 separate students from structured routines and educational supports, the number of disengaged students may continue to grow. Educators should be aware of and look for signs of disengagement and act to maximize engagement and supports for at-risk students during COVID-19 closures.
Supporting and Measuring Career Readiness: Hot topics, Common Challenges, and Practical Resources
The world of work is changing rapidly and employers increasingly critique the preparation of incoming graduates, with only 11 percent agreeing students have the competencies needed to succeed in the workplace. Add to this picture low college completion rates and high remediation rates and the story is clear: too many students are graduating high school unprepared for college or career.
Educators across the nation are grappling with how to better prepare students to succeed in the workforce, and their efforts are supported by recent federal legislation. However, the rapidly changing workforce makes it challenging to come to consensus around what skills students should have when they leave high school. What does it mean to be “career ready,” and how can such a complex and evolving concept best be assessed and supported?
In an effort to address these questions, Regional Educational Laboratory (REL) Appalachia convened representatives from all ten RELs together with nationally renowned experts for a workshop to discuss how educators and researchers in each region are addressing the development and measurement of career readiness, and to share ideas and resources for how to improve and sync these efforts nationally.
Study of experiences and needs of Rural Education Achievement Program grantees
Nationally, 28 percent of all public elementary and secondary schools were in rural locations in 2013–14, serving 18 percent of all K–12 students (U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics 2015). Rural schools serve students in sparsely populated areas and have smaller overall populations than schools in other communities. Rural school districts often face unique challenges such as geographic isolation, shortages of qualified educators, and underdeveloped infrastructure, including technology systems (Consortium for School Networking 2016; Porowski and Howley 2013).
Congress established the Rural Education Achievement Program (REAP) to provide flexible funding to help rural districts address these challenges and serve students more effectively.1 REAP is composed of two programs: the Small, Rural School Achievement (SRSA) program and the Rural and Low-Income School (RLIS) program. Of the two programs, SRSA supports smaller and more isolated districts, and it provides additional funding and the opportunity for these districts to exercise “REAP-Flex” authority. REAP-Flex allows SRSA-eligible districts to use certain specific federal formula funds to support local activities under an array of other federal formula programs to assist them in addressing local academic needs more effectively.
2 RLIS serves rural districts that are generally slightly larger but have substantial concentrations of poverty, and it provides additional funding only, not the authority to exercise REAPFlex.
The U.S. Department of Education (the Department) awards SRSA grants directly to eligible districts on the basis of a statutory formula, whereas the Department provides RLIS formula allocations to state education agencies, which in turn make subgrants to eligible districts, either by formula or by competition.
This study’s objective was to examine state and district practices and perspectives regarding REAP: the roles states and districts play in verifying the accuracy of the data used to determine district eligibility for REAP funds, how districts use REAP funds and REAP-Flex, and states’ and districts’ recommendations for improving program operations. We note that this report is not intended to reflect best practices. It describes conditions as they existed at the time of data collection, but the inclusion of a description of state or district practices does not necessarily mean that all practices comply with the law governing REAP, nor that the Department approves all practices described. In addition, some challenges and grantee recommendations iscussed in this report are in response to provisions set by statute and/or controlled by Congress which are outside the authority of the Department to address.
