Textbooks are traditional and useful learning resources for college students, but commercial texts books have been widely criticized for their high costs, restricted access, limited flexibility, and uninspiring learning experiences.
IXL Math: Nonregulatory ESSA Standards Evidence Review & What Works Clearinghouse Standards Review
SRI determined that this study provides moderate evidence for IXL Math efficacy in grades 3-8 over a three-year period according to the ESSA levels of evidence provided by the U.S. Department of Education guidelines.
The Apple and ConnectED Initiative: Research Study Methods
This report describes the methodology of Apple and ConnectED Research, a six-year study of the Apple and ConnectED Initiative that uses a variety of qualitative and quantitative methods to tell a comprehensive story of implementation and outcomes.
1:1 Teaching and Learning in the Apple and ConnectED Initiative: Lessons from Early Implementation
This report asks the questions, what does a promising start look like and what types of support can enable conditions for success? We ask these questions through the lens of the Apple and ConnectED Initiative…
OER at Scale: The Academic and Economic Outcomes of Achieving the Dream’s OER Degree Initiative
The research and evaluation of ATD’s OER Degree Initiative provided encouraging evidence regarding the academic outcomes of students who enrolled in multiple OER courses, the economic impacts for both students and institutions, and the experiences of key stakeholders.
Comparing the Achievement of Students in Virtual Virginia and Face-to-Face Courses
The department partnered with REL Appalachia to examine the relationship between students’ participation in online courses and their performance on end-of-course exams.
Participant Experiences and Financial Impacts: Findings from Year 2 of Achieving the Dream’s OER Degree Initiative
This report presents findings from Achieving the Dream’s Open Education Resources (OER) Degree Initiative, which helps colleges reduce the financial burden on students and improve curriculum and pedagogy by developing course pathways using free and openly licensed instructional materials.
Launching OER Degree Pathways: An Early Snapshot of Achieving the Dream’s OER Degree Initiative and Emerging Lessons
The Open Educational Resources (OER) Degree Initiative, led by Achieving the Dream (ATD), seeks to boost college access and student success by supporting the redesign of courses needed for a degree using OER in place of proprietary instructional materials. ATD’s programs aim to help community colleges throughout the United States increase student success through data-informed decision-making and holistic institutional change. For ATD, the initiative is an opportunity to scale an innovative approach throughout the community college sector with special attention to the colleges that are integrating OER degrees into their overall student success strategy. The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Great Lakes Higher Education Guaranty Corporation, the Shelter Hill Foundation, and the Speedwell Foundation together provided funding for 38 community colleges across 13 states to build entire degree programs using OER.
Measuring the Quantity and Quality of the K-12 STEM Teacher Pipeline
SRI Education recruited three education policy experts to contribute concept papers that explore the research and policy implications of the STEM indicators system. Together, these papers can guide policymakers, researchers, and educators through the potential implications and implementation of the STEM education indicator system. In this paper, Measuring the Quantity & Quality of the K-12 STEM Teacher Pipeline, Suzanne Wilson of University of Connecticut discusses how traditional measures of teacher preparation are only weakly related to student outcomes. Teacher preparation affects student achievement, as well as teachers’ evaluations and persistence in teaching. Wilson highlights the NRC’s enhanced indicators of teacher preparation: science and mathematics content knowledge for teaching, and participation in STEM-specific professional development activities. The paper reviews state efforts and other projects designed to collect data on these indicators. An executive summary of the paper is also available.
For more on the STEM Education indicators, refer to the Developing a K-12 STEM Education Indicator System page.