Improving outcomes for children and youth will require schools to form links with community agencies and organizations to address a range of in-school and out-of-school factors that affect learning and development. The Annenberg Institute for School Reform calls this idea a “smart education system.” In England, it is national policy. This issue of Voices in Urban Education looks in depth at one local British authority that has been remarkably successful across a range of...
Recent Publications
Teacher quality is the most important school-related factor in student achievement, yet there is widespread concern about the quality of instruction in the nation?s schools. One reason is that the rules and procedures that affect teacher quality are often haphazard. Unlike leading-edge private companies, many school systems have failed to focus on developing human capital. This issue of Voices in Urban Education looks at various ways in which school systems and their partners can build a...
This report follows an action research project designed to complement the award-winning documentary First Person, which follows six Philadelphia high school students as they try to make it to college. The College Ambassadors project, piloted in 2007, was designed to complement the award-winning feature-length documentary film ...
Although it is rare in this era of test-based accountability, there is a growing recognition that learning takes place in a context and that the environment in which students learn makes learning possible. An effective environment is safe and welcoming for students, expects high quality, and provides necessary supports. This issue of Voices in Urban Education examines the ways schools and their partners create environments that make student learning...
This report was written for the NYC Coalition for Educational Justice (CEJ) by the Community Involvement Program of the Annenberg Institute. It calls on Mayor Bloomberg and Chancellor Klein to take bold action by implementing recommendations of the New York City Council Middle School Task Force.
“Leading indicators” in education — as in economics — can provide early signs of progress toward academic achievement and thus help district leaders and other stakeholders make informed decisions about efforts to improve student learning — before the test results come in. A new study by the Annenberg Institute, Beyond Test Scores: Leading Indicators for Education, looks at four districts — Chattanooga, Montgomery County (MD), Naperville (IN), and Philadelphia — that have developed leading...
This report presents the results of a meta-review of eleven recent reports, evaluations, and audits of the Providence Public Schools. The report — conducted pro bono by the Annenberg Institute at the request of new Providence Superintendent Tom Brady — synthesizes what these reviews reveal about teaching and learning in Providence’s public schools and identifies important areas that the reviews do not sufficiently clarify. The meta-review is helping to shape an improvement plan developed by...
Putting Kids on the Pathway to College: How Is Your School Doing?
by Carol Ascher, Anne T. Henderson, and Cindy Maguire
COMPLETE TOOL SET
The complete tool set provides all the BTO tools in one publication: a framework and rubric, a student survey, a focus group protocol for students, and a focus group protocol and parent handout for families. Together, these tools enable high schools and their partners to get a multifaceted...
A report on a qualitative study of thirteen NYC high schools that are successfully preparing low-performing ninth-graders for timely high school graduation and enrollment in college. The study identified four key strategies used by these schools and offers recommendations for systemic support to maintain and scale up their success.
The No Child Left Behind Act created an audacious goal for American education: by 2014 – just seven years from now – all children must be "proficient" in reading and mathematics. But what, exactly, is proficiency? What would it take to bring all students to that level, and what role would organizations outside of schools play? This issue of Voices in Urban Education offers five perspectives on what "proficiency" looks like and how students can learn in and out of school to...