Resources

The COVID-19 slide: What summer learning loss can tell us about the potential impact of school closures on student academic achievement

This report provides preliminary estimates of the potential impacts of the extended pause of academic instruction during the coronavirus crisis by leveraging research on summer loss. Projections suggest major academic impacts from COVID closures for students, especially in mathematics.

The Coronavirus Pandemic and K-12 Education Funding

In this report, using data from multiple sources, we describe the effects of previous recessions, particularly the Great Recession, on K-12 education finance, as well as the federal, state, and local policies and trends that mediated—for better or worse—the impact of these downturns on public school budgets. We then use these lessons to offer recommendations for short- and long-term responses to our current crisis.

The Common Core Debacle: Results from 2019 NAEP and Other Sources

This report from the Pioneer Institute analyzes data from NAEP to assess the effectivity of Common Core curriculum. Breaking with decades of slow improvement, U.S. reading and math scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) and other assessments have seen historic declines since most states implemented national Common Core English and math curriculum standards six years ago, according to a new study published by Pioneer Institute.

The Big Test: The Future of Statewide Standardized Testing

Standardized testing has been a cornerstone of school reform for two decades. But a bipartisan backlash against testing in recent years and the suspension of statewide testing in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic have left the future of state assessments in question. The report examines the evolution of the testing backlash, the current landscape, and how state testing systems must change to survive.

Remote Learning Guidance from State Education Agencies During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A First Look

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Teaching Systems Lab reviewed state education agency guidance to identify areas of consensus and emerging practices. In the report “Remote Learning Guidance from State Education Agencies During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A First Look”, we provide recommendations and best practices for state education agencies providing remote learning guidance during COVID-19 school closures.

Leading With Race to Reimagine Youth Justice

This report explores the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s Deep-End Initiative, which is helping juvenile justice jurisdictions safely and significantly reduce youth confinement — especially for young people of color.

In America today, youth of color are consistently overrepresented in courtrooms and detention centers, youth prisons and other residential institutions. This disparity is most extreme for youth in court-ordered institutions — often called the “deep end” of the system — and for youth transferred from juvenile to adult criminal courts.

Casey’s deep-end effort spans 12 demonstration sites across the United States. It employs intentional, data-driven strategies that move systems toward equity and specifically focus on youth of color. As part of this work, sites engage community organizations and community members to increase opportunities for young people of color in their own neighborhoods.