Inside the Action, RFA’s NEW newsletter

Note that the second report listed below is of particular relevance to readers of this space.

Welcome to “Inside the Action.” In this newsletter, we will share insights from a selection of RFA’s current research and evaluation projects and potential impacts for advancing racial and social justice through high-quality education for all students, families, and communities. We will also share updates on our work to develop the field of community-informed education research and evaluation. You can also visit our website at researchforaction.org and follow our social media channels for our most recent news.  ‌  ‌  ‌ Insights & Findings Personalized, competency-based learning can increase student agency, which is positively related to college and career outcomes RFA partnered with KnowledgeWorks to conduct the first major study of district-wide implementations of personalized, competency-based learning across Arizona, Nevada, North Dakota, and South Carolina. We share lessons learned on local adoption, student impact strategies, and field recommendations. READ THE REPORT >> Soaring cyber charter expansion harms PA district finances, while cyber charters negatively impact student academic growth During the pandemic, cyber charter school enrollment in PA soared to the highest in the nation, with over $1 billion spent on cyber charter tuition. Our latest PACER brief examines the negative fiscal impact of this expansion and rising concerns about the quality of student learning. READ THE REPORT >> Case management is an effective high school dropout prevention strategy RFA’s evaluation of Congreso de Latinos Unidos’ four-year high school dropout prevention program, Exitò, finds positive impacts on student graduation and on-track rates and adds to the body of evidence promoting case management as a dropout prevention strategy. READ THE REPORT >> Action & Engagement Conducting a Teach-In on the need for more teachers of color On April 23, RFA conducted our first Teach-In at FDR Park in South Philadelphia. This inaugural event was designed to bridge research and to bring community focus to the Need for More Teachers of Color. Nearly 100 community members, teachers, and advocates joined to learn more about our research and to hear from community champions like Dr. Camika Royal and members of the Center for Black Educator Development. LEARN MORE >> Examining policy gaps in outcomes-based funding Earlier this summer, the Graduate School of Education at the University of Pennsylvania brought together researchers, policymakers, and practitioners for an AERA-sponsored conference: Performance Funding in Higher Education: Connecting 40 Years of Policy, Research, and Practice. RFA joined in the theory-based dialogue, presenting on the landscape of equity premiums in outcomes-based funding models. Kate Callahan served on the conference planning committee and as a discussant. LEARN MORE >> New & Notable Dr. Lori Shorr, RFA’s board chair RFA’s Board of Directors welcomed Dr. Lori Shorr as its new Chair in late June. She succeeds Dr. James Davis, who served as Chair for over a decade. Learn more about Lori. New team members This past spring, RFA welcomed our new Chief Research Officer, Dr. Rayane Alamuddin, who oversees our research team and robust portfolio of projects. Dr. Gresham Collom joined our team as a postsecondary education policy researcher, focusing on policies impacting Indigenous students. We’re hiring! RFA is actively recruiting early career researchers with demonstrated experience in education or education policy. View these opportunities. We also have several fall internships available. Click here for more information. 2022 Research for Action | Website  ‌  ‌  ‌

Research for Action | Land Title Building, 100 South Broad Street, Suite 700, Philadelphia, PA 19110

Report – From State Commitment to District Implementation: Approaches and Strategies for Personalized, Competency-Based Learning

This report came across my electronic desk in the past couple of days.  Haven’t had time to dig into it, but I figured that it was likely of interest to some readers.

From State Commitment to District Implementation: Approaches and Strategies for Personalized, Competency-Based Learning

Mark Duffy, Mary Eddins

Date: June 2022

K-12, Personalized & Competency-Based Learning

From State Commitment to District Implementation: Approaches and Strategies for Personalized, Competency-Based Learning was informed by an array of qualitative sources from four study states (Arizona, Nevada, North Dakota, and South Carolina). Partnering with KnowledgeWorks, each of these states has a commitment to personalized, competency-based learning transformation statewide, with the goal of scaling the work from an initial cohort of sites to a broader set of districts. Research for Action partnered with KnowledgeWorks to document and analyze how personalized, competency-based learning is taking hold in these states and the initial cohort of school districts implementing the work to develop cross-state lessons learned to inform the study states as well as the wider field.

The report provides analyses based on state and district level data, and is divided into six sections:

1. Study States and their Partnerships with KnowledgeWorks: A brief overview of the personalized, competency-based learning efforts in each of the study states and equity considerations across the states.
2. Creating State Level Conditions that Support Personalized, Competency-Based Learning: A roadmap of decision points and state strategies to create state level conditions to support personalized, competency-based learning.
3. State Supports for Local Implementation: A Cross-State Analysis: A comparative analysis of state strategies to support district implementation of personalized, competency-based learning.
4. Cross-District Analysis of Implementation: A district level analysis exploring implementation across six districts in three of the study states.
5. Lessons Learned for the Field on Implementation at the District Level: Based on district level analysis, we provide lessons learned for study sites and the larger field.
6. Recommendations for State and District Leaders and Next Steps: Recommendations from both the state and district level analyses and potential next steps for the research.