Curriculum

Sustaining Focus on Secondary School Reading: Lessons and Recommendations from the Alabama Reading Initiative

This research brief from the National High School Center summarizes student and teacher outcomes, lessons learned, and other findings from an American Institutes for Research evaluation of the Alabama Reading Initiative at the secondary school level. The Alabama Reading Initiative (ARI) addresses literacy and includes a focus on high school students.

On Course for Success: A Close Look at Selected High School Courses That Prepare All Students for College and Work

This report, jointly released by ACT, Inc., and the Education Trust, presents the results of a study looking at how schools prepare minority and low-income students for success in college and subsequently, the workforce. This study identifies the following four components as key to the schools' success in preparing students: 1) high-level college-oriented content, 2) well qualified teachers, 3) flexible pedagogical styles, and 4) tutorial support students.

The New Educational Imperative: Improving High School Computer Science Education

This report from the Computer Science Teachers Association examines high school computer science education in the U.S. and internationally. It offers an examination of the current state of high school computer science education, a review of international research and how other countries have developed and implemented national computer science curricula, and suggestions for how to improve high school computer science education.

Interventions for Adolescent Struggling Readers: A Meta-Analysis with Implications for Practice

This meta-analysis of 31 studies examined whether reading interventions could assist elementary, middle, and high school students with reading difficulties and learning disabilities. Overall, results showed that students who received a reading intervention outperformed students in the control group. This positive effect was also found for students with disabilities across all measures. Further, with few exceptions, studies that examined reading comprehension found that reading interventions could have a positive effect on reading comprehension.

Making Writing Instruction a Priority in America’s Middle and High Schools

This Alliance for Excellent Education policy brief provides an overview of the data collected on student writing achievement, recommends more opportunities for students to practice writing in school, encourages schools to teach better writing instruction, and offers policymakers suggestions on how to support school improvement efforts in this area.

High School Reform: National and State Trends

This report, commissioned by the California Teachers Association’s (CTA) High School Restructuring Task Force and authored by WestEd, synthesizes the major initiatives on high school reform taking place nationally and in California. The publication provides: 1) clear synthesis of the problem and context; 2) research on high-performing high schools, comprehensive school reform models, and the barriers to improvement; 3) current reform proposals and their research base; and 4) suggestions for further discussion and exploration by CTA.

Meeting Five Critical Challenges of High School Reform: Lessons from Research on Three Reform Models

This report from MDRC looks at how three different high school reform models--Career Academies, First Things First, and Talent Development--addressed five challenges found to be obstacles to successful reform implementation in low-performing high schools. According to this report, the pillars of high school reform are structural changes to improve personalization and instructional improvement. The report offers tangible solutions as well as supporting evidence and various resources.

Improving Literacy Outcomes for English Language Learners in High School: Considerations for States and Districts in Developing a Coherent Policy Framework

This research brief from the National High School Center outlines existing barriers regarding teacher expectations, tracking, and placement of English language learners (ELLs) and offers key policies and useful strategies in building capacity and developing learning environments conducive for all students in obtaining academic success.

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