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Like most other states, Missouri uses assessments intended to measure whether students are on a pathway to "college and career readiness." The state longitudinal data system now has the capacity to directly test that claim. We make use of 8th-grade assessment (MAP) scores in Math, Science, and Communication Arts for roughly 260,000 first-time Missouri freshmen who began high school between Fall, 2009 and Fall, 2012. These students were tracked through high school and for five years following on-time high school graduation. We find a strong positive association between MAP performance scores in 8th grade Math, Science, and Communication Arts and post-secondary college attendance and degree completion. This is true overall and for White, Black, and Hispanic students disaggregated by gender. Proficiency on all three exams matters even more. Based on a logistic forecasting model, if all students who scored below Proficient on the 8th-grade MAP raised their scores to Proficient, the number earning post-secondary degrees would increase by roughly 50 percent. Black and Hispanic students earning post-secondary degrees would increase by roughly 150 and 75 percent, respectively. We conclude that 8th-grade MAP proficiency scores are highly informative about whether students are on a pathway to college and career readiness.

This document provides technical detail and supporting data for the research findings discussed in 'The student journey in VET: the many faces of completion and non-completion'. The analysis in this technical paper explores: (1) an approach to identifying VET subject enrolment activity that serves a compliance or regulatory purpose; (2) variability in completion rates across VET qualifications, and associated differences in patterns of subject enrolments and outcomes; (3) different indicators of student outcomes in VET, including program completion, subject completion, and movement to subsequent VET; (4) student training pathways exploring the extent to which students undertook programs, stand-alone subjects, or a combination of the two, and how this training choice evolved over time; and (5) student training pathways exploring the extent to which students went on to enrol in a program at a higher, lower, or the same level of educations, and how these pathways compared for students who did and did not complete their initial program.

The New York State Education Department (NYSED) has a partnership with NWEA for the development of the 2024 Grades 3-8 English Language Arts Tests. Teachers from across the State work with NYSED in a variety of activities to ensure the validity and reliability of the New York State Testing Program (NYSTP). The 2024 Grades 6 and 7 English Language Arts Tests are administered in two sessions on two consecutive school days. Students are asked to demonstrate their knowledge and skills in the areas of reading and writing. Students will have as much time as they need each day to answer the questions in the test sessions within the confines of the regular school day. For Grades 6 and 7, the tests consist of multiple-choice (1-credit) and constructed-response (2- and 4-credit) questions. Each multiple-choice question is followed by four choices, one of which is the correct answer. Students record their multiple-choice responses on a separate answer sheet. For Session 1, students will write their responses to the constructed-response questions in their separate answer booklets. For Session 2, students will write their responses to these questions directly in their test booklets. By following the guidelines in this document, teachers help ensure that the test is valid, reliable, and equitable for all students. A series of instructions helps teachers organize the materials and the testing schedule.

The New York State Education Department (NYSED) has a partnership with NWEA for the development of the 2024 Grades 3-8 English Language Arts Tests. Teachers from across the State work with NYSED in a variety of activities to ensure the validity and reliability of the New York State Testing Program (NYSTP). The 2024 Grades 3 and 4 English Language Arts Tests are administered in two sessions on two consecutive school days. Students are asked to demonstrate their knowledge and skills in the areas of reading and writing. Students will have as much time as they need each day to answer the questions in the test sessions within the confines of the regular school day. For Grades 3 and 4, the tests consist of 1-credit multiple-choice questions, 2-credit constructed-response questions, and 4-credit (Grade 4 only) constructed-response questions. Each multiple-choice question is followed by four choices, one of which is the correct answer. Students record their multiple-choice responses on a separate answer sheet. For Session 1, students will write their responses to the constructed-response questions in their separate answer booklets. For Session 2, students will write their responses to these questions directly in the test booklets. By following the guidelines in this document, teachers help ensure that the test is valid, reliable, and equitable for all students. A series of instructions helps teachers organize the materials and the testing schedule.

This study investigates racial disparities in school closures both within California and nationally. Findings highlight an alarming pattern: Schools enrolling higher proportions of Black students are at significantly increased risk of closure relative to those enrolling fewer Black students, a pattern that is more pronounced in California than elsewhere in the United States. This study also finds that conventional explanations for school closures--such as declining enrollments, poverty rates, and achievement differences--cannot fully account for why schools enrolling larger shares of Black students have greater odds of closure. These findings underscore that school closures in California and elsewhere reflect racial inequalities that require adequate policymaking to ensure equitable and fair school-closure proceedings

This occasional paper presents national demographic subgroup data for the 1975-2022 Monitoring the Future (MTF) national survey results on 8th, 10th, and 12th graders' use of drugs, alcohol, and tobacco. The study covers all major classes of illicit and licit psychoactive drugs for an array of population subgroups. The 2020 subgroup data presented in this report accompany the "Monitoring the Future National Survey Results on Drug Use: 1975-2022: Overview, Key Findings on Adolescent Drug Use" (ED627365) and the "Monitoring the Future National Survey Results on Drug Use, 1975-2022: Secondary School Students" (ED627366). The trends shown in both tabular and graphic forms in this report cover demographic subgroups based on: (1) Gender; (2) College plans; (3) Region of the country; (4) Population density; (5) Education level of the parents (a proxy for socioeconomic level); and (6) Racial/ethnic identification.

We document the characteristics of children and young adults identified in the Panel Study of Income Dynamics as having a learning disability and study whether legislative changes in diagnosis criteria have had a noticeable effect determining who receives a diagnosis. We further document that children and young adults identified as a having a learning disability experience less desirable outcomes early in life, including trouble with the police, drug use, violent behavior, incarceration, self-reported low levels of well-being, lower educational attainment, and less favorable labor market outcomes. We also find that the mothers of children diagnosed with learning disabilities are less likely than other mothers to participate in the labor market.

The Monitoring the Future (MTF) study monitors historical and developmental changes in substance use prevalence among key subgroups of the general U.S. adolescent and adult population. The current study first devised and evaluated a cohort-specific pooled analysis weighing procedure for the MTF panel study that weighted back to the initial 12th grade samples. Following this, the cohort-specific weights were updated to age-specific weights in order to provide increased flexibility for a wide range of model specifications and to avoid the need to re-calculate a first half-sample respondent's final weight at a particular wave after the full cohort had completed that wave. The cohort-specific pooled analysis weights appear to result in an overall improvement in the degree to which the sociodemographic distributions of the initial 12th grade samples are retained, as well as likely producing slightly improved substance use estimates due to accounting for historical variation in panel sample selection and attrition over time. The updated age-specific pooled analysis weights continued to provide the benefits associated with the cohort-specific weights, but also brought increased flexibility for modeling both cohort- and age-specific research questions, and allowed all respondents' weights at each specific age to remain fixed across time.

This paper examines how different measures of teacher quality are related to students' long-run educational trajectories. We estimate teachers' "test-based" and "nontest" value-added (the latter based on contributions to student absences, suspensions, grade progression, and grades) and assess how these predict various student postsecondary outcomes. We find that both types of value-added have positive effects on student outcomes. Test-based teacher quality measures have more explanatory power for outcomes relevant for students at the top of the achievement distribution, such as attending a more selective college, while nontest measures have more explanatory power for whether students enroll in college at all.

Across six Sub-Saharan African countries, grade 4 students of teachers who were hired after a free primary education reform perform worse, on average, on language and math tests--statistically significantly so in language--than students of teachers who were hired before the reform. Teachers who were hired just after the reform also perform worse, on average, on tests of subject content knowledge than those hired before the reform. The results are sensitive to the time frames considered in the analysis, and aggregate results mask substantial variation across countries--gaps are large and significant in some countries but negligible in others. Analysis of teacher demographic and education characteristics--including education level or teacher certification--as well as teacher classroom-level behaviors reveals few systematic differences associated with being hired pre- or post-reform. [Additional support for the working paper from the Research in Improving Systems of Education (RISE) (United Kingdom) and the Knowledge for Change Program (KCP) Trust Fund.]

This technical assistance paper provides policy and guidance to individuals with test administration responsibilities in adult education programs. The Florida assessment policies and guidelines presented in this technical assistance paper are appropriate for state and federal reporting. Therefore, guidance and procedures regarding the selection and use of appropriate student assessment are included. The following important information for adult education programs is provided: (1) Definition of key terms and acronyms; (2) Selection of appropriate assessments by student and program type; (3) Appropriate student placement into program and instructional level; (4) Verification of student learning gains, EFL, and/or program completion; (5) Accommodation for students with disabilities and other special needs; (6) Assessment procedures for Distance Education; and (7) Training for all staff who administer the standardized assessments.

We provide the first causal evidence of the returns to maternal educational curricula on offspring's health at birth. Educational programs that aim to deliver more general knowledge may potentially improve women's earning potential and maternal prenatal investment by increasing the portability of skills across occupations and improving women's ability to make informed decisions about fertility options and health behavior. We study the impacts of a comprehensive educational reform that postponed students' curriculum choices and integrated more general education into the high school system on infant health outcomes. Using a dose-response difference-in-differences (DiD) model research design applied to linked population registries, we find that the reform led to a significant reduction in the incidence of very low birth weight (less than 1,500 grams) and very preterm birth (less than 33 gestation weeks). Overall, the reform's positive effects on infant health at birth seem to be driven by increased mothers' labor market opportunities and better family planning, rather than increased ability to avoid risky behaviours or increased women's earnings via different occupational choices or assortative mating. [This report received additional funding from Fundación Ramón Areces and the Spanish National Research Plan 2017-2020.]

We provide evidence from a randomized controlled trial on the effectiveness of a novel, 100-percent online math tutoring program, targeted at secondary school students from highly disadvantaged neighborhoods. The intensive, eight-week-long program was delivered by qualified math teachers in groups of two students during after-school hours. The intervention significantly increased standardized test scores (+0.26 SD) and end-of-year math grades (+0.48 SD), while reducing the probability of repeating the school year. The intervention also raised aspirations, as well as self-reported effort at school.

We use administrative panel data from seven states covering nearly 3 million students to document and explore variation in "academic mobility," a term we use to describe the extent to which students' ranks in the distribution of academic performance change during their public schooling careers. On average, we show that student ranks are highly persistent during elementary and secondary education--that is, academic mobility is limited in U.S. schools as a whole. Still, there is non-negligible variation in the degree of upward mobility across some student subgroups as well as individual school districts. On average, districts that exhibit the greatest upward academic mobility serve more socioeconomically advantaged populations and have higher value-added to student achievement.

The purpose of this occasional paper is to compare point estimates and trends included in the Monitoring the Future (MTF) Panel Study annual report: "National Data on Substance Use among Adults Ages 19 to 60, 1976-2021" prepared using historical post-stratification weights, with the same point estimates and trends obtained when using MTF age-specific panel analysis weights. The current report is organized into four sections: (1) Part 1: Overview of Old and New Weighting Methods; (2) Comparison Approach and Summary; (3) Differences Observed Between Old and New Weighting Approaches, by Substance; and (4) Updated Panel Report Figures and Tables. Evaluating the impact of the new MTF panel analysis weights on point estimates and trends reported in the MTF panel annual report for 1976-2021 indicates that, overall, 63.1% of all point estimate comparisons exhibited less than a |5%| mean change between weighting approaches. Further, no trend comparisons indicated a sign flip, and 87.1% were substantively unchanged in regards to trend significance. [For "National Data on Substance Use among Adults Ages 19 to 60, 1976-2021," see ED623992.]

The Indiana Choice Scholarship Program (ICSP), which began in fall 2011, is a state taxpayer-funded financial aid program that helps low and lower-middle income Hoosiers to send their children to the private K-12 school of their choice. This voucher program has been extremely popular among families, as the number of students receiving scholarships has increased from 3,911 students in academic year (AY) 2012 to 36,707 by 2020. This report addresses two questions regarding the fiscal effects of the ICSP up through and including academic year (AY) 2020: (1) The fiscal effects of the ICSP on the state of Indiana budget; and (2) The fiscal effects of the ICSP on local school corporation budgets (in Indiana public school districts are termed "school corporations"). The estimates in this report suggest that the ICSP has provided modest fiscal benefits to taxpayers to date--however, the fiscal savings per scholarship recipient are quite large. Therefore, as more students access the ISCP the savings to Indiana taxpayers will increase significantly. The major findings include: (1) The ICSP saved state taxpayers a total of $42.5 million in 2019-20. These savings translate to savings of $1,158 per scholarship student--a significant sum on a per student basis; and (2) The ICSP yielded a total of $60.6 million in savings to local public school corporations in 2017-18, which was the most recent year with complete data available. These savings to local school corporations were $1,709 per student. These findings are not surprising given that the average scholarship awards are below both total expenditures per student and state per pupil funding as well.

Anti-scientific attitudes can impose substantial costs on societies. Can schools be an important agent in mitigating the propagation of such attitudes? This paper investigates the effect of the content of science education on anti-scientific attitudes, knowledge, and choices. The analysis exploits staggered reforms that reduce or expand the coverage of evolution theory in US state science education standards. I compare adjacent cohorts in models with state and cohort fixed effects and conduct fine-grained placebo tests to rule out scientific, religious and political confounders. There are three main results. First, expanded evolution coverage increases students' knowledge about evolution. Second, the reforms translate into greater evolution belief in adulthood, but do not crowd out religiosity or affect political attitudes. Third, the reforms affect high-stakes life decisions, namely the probability of working in life sciences.

Many factors impact one's ability to complete an apprenticeship program. According to the 2015 National Apprenticeship Survey, the most commonly stated reasons for not completing an apprenticeship program were job instability, receiving a better job offer and financial constraints. This survey also showed that apprentices who dropped out of their programs experienced difficulties securing permanent employment with adequate benefits and were more likely to be self-employed (Frank & Jovic, 2017). In addition, those who discontinued had a lower median employment income compared with those who completed their training (Jin, Langevin, Lebel and Haan, 2020). Using data from the Education and Labour Market Longitudinal Platform (ELMLP), this study looks at apprentices who registered between 2008 and 2010 and discontinued their apprenticeship programs within six years of registration. Their future interactions with the Canadian postsecondary education system, up to 2020, are then profiled.

This briefing paper explores Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health (IECMH) policies and practices that state early intervention (Part C) programs may consider implementing to meet the social-emotional and mental health needs of infants and toddlers in the context of relationships with their parents and other caregivers.

In this paper, we use NWEA MAP test data to examine variation in students' achievement and growth during the pandemic across multiple dimensions. Consistent with prior evidence, we find that students' test scores in fall 2021, on average, were substantially below historic averages. Moreover, the average scores of students of color, students attending high poverty schools, and students in elementary school were more negatively impacted, and more so in math than reading. We present novel evidence on the distributions of test scores and growth in fall 2021 relative to pre-pandemic distributions, finding disproportionately larger declines for students with lower previous achievement levels across districts. However, between districts, there was considerable variation in the extent to which their fall 2021 achievement and growth distributions shifted from their historical distributions by subject, student subgroups, and baseline achievement levels. Therefore, accurately targeting students and choosing interventions for pandemic-related recovery will require careful assessment by districts of their students' achievement and growth in the 2021-22 school year (and into the future): assuming that students in a district reflect the national trends of achievement will often lead to incorrect conclusions about the degree to which they suffered pandemic-related learning losses and the amount of support they will need to recover. [This research received funding from the Kenneth C. Griffin Foundation.]

This occasional paper presents national demographic subgroup data for the 1975-2021 Monitoring the Future (MTF) national survey results on 8th, 10th, and 12th graders' use of drugs, alcohol, and tobacco. The study covers all major classes of illicit and licit psychoactive drugs for an array of population subgroups. The 2020 subgroup data presented here accompany the "Monitoring the Future National Survey Results on Drug Use: 1975-2021: Overview, Key Findings on Adolescent Drug Use" (see ED618240) and the "Monitoring the Future National Survey Results on Drug Use, 1975-2021, forthcoming: Volume I, Secondary School Students." The trends offered here in tabular and graphic forms cover demographic subgroups based on: (1) Gender; (2) College plans; (3) Region of the country; (4) Population density; (5) Education level of the parents (a proxy for socioeconomic level); and (6) Racial/ethnic identification. Detailed descriptions of the demographic categories are provided in the section starting on page 469 of this paper. The graphs and tables in this occasional paper present trend data for 8th-, 10th-, and 12th-grade respondents separately. Data for 12th grade begins with 1975, the first year in which a nationally representative sample of high school seniors was surveyed. Data for 8th and 10th grades begin with 1991, when the study's nationally representative annual surveys were expanded to include surveys of those lower grade levels.

This fact sheet explores the association between parental income and the pathways of young adults in postsecondary education for students who began their studies in the 2012/2013 academic year. Students from low-income families have previously been shown to have lower rates of educational access and attainment. This fact sheet focuses on persistence and graduation indicators, which are now released annually, and furthers the analysis of these indicators by adding a parental income quartile dimension. Overall, the findings provide the following insights: (1) Students in the highest parental income quartile remained enrolled (persisted) and graduated at higher rates than students from the lowest parental income quartile for all selected educational qualifications and groupings. The differences in indicators by the level of parental income were more notable for the graduation rates than for the persistence rates; and (2) For students who graduated, those in the highest parental income quartile graduated as fast or faster than students in the lowest parental income quartile for all selected educational qualifications and groupings, though these differences were generally small. These findings are consistent with similar studies regarding postsecondary experiences of students by socioeconomic status.

A college credential can expand the range of career opportunities available to young adults. However, existing barriers to enrollment for prospective students pose equity gaps in college access and success, particularly for Black college aspirants. In Florida, racial and ethnic disparities in college enrollment contribute to disparities in educational attainment. Only 31% of Black Floridians hold a college degree. This report examines the attainment gap by exploring various factors contributing to Florida college applicants' decisions to enroll. This paper uses survey and enrollment information from two Florida community colleges (Hillsborough Community College and Miami Dade College) to identify factors related to college applicants' enrollment decisions. In the summer of 2021, nearly 15,000 applicants to the two colleges were surveyed about their pre-college experiences, and roughly 1,200 responded, resulting in a response rate of 8%. Of the respondents, 997 applicants identified as Black (i.e., African American, Black Hispanic, African, or West Indian/Caribbean).

Policy makers frequently use education as a welfare policy instrument. We examine one such case, where students from large and financially constrained families, were given the opportunity to be transferred to university departments in their hometown as part of the social policy of the Ministry of Education in Greece. Multiple law changes meant that there was a large and quasi-random variability in the number of transferred students over time, which was orthogonal to the quality of receiving students. We construct a novel dataset by linking students' characteristics and pre-university academic performance with their university academic record until graduation for the top economics department. We present consistent evidence showing how a social policy that is meant to help poor families and to alleviate inequalities has gone bad educationally, by lowering the academic performance of receiving students. [This paper was produced as part of the Centre's Education & Skills Programme. Financial support was provided by Drasi II (2019/2020) AUEB.]

The instructions in this manual explain the responsibilities of school administrators for the New York State Testing Program (NYSTP) Grades 3-8 English Language Arts and Mathematics Paper-Based Field Tests. School administrators must be thoroughly familiar with the contents of the manual, and the policies and procedures must be followed as written so that field testing conditions are uniform statewide. This School Administrator's Manual for Paper-Based Field Testing also serves to guide school administrators in general field test administration activities for paper-based field testing. [For the 2021 manual, see ED613295.]

This technical assistance paper provides policy and guidance to individuals with test administration responsibilities in adult education programs. The Florida assessment policies and guidelines presented in this technical assessment paper are appropriate for state and federal reporting. Therefore, guidance and procedures regarding the selection and use of appropriate student assessment are included in this technical assistance paper. Additionally, the following important information for adult education programs is reviewed: (1) Definition of key terms and acronyms; (2) Selection of appropriate assessments by student and program type; (3) Appropriate student placement into program and instructional level; (4) Verification of student learning gains, Educational Functioning Level and/or program completion; (5) Accommodations for students with disabilities and other special needs; (6) Assessment procedures for Distance Education; and (7) Training for all staff who administer the standardized assessments. [For the 2021-2022 report, see ED616047.]

Research reveals better school and student outcomes, especially for teachers and children of color, when a principal of color is at the helm. One way to improve the educational experiences of schoolchildren across the country is to increase their access to leaders of color--and strengthen the caliber of teaching and leading in our nation's schools. Yet, despite the fact that diversity among our nation's students is growing, diversity among teachers, principals, and district leaders continues to lag. This is known as the representation gap. Strategic investments are needed to develop the next generation of school leaders who better reflect the communities they serve. A recent survey of district leaders conducted by New Leaders suggests a disconnect between intention and actions taken to advance diversity. The majority of respondents state that their district is committed to improving the diversity of its leaders, but an almost equal number report that there is no clear leadership path for educators of color within their district. Building a diverse pipeline of school leaders who are well prepared and supported enables districts to retain the kind of talent that ensures all students thrive. This paper examines five actions school districts can take to shape the future of educational leadership in their district. [For the executive summary of this series, "Closing the Representation Gap: A Series of Papers on Reshaping Educational Leadership for the Future," see ED625674.]

This analysis uses the case of the Better Math Teaching Network (BMTN) to explore whether individuals participating in a networked improvement community (NIC) experienced common developmental trajectories on known dimensions of engagement. The analysis included quantitative data from annual network member surveys and qualitative data from annual member interviews. Evidence suggests potential developmental trajectories on three key dimensions of network participation: (1) learning how to engage in a network; (2) learning to use the tools of improvement science; and (3) learning to take up the theory of improvement. Additional findings show preliminary variations based on participant characteristics such as teaching tenure, whether they participated in the network with a colleague they knew prior to joining the network or with a school-based colleague, the context of their school, and how student centered they were at the outset of their participation.

This study reports achievement and growth from kindergarten to 4th grade for three groups of English Learners (ELs): (a) ever-ELs; (b) ELs consistently eligible for service; and (c) EL and Special Education dually-identified students. All three EL groups had lower test scores than never-ELs throughout K-4. In math, ELs grew more than never-ELs during academic years but lost more during summers. In reading, ELs grew less than never-ELs in K-1 and grew more in later grades, but ELs also lost more during summers. These findings suggest summer support is required to help ELs maintain and develop academic skills.

We investigate whether student participation in undergraduate research--a high impact practice at TBR community colleges--has an effect on (1) academic performance; (2) probability of graduation, university transfer, and student departure; and (3) time to completion, transfer, and departure. Using enrollment, graduation, and course-taking data on community college students from the Tennessee Board of Regents and National Student Clearinghouse, we track the 2017 freshmen cohort over twelve calendar semesters and examine their exposure to undergraduate research experiences and their key educational outcomes. We generate propensity scores with a machine learning algorithm and use a doubly robust inverse probability weighting estimator to mitigate the selection bias and compare outcomes of similar students among undergraduate research participants and nonparticipants. Overall, we find that undergraduate research participants demonstrate better academic performance, are more likely to graduate and transfer, are less likely to depart, and progress to transfer and departure slower than similar nonparticipants. The effects grow in size with an increase in frequency of undergraduate research experiences.

Motivation for the study: The Tennessee Board of Regents (TBR) is implementing and expanding a suite of high impact practices (HIP) in its community colleges. Service learning, one of such HIPs, is incorporated into general education or degree programs' requirements via credit-bearing service learning components of different durations. While service learning participation and student results are examined periodically, this study contributes to the program evaluation by conducting a series of quantitative analyses that aim to assess whether a causal relationship exists between service learning experiences and key educational outcomes of first-time freshmen at community colleges. Objectives: To investigate whether participation in serving learning HIP affects: (1) the probability of earning a college credential, transferring to university, and student departure; (2) time to graduation, university transfer, and departure; and (3) academic performance. To examine if and how these effects, if any, differ by service learning duration and frequency of participation. Methods: Different types of propensity score analysis were used, including inverse probability of treatment weighting and matching and nonparametric regression, to estimate the effect of service learning participation on outcomes of interest in general and by duration level. In the final models, propensity scores were estimated using generalized boosted modeling. Dosage analysis was employed to examine the effect of frequency of service learning participation. The following modeling techniques were used for different outcomes: logistic and OLS regression, and event history analysis (Cox regression model). Results: Service learning participation increases the probability of graduation and university transfer, decreases the probability of student departure, expedites progression to graduation, delays progression to university transfer and departure, and is associated with a higher final GPA. The estimated results differ by duration level and frequency of service learning experience. Conclusion: Service learning, as implemented at TBR colleges, is an efficacious HIP, which contributes to both community college freshmen student success and institutional performance.

Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, several unprecedented government interventions related to COVID-19--including the closure of non-essential businesses, travel restrictions and public health measures limiting public interactions--have been put in place. These measures, implemented by public health officials across Canada, had a clear impact on the Canadian labour market, as businesses and institutions in a variety of industries announced layoffs, reduced employment hours and halted many on-the-job opportunities. In response, to support Canadians facing the labour market impact of the COVID-19 economic shutdown, the Government of Canada introduced a temporary benefit, the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB). The CERB paid $500 a week to those who made at least $5,000 in the preceding 12 months and whose income was drastically reduced because of the pandemic. It was a temporary program introduced on March 15, 2020, and was replaced by Employment Insurance and other recovery benefits on September 27 of the same year. The COVID-19 pandemic had large impacts on many of those in the skilled trades, as these jobs often require hands-on and close-proximity interactions. However, journeypersons in different trades had different impacts. Some sectors deemed non-essential services were hit harder than sectors deemed essential services. In addition, geographic variations in easing and reinstating restrictions over time affected journeypersons and apprentices across regions differently. Using data from the Education and Labour Market Longitudinal Platform, this study examines the proportion of journeypersons who received the CERB among those who certified between 2008 and 2019. By examining the proportions across trades, geography and population groups, this study can provide further insight into how the early months of the pandemic affected those in the skilled trades and the differing impacts across trades and groups.

Due to the high wastepaper recyclability and water-loop system closure, packaging paper mills struggle with increased fines, causing runnability issues. Cellulase enzymes are a preferred treatment choice for the improvement of the pulp refining in stock preparation area but are not widely used or easy to introduce in the production process. Different cellulase enzymes were tested, and those with the highest activity were introduced to the white-water (WW) samples with the aim to reduce fines content as potentially new enzyme applications on the paper machine. The first portion of the study involved the development of an experiment model to find and confirm the optimal enzyme process parameters (40 °C, pH 5.7, reaction time 3 h, and 0.18% v/v enzyme addition) for laboratory made white-water. The second portion of the study included turbidity, colloidal charge, flow cytometry (FCM), and chemical oxygen demand (COD) analysis on industrial and laboratory made white-water samples at optimized process parameters. Obtained results corresponded to reduced fines content in white-water samples, which justified commercial usage of cellulase enzymes on recycled paper machine short loop and potentially increased machine runnability without negative influence on wastewater treatment plant.

This occasional paper presents subgroup findings from the Monitoring the Future (MTF) study on levels of, and trends in, the use of a number of substances for nationally representative samples of high school graduates ages 19-30, "Monitoring the Future National Survey Results on Drug Use, 1975-2018. Volume II, College Students & Adults Ages 19-60" (see ED599071). The data have been gathered in a series of follow-up surveys of representative subsamples of high school seniors who were first surveyed in 12th grade as part of the MTF study. Data were first available for the 19-22 age group in 1980 and for the older age groups in subsequent years as the early cohorts progressed in age, as the tables and figures in this occasional paper indicate. The subgroup trends shown in the current occasional paper complement the last section of Chapter 5 (Trends in Drug Use in Early and Middle Adulthood) of that monograph by presenting the trend data for young adult subgroups in both graphic and tabular form. The results are described and discussed in Chapter 5, but the extensive set of tables and figures is provided here for the reader who wishes to view the figures and the underlying numerical values in tabular form. Three demographic dimensions are differentiated: gender, region of the country, and population density. Gender includes trends for males and females; region describes trends for each of the four major regions defined by the U.S. Census; and population density differentiates trends for five levels of community size. The Table of Contents and List of Figures in this occasional paper contain links to the content and figures. Following each figure is a table giving the numerical values associated with each trend line in that figure. [For the 1988-2019 Monitoring the Future Occasional Paper, see ED608244.]

Hemicellulose and pectin are noteworthy components of historical European rag papers, and have not been studied in detail so far. Rag papers were made from used textiles, and fiber-based utilities, such as ropes and bags. These had been prepared until the mid-19th century from plant-based fibers. Their polysaccharide composition could relate to their condition and history. This information can be expected to hold importance for the preservation and conservation of historical objects. We investigated a collection of rag papers of different age for their composition of non-cellulosic polysaccharides, and compared the findings with modern rag papers and wood pulps. Furthermore, a non-destructive determination of the hemicellulose and pectin content by near-infrared spectroscopy was developed. Historical rag papers had a lower hemicellulose/pectin content than pulps; the fractions of rhamnose, galactose, and arabinose were higher, while xylose was lower. In modern rag papers, xylose tended to be at the higher end of the range, which suggests a degradation of hemicelluloses/pectin over time or a change in raw materials and manufacturing. Rag papers also showed higher crystallinity than wood pulp papers. These findings provide insights into rag paper characteristics and offer potential classification methods.

This technical assistance paper provides policy and guidance to individuals with test administration responsibilities in adult education programs. The Florida assessment policies and guidelines presented in this technical assessment paper are appropriate for state and federal reporting. Therefore, guidance and procedures regarding the selection and use of appropriate student assessment are included in this technical assistance paper. Additionally, the following important information for adult education programs is reviewed: (1) The definition of key terms and acronyms; (2) Selection of appropriate assessments by student and program type; (3) Appropriate student placement into program and instructional level; (4) Verification of student learning gains, Educational Functioning Level, and/or program completion; (5) Accommodations for students with disabilities and other special needs; (6) Assessment procedures for Distance Education; and and (7) Training for all staff who administer the standardized assessments. [For the "2019-2020 Florida Adult Education Assessment Technical Assistance Paper," see ED600585.]

This technical assistance paper provides policy and guidance to individuals with test administration responsibilities in adult education programs. The Florida assessment policies and guidelines presented herein are appropriate for state and federal reporting. Therefore, guidance and procedures regarding the selection and use of appropriate student assessment are included. Additionally, the following important information for adult education programs is reviewed: (1) the definition of key terms and acronyms; (2) selection of appropriate assessments by student and program type; (3) appropriate student placement into program and instructional level; (4) verification of student learning gains, Educational Functioning Level and/or program completion; (5) accommodations for students with disabilities and other special needs; (6) assessment procedures for Distance Education; and (7) training for all staff who administer the standardized assessments. [For the "2020-2021 Florida Adult Education Assessment Technical Assistance Paper," see ED609706.]

From 2010 onwards, most US states have aligned their education standards by adopting the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) for math and English Language Arts. The CCSS did not target other subjects such as science and social studies. We estimate spillovers of the CCSS on student achievement in non-targeted subjects in models with state and year fixed effects. Using student achievement data from the NAEP, we show that the CCSS had a negative effect on student achievement in non-targeted subjects. This negative effect is largest for underprivileged students, exacerbating racial and socioeconomic student achievement gaps. Using teacher surveys, we show that the CCSS caused a reduction in instructional focus on nontargeted subjects. [Financial support was provided by DAAD and the Leibniz Competition.]

To address chronically low primary school completion rates and the disconnect between learners' skills at the end of primary school and the skills learners need to thrive in secondary school identified in many low- and middle-income countries, more investment is needed to improve the quality of teaching and learning in upper primary grades. Accordingly, we provide guidelines for improving five components of upper primary education: (1) In-service teacher professional development and pre-service preparation to improve and enhance teacher quality; (2) a focus on mathematics, literacy, and core content-area subjects; (3) assessment for learning; (4) high-quality teaching and learning materials; and (5) positive school climates. We provide foundational guiding principles and recommendations for intervention design and implementation for each component. Additionally, we discuss and propose how to structure and design pre-service teacher preparation and in-service teacher training and ongoing support, fortified by materials design and assessment, to help teachers determine where learners are in developmental progressions, move learners towards mastery, and differentiate and support learners who have fallen behind. We provide additional suggestions for integrating a whole-school climate curriculum, social-emotional learning, and school related gender-based violence prevention strategies to address the internal and societal changes learners often face as they enter upper primary.

For more than two decades, tax-credit scholarship (TCS) policies have helped American families provide their children with the learning environment that meets their individual needs. Now available in 19 states, nearly 300,000 students nationwide use tax-credit scholarships to attend the school of their family's choice. TCS policies create an incentive for taxpayers to contribute to nonprofit scholarship organizations that aid families with tuition and, in some states, other K-12 educational expenses. As with other policies, their ultimate success or failure depends greatly on how they are designed. This paper explores the central design features of TCS policies--such as eligibility, the tax credit value, credit caps, and academic accountability provisions--and outlines the different approaches taken by the TCS policies in each state. The paper also offers suggestions regarding each feature for policymakers who want to design a TCS policy that most likely to succeed at its central purpose: empowering families to provide their children with the education that works best for them. To that end, the paper recommends designing each policy element in such a way that they maximize the incentive that taxpayers have to contribute to scholarship organizations, maximize the number of families that can benefit from the scholarships, and maximize the freedom and flexibility that scholarship organizations have to serve those families. A summary of these suggestions can be found in the conclusion. Finally, the appendix offers policymakers a wide variety of additional resources, including model legislation, parent satisfaction and public opinion surveys, research of fiscal effects, various policy briefs on tax-credit scholarships, information about the constitutional landscape, and public relations resources. [Introduction by Theodor Rebarber. Foreword by Kendra Espinoza.]

Three mode comparability studies were conducted on the following Saturday national ACT test dates: October 26, 2019, December 14, 2019, and February 8, 2020. The primary goal of these studies was to evaluate whether ACT scores exhibited mode effects between paper and online testing that would necessitate statistical adjustments to the online scores to make them comparable to paper scores. All participants took the full ACT multiple-choice test (English, math, reading, and science), and participants in the February study had the option to take the writing test. The studies each employed an experimental, randomly equivalent groups design. All study participants received college-reportable scores, so their motivation to perform well on the ACT was expected to be like typical examinees during a national testing event. Findings reveal that students who test online tend to perform slightly better than students who test on paper, especially on the English, reading, and writing tests. ACT will equate scores across modes as needed to ensure that ACT scores can be treated as interchangeable regardless of testing mode, and ACT will continue to monitor comparability between paper and online testing and investigate reasons for observed mode effects on the ACT test.

After being sued for inequity and inadequacy in school funding, many states have reformed their education aid policies. Using Connecticut as an example, this paper shows how to design a state education aid formula that can effectively address funding inequity and inadequacy while taking political feasibility into account. It first develops a measure of the gap between education cost and revenue capacity, both of which are estimated using school district characteristics that are outside the direct control of local officials at any given point in time. It then uses each district's cost-capacity gap to evaluate the state's existing education aid distribution. This paper shows that while larger-gap districts, on average, receive greater amounts of state aid per pupil under Connecticut's existing distributions, significant inequity and inadequacy remain. This paper proposes, as a potential solution, a gap-based formula that allocates state aid to close the cost-capacity gaps. The formula includes tools such as minimum and maximum levels of aid to increase its political appeal. The research method and the formula design that this paper presents are sufficiently general and flexible to be adapted easily and applied to other states.

This occasional paper presents national demographic subgroup data for the 1975-2019 Monitoring the Future (MTF) national survey results on 8th, 10th, and 12th graders' use of drugs, alcohol, and tobacco. The 2018 subgroup data presented in this report accompany the "Monitoring the Future National Survey Results on Drug Use: 1975-2019: Overview, Key Findings on Adolescent Drug Use" (see ED604018) and the "Monitoring the Future National Survey Results on Drug Use, 1975-2018: Volume I, Secondary School Students" (see ED599067). The trends presented in this occasional paper in tabular and graphic forms cover demographic subgroups based on: (1) Gender; (2) College plans; (3) Region of the country; (4) Population density; (5) Education level of the parents (a proxy for socioeconomic level); and (6) Racial/ethnic identification. Detailed descriptions of the demographic categories are provided. The graphs and tables in this occasional paper present trend data for 8th-, 10th-, and 12th-grade respondents separately. Data for 12th grade begins with 1975, the first year in which a nationally representative sample of high school seniors was surveyed. Data for 8th and 10th grades begin with 1991, when the study's nationally representative annual surveys were expanded to include those lower grade levels.

This occasional paper presents subgroup findings from the Monitoring the Future (MTF) study on levels of, and trends in, the use of a number of substances for nationally representative samples of high school graduates ages 19-30, "Monitoring the Future National Survey Results on Drug Use, 1975-2018. Volume II, College Students & Adults Ages 19-60" (see ED599071). The data have been gathered in a series of follow-up surveys of representative subsamples of high school seniors who were first surveyed in 12th grade as part of the MTF study. The subgroup trends shown in this occasional paper complement the last section of Chapter 5 (Trends in Drug Use in Early and Middle Adulthood) of that monograph by presenting the trend data for young adult subgroups in both graphic and tabular form. The results are described and discussed in Chapter 5, but the extensive set of tables and figures is provided in this occasional paper for the reader who wishes to view the figures and the underlying numerical values. Three demographic dimensions are differentiated: gender, region of the country, and population density. Gender includes trends for males and females; region describes trends for each of the four major regions defined by the U.S. Census; and population density differentiates trends for five levels of community size. The Table of Contents and List of Figures in this occasional paper contain links to the content and figures. Following each figure is a table giving the numerical values associated with each trend line in that figure.