Leadership Blog

Inside School Research

The Inside School Research blog covered education research behind big policy debates and daily classroom concerns. This blog is no longer being updated, but you can continue to explore these issues on edweek.org by visiting our related topic pages: research, teaching research, and leadership research.

Science Video-Based Training May Help Teachers Make Science Lessons More Coherent
A teacher-training program uses video to engage teachers virtually in lesson-study sessions geared to improving their science classes.
Sarah D. Sparks, August 16, 2018
2 min read
School & District Management Strategy, Culture Keys to Closing Achievement Gaps in Diverse, Middle-Income Schools
More than half of black and Latino students attend high- or middle-income schools, and they tend to achieve better than their peers in high-poverty schools, but still below their white peers. School culture may help close the gap, a new report suggests.
Sarah D. Sparks, August 15, 2018
3 min read
Student Well-Being & Movement Does Driver's Ed. Need a Tune Up? Teens' Crash Risk Rises Right After Licensing
Getting a first driver's license is seen as a major milestone in teenagers' independence, but a new study suggests students' practice driving may not be preparing them for the risks of that freedom.
Sarah D. Sparks, August 8, 2018
3 min read
Student Well-Being & Movement The 'Brain' in Growth Mindset: Does Teaching Students Neuroscience Help?
Brain science explanations might help boost growth mindset, a new study finds, but the students and subject matter.
Sarah D. Sparks, August 7, 2018
2 min read
School & District Management Here's What Makes or Breaks RTI and Other School Support Systems
With a lot of moving parts, schools often struggle to make response-to-intervention and positive-behavior-interventions-and-support systems effective in the long run, but an early focus on school teaming and data can improve their odds, according to a new study.
Sarah D. Sparks, August 2, 2018
2 min read
School & District Management What Happens to Academic Gender Gaps When Students Grow Up?
Academic gender gaps in reading and math follow different paths as American students move from their school years into adulthood, according to new federal data.
Sarah D. Sparks, August 1, 2018
1 min read
Special Education Gifted Education Researcher James Webb Dies
Webb studied the social and emotional and special education issues in gifted education.
Sarah D. Sparks, July 31, 2018
1 min read
College & Workforce Readiness Indiana Using Data to Build Better Transcripts, College Transitions
Indiana's efforts to give students more control over their academic transcripts may prove a boon for researchers and school reformers, too.
Sarah D. Sparks, July 27, 2018
2 min read
Professional Development Districts Want Teacher Evaluation. What Do Principals Want?
The best-laid plans for teacher evaluation systems don't always survive contact with the classroom, and a new study suggests that how principals "tinker" can make a difference in how teachers really get judged.
Sarah D. Sparks, July 26, 2018
3 min read
Student Well-Being & Movement Where Are Students at Risk? These Maps Tell the Story
It can be easy to focus on poor grades or absenteeism when thinking about young people at risk, but that leaves out serious health and social issues that can affect students' school lives.
Sarah D. Sparks, July 19, 2018
1 min read
Student Well-Being & Movement Summer Learning Gaps Worsen in Higher Grades, Just Not the Way You Think
By the end of middle school, students may lose a third to half of what they learn during the year to the so-called "summer slide." But the real gaps may not come from where you think.
Sarah D. Sparks, July 17, 2018
2 min read
School & District Management Ed. Dept. Launches National School Choice Research Center in New Orleans
Researchers who studied controversial school choice initiatives in the Big Easy have been tapped to launch a research center and massive database on school choice.
Sarah D. Sparks, July 16, 2018
2 min read
Reading & Literacy Want Students to Read Deeply? Ask Them These Two Kinds of Questions
Students often summarize or spout cliched morals when asked to analyze literature. But a new study finds two new ways teachers can get them to look deeply at what they read.
Sarah D. Sparks, July 13, 2018
2 min read
College & Workforce Readiness New Education Research Chief Signals More Focus on College Over K-12 Studies
Mark Schneider, the new director of the Institute of Education Sciences, is pushing for new directions in the Education Department's research agency: more research on higher education and long-term achievement, and more practical results for educators.
Sarah D. Sparks, July 1, 2018
5 min read