New Research

Research by Geography

Neighborhood/City of Boston

Metro Boston/Massachusetts/New England

New Research

National Center for Public Policy & Higher Education, Measuring Up 2008: The National Report Card on Higher Education (12/08): This fifth biennial evalutaion of higher educaion across the nation and on a stat-by-state basis finds that despite slight advances in college access and preparedness, the US is falling behind other nations, eroding global competitiveness, particularly due to surging costs.  Though Massachusetts outperforms many US states in perparedness and college completion, high costs remain the largest barrier to college access and success.

Mauricio Gaston Institute for Latino Community Development & Public Policy, Where We Go To School: Latino Students and the Public Schools of Boston (06/08): Through the lens of Latino children in Boston Public Schools, this report examines the impact of school quality on key educational outcomes and propposes several policy recommendations to bolster academic engagement and outcomes for Latinos and all students in Boston.

National Center for Education Statistics, The Condition of Education 2008  (06/2008): Presents 43 indicators on the status and condition of education in five topic areas: "1) participation in education; (2) learner outcomes; (3) student effort and educational progress; (4) the contexts of elementary and secondary education; and (5) the contexts of postsecondary education."

National Center for Education Statistics, Characteristics of the 100 Largest Public Elementary and Secondary School Districts in the United States: 2005-06 (06/2008): Provides data on graduation rates, finances and other general data on the nations largest school districts, including Boston, the 74th largest school district in the country.

MassInc, CommonWealth: Special Issue on Education Reform (06/2008): MassInc takes a look at the state of education in Massachusetts 15 years after the launch of education reform.

Pioneer Institute, How to Strengthen K-12 Mathematics Education in Massachusetts (06/2008): Draws on the National Mathematics Advisory Panel's report to make recommendations for improvemen of math outcomes in Massachusetts.

National Center for Education Statistics, Trends Among High School Seniors, 1972-2004 (05/2008): Tracks long term changes in high school enrollment, types of courses taken, college going and other measures.

Annie E. Casey Foundation, The Connection Strategy: Preparing Young People to Succeed in College and Beyond (2008), For many young people, the "pipeline" to educational and economic success is truly broken. This report describes how some of the Annie E. Casey Foundation's education grantees in Atlanta are working to mend the pipeline for young people in their communities.

Annie E. Casey Foundation, 2008 KIDS COUNT Data Book (2008) key measures used to track the well-being of children; state-level statistical data; and tools for generating custom reports, rankings, graphs, and maps.

Strategies for Children and Rennie Center for Education Research & Policy, A Case Study of the Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care (04/2008): Reviews the process by which the Department of Early Education and Care was created, and its progress towards improving educational services for the states youngest residents.

Rennie Center for Education Research & Policy, Opportunity to Learn: Elementary Science (Spring, 2008): Report finds disparities in the amount of time given to science education among elementary students and provides recommendation for improving science education for all elementary students.

Massachusetts Department of Elementary & Secondary Education, Progress Report on Students Attaining the Competency Determination Statewide & by School & District, Classes of 2008 & 2009 (03/2008): With MCAS retests, 94% of the Class of 2008 was able to earn Competency Determinations (required for graduation), but Hispanic and African American test results continue to lag behind those of whites by 13% to 14%.

Massachusetts Department of Elementary & Secondary Education, High School Dropouts 2006/2007, Massachusetts Public Schools (03/2008): Reports that the high school dropout rate for Massachusetts increased from 3.3% in 2005/2006 to 3.8% in 2006/2007. The report is linked to data for individual districts, which reports that the Boston Public Schools dropout rate decreased from 9.9% to 8.9% during the same period.

Thrive in 5 (a partnership of the City of Boston, the United Way, and additional partners), Boston's School Readiness Roadmap (03/2008): Outlines the needs of Boston's children and the roadmap for increasing school readiness.

Boston Private Industry Council, Class of 2006 -- College Enrollment and Labor Market Outcomes (02/2008): This annual survey of BPS graduates found that 73% of the class of 2006 went on to college the year after graduating, compared to 77% of the class of 2005. Racial/ethnic gaps persist in both employment and college going rates.

Massachusetts Department of Higher Education and Massachusetts Department of Elementary & Secondary Education, Massachusetts School to College Report, Class of 2005 (02/2008): For the first time, data from public schools have be linked to data from Massachusetts public colleges, providing information on the progress of Massachusetts high school graduates into college. Reports for each high school are also available.

The Education Trust, The Funding Gap (01/2008): Examining 1999 to 2005 school funding, reports that in most states, schools with high number of students of color, low-income students and/or English Language Learners received less financial support than other schools. Massachusetts is one state that provides more funding for such schools.

Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center, Education in Massachusetts: Governor Patrick's Education Proposals and the Current State of Massachusetts Primary and Secondary Education Spending (01/2008): Outlines the potential costs of implementing various parts of Governor Patrick's "Readiness Project" proposals.

Neighborhood/City of Boston

Mauricio Gaston Institute for Latino Community Development & Public Policy, Where We Go To School: Latino Students and the Public Schools of Boston (06/08): Through the lens of Latino children in Boston Public Schools, this report examines the impact of school quality on key educational outcomes and propposes several policy recommendations to bolster academic engagement and outcomes for Latinos and all students in Boston.

National Center for Education Statistics, Characteristics of the 100 Largest Public Elementary and Secondary School Districts in the United States: 2005-06 (06/2008): Provides data on graduation rates, finances and other general data on the nations largest school districts, including Boston, the 74th largest school district in the country.

Thrive in 5 (a partnership of the City of Boston, the United Way, and additional partners),Boston's School Readiness Roadmap (03/2008): Outlines the needs of Boston's children and the roadmap for increasing school readiness.

Boston Private Industry Council, Class of 2006 -- College Enrollment and Labor Market Outcomes (02/2008): This annual survey of BPS graduates found that 73% of the class of 2006 went on to college the year after graduating, compared to 77% of the class of 2005. Racial/ethnic gaps persist in both employment and college going rates.

Center for Collaborative Education, Strong Results, High Demand: A Four-Year Study of Boston's Pilot High Schools (11/2007): New study finds that Boston Pilot high school students outperformed their non-Pilot peers on every standard measure of engagement and performance over a four year period. The higher level of achievement held true for every racial, economic, and academic group examined.

Center for Collaborative Education, The Essential Guide to Pilot Schools: This website provides information on Boston's pilot schools. Research on the success of these schools, and tools for those interested in pilot schools are available.

Boston Higher Education Partnership, From College Access to College Success: College Preparation and Persistence of BPS Graduates (01/07) (pdf): Reports on both the preparation of Boston Public School students for college and their level of success once enrolled in higher education, and recommendations include much more coordination between schools and colleges in terms of curriculum and services to insure success.

National Assessment of Educational Progress, Science Report for the Trial Urban District (11/06): In a trial assessment of 10 urban districts (including Boston), the study found that urban districts continue to lag national test scores in science. While Boston was comparable to the other 9 cities studied, it fell behind competitor cities Austin and Charlotte.

Boston Youth Transitions Task Force, Too Big To Be Seen (5/06): reports on dropouts from the Boston Public Schools, and recommends programs for intervening with struggling students and assisting dropouts, and better coordination among schools and city agencies.

Massachusetts Coalition for Occupational Safety and Health and Boston Urban Asthma Coalition, Who's Sick at School: Linking Poor School Conditions and Health disparities for Boston's Children (pdf) (3/06): more than 80% of Boston Public School buildings have leaks or water stains and more than 33% have visible mold -- conditions which are known to aggravate asthma and other health problems.

Center for Collaborative Education, Progress and Promise: A report on the Boston Pilot Schools (1/06): compares outcomes of Pilot with non-Pilot Boston public schools and finds that Pilot School students perform better than the district averages across every indicator of student engagement and performance, at every grade level.

Boston EQUIP, Early Childhood in Boston (6/05): an assessment of the demand for and supply and quality of early care and education in Boston. It estimates current capacity at about 50% of the need for care for infants and toddlers and about 80% of that for preschoolers. The study recommends raising teacher quality by supporting higher education teacher training.

Boston EQUIP, Access and Adequacy of Comprehensive Services for At-Risk Children in Boston’s Early Care and Education Programs (6/05): a review of the 2003-2004 Community Profiles data finds that less than one third of family child care providers had the resources to support children with special needs, and that parental refusal was a primary reason children referred for special education did not receive it.

Boston Private Industry Council, College Enrollment and Labor Market Outcomes For Class of 2003 Boston Public High School Graduates: Key Findings of the Winter/Spring 2004 Follow-up Surveys (12/04): analyzes the college enrollment and labor market rates for Boston Public School students from the Class of 2003.

Boston Public Schools, 2008 District Report Card (12/08): MCAS performance by content area, grade level, and student subgroup, with statewide data comparisons.

After-School for All and The Boston Foundation, Coming of Age in Boston: Out-of-School Time Opportunities for Teens - Current Realities and Future Prospects (4/04): a demographic snapshot of Boston’s 45,000 teens, analysis of what teens and parents want in after-school programs, the current landscape, and recommendations.

Boston Plan for Excellence, Teaching Corps in Boston: Baseline Study of New Teachers in Boston’s Public Schools (4/04): teacher’s experiences with the hiring process, support and induction, retention of new teachers, and recommendations - More than half of the 2002-2003 new Boston Public School hires are expected to stay at their job between one and five years, with 65% expected to stay more than five years.

Boston Private Industry Council, College Enrollment and Labor Market Outcomes For Class of 2002 Boston Public High School Graduates: Key Findings of the Winter/Spring 2003 Follow-up Surveys (1/04): finds that 68% of class of 2002 BPS graduates attended college or a training program in the year following graduation.

After-School for All Partnership, Strategies for Success: Strengthening Learning in Out-of-School Time (6/03): an overview of research on how programs support academic achievement, experiential learning, cultural educational opportunities, literacy, higher education involvement and technology.

Metro Boston/Massachusetts/New England

National Center for Public Policy & Higher Education, Measuring Up 2008: The National Report Card on Higher Education (12/08): This fifth biennial evalutaion of higher educaion across the nation and on a stat-by-state basis finds that despite slight advances in college access and preparedness, the US is falling behind other nations, eroding global competitiveness, particularly due to surging costs.  Though Massachusetts outperforms many US states in perparedness and college completion, high costs remain the largest barrier to college access and success.

MassInc, CommonWealth: Special Issue on Education Reform (06/2008): MassInc takes a look at the state of education in Massachusetts 15 years after the launch of education reform.

Pioneer Institute, How to Strengthen K-12 Mathematics Education in Massachusetts (06/2008): Draws on the National Mathematics Advisory Panel's report to make recommendations for improvemen of math outcomes in Massachusetts.

Annie E. Casey Foundation, 2008 KIDS COUNT Data Book (2008) key measures used to track the well-being of children; state-level statistical data; and tools for generating custom reports, rankings, graphs, and maps.

Strategies for Children and Rennie Center for Education Research & Policy, A Case Study of the Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care (04/2008): Reviews the process by which the Department of Early Education and Care was created, and its progress towards improving educational services for the states youngest residents.

Rennie Center for Education Research & Policy, Opportunity to Learn: Elementary Science (Spring, 2008): Report finds disparities in the amount of time given to science education among elementary students and provides recommendation for improving science education for all elementary students.

Massachusetts Department of Elementary & Secondary Education, Progress Report on Students Attaining the Competency Determination Statewide & by School & District, Classes of 2008 & 2009 (03/2008): With MCAS retests, 94% of the Class of 2008 was able to earn Competency Determinations (required for graduation), but Hispanic and African American test results continue to lag behind those of whites by 13% to 14%.

Massachusetts Department of Elementary & Secondary Education, High School Dropouts 2006/2007, Massachusetts Public Schools (03/2008): Reports that the high school dropout rate for Massachusetts increased from 3.3% in 2005/2006 to 3.8% in 2006/2007. The report is linked to data for individual districts, which reports that the Boston Public Schools dropout rate decreased from 9.9% to 8.9% during the same period.

Massachusetts Department of Higher Education and Massachusetts Department of Elementary & Secondary Education, Massachusetts School to College Report, Class of 2005 (02/2008): For the first time, data from public schools have be linked to data from Massachusetts public colleges, providing information on the progress of Massachusetts high school graduates into college. Reports for each high school are also available.

Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center, Education in Massachusetts: Governor Patrick's Education Proposals and the Current State of Massachusetts Primary and Secondary Education Spending (01/2008): Outlines the potential costs of implementing various parts of Governor Patrick's "Readiness Project" proposals.

MA Special Commission on After School and Out of School Time, Our Common Wealth: Building a Future for Our Children and Youth (11/2007): Covers findings and recommendations in five key areas: 1) Building public awareness; 2) Providing information and increasing access; 3) Improving quality and supporting the workforce; 4) Fostering partnerships and collaborations; and 5) Sustaining the effort.

Massachusetts Department of Education, High School Dropouts 2005-06, Massachusetts Public Schools (06/07): Reports that the high school dropout rate for Massachusetts dropped from 3.8% in 2004/2005 to 3.3% in 2005/2006. The reports is linked to data for individual districts, which reports that the Boston Public Schools dropout rate increased from 7.7% to 9.9% during the same period.

Rennie Center for Education Research & Policy, Governing Change? Considerations for Education Policymakers (04/07): Provides information on other state's efforts to create a governance system that aligns education efforts from pre-K through college.

Massachusetts Department of Education, Progress Report on Students Attaining the Competency Determination Statewide & by School & District, Classes of 2007 & 2008 (03/07) (pdf): With MCAS retests, 94% of the Class of 2007 was able to earn Competency Determinations (required for graduation), but Hispanic and African American test results continue to lag behind those of Whites and Asians by 13% to 14%.

Pioneer Institute, Education Reform in Massachusetts: Aligning District Curricula with State Frameworks (11/06) (pdf): Reports that many underperforming districts have been unable to align their curricular programs with state standards.

Pioneer Institute, Education Reform in Massachusetts: Using Student Data to Improve District Performance (11/06) (pdf): Presents the results of a study of the way in which local school districts use educational performance data to drive improvements. Local districts need much improvement to meet the goals of state policy in this area.

Massachusetts Business Alliance for Education, Preparing for the Future: Employer Perspectives on Work Readiness Skills(10/06): Through employer focus groups, this study found that Massachusetts students not only do not receive the academic and technical training needed by today's employers, but that there are large deficiencies in communication, critical thinking, and "soft" skills such as attitude and work ethic.

Rennie Center for Education Research & Policy, Are Boys Making the Grade? Gender Gaps in Achievement and Attainment (10/06): An analysis of MCAS and enrollment data for 10 urban Massachusetts school districts reveals that boys are lagging girls in educational outcomes.

Massachusetts Department of Education, Spring 2006 MCAS Tests: Summary of State Results (09/06): The annual report of MCAS test results reveals continued improvement among 10th graders, but no gains among 3rd and 8th graders. District results are also available.

National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education, Measuring Up 2006: The State Report Card on Higher Education--Massachusetts (9/06): Reports on Massachusetts' ability to prepare students for post-secondary education as well as the quality and accessibility of post-secondary education. Lack of affordability is stressed as the greatest challenge facing Massachusetts' post-secondary education system.

The Education Trust, Promise Abandoned: How Policy and Institutional Practices Restrict College Opportunities (8/06): Reports on the rising costs of college, accompanied by changes in financial aid policies, shifting resources away from low-income students.

Nellie Mae Education Foundation, New England 2020: A Forecast of Educational Attainment and Its Implications for the Workforce of New England States (06/06): Reports that the number of workers with a BA or higher will fall in Massachusetts and New England as a whole between now and 2020.

Rennie Center for Education Research and Policy, The Road Not Taken (4/06): identifies reasons for the scarcity of Horace Mann charter schools in Massachusetts. With only eight Horace Mann schools, no new applications have been filed in the past two years. Obstacles include political challenges, financial disincentives, and a general lack of information.

The Civil Rights Project at Harvard University and the Center for the Study of Higher Education at The Pennsylvania State University, MCAS Scores and the Adams Scholarships: A Policy Failure (3/06): finds that the new John and Abigail Adams Scholarship program in Massachusetts, awarded based solely on students’ performance in the 10th grade English and Math MCAS tests, is likely to have little impact on college access in the state, as few racial minority or poor students are qualifying for the scholarships.

Pioneer Institute, Framing the Debate: The Case for Studying School Vouchers (03/06) (pdf): Reports that there are some signs of progress in urban districts since the introduction of education reform, but that scholarship vouchers may be needed to add additional competition and improvement to the system.

Editorial Projects in Education Research Center, Quality Counts at 10: Massachusetts (01/06): Gives Massachusetts an overall grade of B-, scoring best on standards and accountability, but lower in resource equity.

American Institutes for Research, Highlights from the 2003 State Assessment of Adult Literacy: Massachusetts (12/05): Literacy was higher in Massachusetts than in the nation, but the percent of Hispanics and Blacks scoring at "below basic" was similar to the nation as a whole.

Wellesley Centers for Women, Preparing the Early Education and Care Workforce (pdf) (11/05): asserts that although educational programs for this sector are underutilized now, more capacity is needed to train enough workers. The authors call for professional development programs that improve working conditions and increases wages. An Executive Summary (pdf) is also available.

Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center, Public School Funding in Massachusetts: How It Works, Trends Since 1993 (pdf) (11/05): the third edition of Public School Funding in Massachusetts provides a brief explanation of the funding formula contained in the Education Reform Act and the principles on which it was based, highlights the education financing challenges that Massachusetts currently faces, and outlines some of the options for meeting them. The paper also examines data for FY 1993 through FY 2003 which show that, while the Commonwealth had significantly increased funding for primary and secondary education since the start of that period, the investments it makes in educating its children still lag behind those of many other states by some measures.

United Way of Massachusetts Bay and the Schott Foundation for Public Education, Making it Work (pdf) (10/05): lays out a professional development system for the early education and care and out-of-school time workforce. Recommends strengthening statewide standards for content and quality, and creating links between compensation and a provider's knowledge and skills. An overview of the report can be found on UWMB's site.

Massachusetts Advocates for Children, Helping Traumatized Children Learn (10/05): a report discussing ways to help schools become more sensitive to the difficult experiences of students, with the goal of improved learning in and out of the classroom.

Massachusetts Department of Education, Spring 2005 MCAS Tests: Summary of State Results (pdf) (9/05): background on the MCAS test and results. Sophomores and sixth graders showed some improvement, but younger students scored at or slightly below 2004 levels.

Massachusetts Department of Education, Preliminary Statewide Results: 2005 MCAS Grade 3 Reading (6/05): preliminary participation and performance results by gender, race/ethnicity, and student status, including students with disabilities, limited English proficient students, and students participating in the MCAS Alternate Assessment program.

The Rennie Center for Education Research and Policy at MassINC, Reaching Capacity: A Blueprint for the State Role in Improving Low Performing Schools and Districts (Spring 05): presents findings and recommendations. Report abstract.

The Massachusetts Department of Education, Technology in Massachusetts Schools 2003-2004 (4/05): the use of technology in teaching, learning, and professional development, with key statistics by district - 79% of districts now have all of their classrooms wired.

The Massachusetts Department of Education, Grade Retention in Massachusetts Public Schools (4/05): presents state and district rates of public school grade repetition, highlighting differences by grade, race/ethnicity, gender and educational status.

Report of the Senate Task Force on Public Higher Education (3/05): stresses the importance of maintaining Massachusetts' leading edge in innovation, and recommends a new system of increased funding to ensure quality, capacity, access and accountability.

Donahue Institute,   A Study of MCAS Achievement and Promising Practices in Urban Special Education (10/04): income characteristics, disability type, placement, and performance for students in grades 4, 7, and 8 - Boston places a far greater proportion of special needs students in separate classrooms than 33 other urban districts in the state.

Massachusetts Board of Higher Education, Accountability Report: State and Community Colleges (2004): a trend assessment of performance indicators between FY1998 to FY2003, at both the state level and for each of the individual colleges. State and community college enrollment grew by 12,075 between fiscal years 1998 and 2003, with more than 98% of total enrollment and all of undergraduate enrollment attributed to the rapidly growing community college segment.

National

National Center for Education Statistics, The Condition of Education 2008  (06/2008): Presents 43 indicators on the status and condition of education in five topic areas: "1) participation in education; (2) learner outcomes; (3) student effort and educational progress; (4) the contexts of elementary and secondary education; and (5) the contexts of postsecondary education."

National Center for Education Statistics, Characteristics of the 100 Largest Public Elementary and Secondary School Districts in the United States: 2005-06 (06/2008): Provides data on graduation rates, finances and other general data on the nations largest school districts, including Boston, the 74th largest school district in the country.

National Center for Education Statistics, Trends Among High School Seniors, 1972-2004 (05/2008): Tracks long term changes in high school enrollment, types of courses taken, college going and other measures.

Annie E. Casey Foundation, The Connection Strategy: Preparing Young People to Succeed in College and Beyond (2008), For many young people, the "pipeline" to educational and economic success is truly broken. This report describes how some of the Annie E. Casey Foundation's education grantees in Atlanta are working to mend the pipeline for young people in their communities.

Annie E. Casey Foundation, 2008 KIDS COUNT Data Book (2008) key measures used to track the well-being of children; state-level statistical data; and tools for generating custom reports, rankings, graphs, and maps.

The Education Trust, The Funding Gap (01/2008): Examining 1999 to 2005 school funding, reports that in most states, schools with high number of students of color, low-income students and/or English Language Learners received less financial support than other schools. Massachusetts is one state that provides more funding for such schools.

National Endowment for the Arts, To Read or Not to Read: A question of National Consequence (11/2007): Report finds that Americans are reading less, and reading proficiency is declining, especially among the young, creating negative consequences for employers in need of skilled labor.

National Center for Education Statistics, The Nations Report Card: Grade 12 Reading and Mathematics Report (02/07) provides comparative information on the US Region's progress in improved student achievement scores.

Education Week, From Cradle to Career: Connecting American Education from Birth through Childhood (01/07): Presents a "chance for success" in schools index for Massachusetts children, which ranked 5th. Others states are available on the website.

Thomas B. Fordham Foundation, How Well Are States Educating Our Neediest Children? (11/06): Reports on the condition of education across the US and its Massachusetts summary reports that whole progress has been made, race/ethnicity based achievement gaps remain substantial.

The Education Trust, Engines of Inequality: Diminishing Equity in the Nation’s Premier Public Universities (pdf) (11/06): Reports that the nation's finest public universities are less economically and racially diverse due to changes in financial aid choices.

Institute of International Education, Opendoors 2006 Fast Facts: International Students in the U.S. (11/06): Reports that after a fall over the pervious 2 years, the number of international students in the U.S. remained steady from 2004/2005 to 2005/2006, and there has been an 8% increase in the number of newly enrolled international students. Massachusetts has the 4th highest number of international students.

National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials, The ESL Logjam: Waiting Times for Adult ESL Classes and the Impact on English Learners (10/06) (pdf): ESL programs cannot keep up with demand, resulting in waiting lists and insufficient advanced offerings. Boston's wait times are on average 6 to 9 months.

National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education, Measuring Up 2006: The National Report Card on Higher Education (9/06): Provides indicators of the health of US post-secondary education and highlights improvement of other countries' educational systems compared to the U.S.

National Academies, Rising Above The Gathering Storm: Energizing and Employing America for a Brighter Economic Future (1/06): The National Academies were charged by Congress with identifying the top 10 actions that federal policymakers can take to enhance science and technology to make the U.S. more competitive. They find that improving K-12 science and mathematics education should be the country's top priority.

National Center for Higher Education Management Systems, A New Look at the Institutional Component of Higher Education Finance: A Guide for Evaluating Performance Relative to Financial Resources (12/05): a study evaluating the performance of public research institutions relative to funding levels finds North Dakota and Utah achieve the best results and Alaska does the worst. Massachusetts is at the U.S. average for funding and ranked slightly above average in achievement, but this ranking is lower than it should be, as UMass Medical School in Worcester and UMass Dartmouth were not considered.

National Assessment of Adult Literacy (US Dept. of Ed.), A First Look at the Literacy of America’s Adults in the 21st Century (12/05): a sample of 19,000 U.S. adults finds that about 5%, or 11 million adults nationwide, lack basic skills in English.

National Center for Higher Education Management Systems, As America Becomes More Diverse: The Impact of State Higher Education Inequality (11/05): a report that explores the consequences of racial and ethnic differences in the numbers and proportion of people entering and succeeding in college. It suggests that if differences in educational attainment between whites and minority groups persist, equitable racial and ethnic representation in an increasingly knowledge-based economy will be difficult to achieve.

EdSource, Inc., Similar Students, Different Results: Why Do Some Schools Do Better? (10/05): a survey of principals and teachers in 257 California elementary schools serving low-income students finds that socioeconomic factors are not the sole predictor of academic performance. It indicates that prioritizing student achievement, high expectations, a coherent standards-based curriculum, assessment data, availability of instructional resources, and leadership, support, and accountability by the principal and the school district characterize high-performing schools.

Annie E. Casey Foundation, 2005 KIDS COUNT Data Book (7/05): key measures used to track the well-being of children; state-level statistical data; and tools for generating custom reports, rankings, graphs, and maps. Massachusetts data.

National Center for Education Statistics, Youth Indicators, 2005: Trends in the Well-Being of American Youth (7/05): statistics on family, schooling, work, community, and health for American youth and young adults, ages 14 to 24.

National Center for Education Statistics, The Condition of Education 2005 (6/05): education indicators highlighting enrollment trends and student characteristics; achievement; rates of progress by population group; the contexts of elementary, secondary and postsecondary education; and parental and community support for learning.

CS Mott Foundation, Moving Towards Success: Framework for After-School Programs (5/05): outlines a theory of change approach, desired outcomes, and ideal conditions for effective after-school programs.

Council of the Great City Schools, English Language Learners in the Great City Schools:Survey Results on Students, Languages and Programs (3/03): Boston data compared to the large urban school districts that enroll over 14% of US children and over 30% of English Language Learners.

For past Education research, visit the 2004 Boston Indicators Report.