WestEd

Format: PDF Pages: 150 Publisher: WestEd Districts investing in tutoring and educational technology often struggle to know whether their spending actually improves student outcomes. Outcomes Based Contracting (OBC) offers one response, tying provider payments to defined results rather than services delivered. But the approach is still new and its implementation is not well understood.

Key Takeaways Early math predicts academic achievement well into middle and high school, and it’s malleable, meaning that teachers can meaningfully shift a child’s trajectory. Small group instruction, standards-aligned activities, and an engaging math center are among the most effective classroom strategies. Two-way communication and shared responsibility with families strengthens children’s math learning at home.

By Sarah Quesen, Senior Director of Assessment, WestEd In a classroom of 25 students, around one is likely to have dyscalculia, a learning disorder that makes it hard to understand and work with numbers. Students with dyscalculia tend to move through the primary grades without anyone flagging the problem. That was true for me in elementary school, where I was told I was “bad at math” and “not a math person.” I was well into adulthood before I realized it was dyscalculia.

Districts and schools often plan professional learning, coaching, and leadership development for literacy on separate timelines. Each piece might be solid on its own, but very little connects them. The result: literacy instruction that is fragmented, especially when it comes to comprehension. That fragmentation lands hardest on Multilingual Learners and striving readers, students whose progress depends on their language and literacy systems developing together.

Read the Transcript Today’s high school students are entering an increasingly data-driven world, one in which skills in data literacy, quantitative reasoning, and integrated statistics are becoming more important for college, careers, and everyday life.

By Mel Wylen and Mitch Herz Over the past decade, states have invested considerable effort in refining their accountability systems to provide information that is more meaningful about school performance and to better target support for improvement. Recent waiver approvals from the U.S. Department of Education are bringing renewed attention to how states can use federal flexibility to better align accountability, resources, and school improvement efforts. Arkansas offers one example.

Key Takeaways A strong K–5 literacy culture goes beyond phonics instruction and is shaped by school leaders. Through Reading Apprenticeship, educators across disciplines use a shared language for reading and thinking, giving students greater consistency across courses. Sustained literacy improvement requires a commitment that teachers and leaders enter together. Who Can Benefit? Elementary and secondary school leaders, district administrators, literacy coaches, and higher education faculty.

At one Count Play Explore institute, an educator spent two days experimenting with learning materials, talking with colleagues, and participating in hands-on activities. Then the educator said she was having so much fun and asked when professional development would begin, without realizing it had already started.

By Kelsey Krausen and Ruthie Caparas School district budgets may be shrinking, but student needs are not. Amid pandemic relief funds ending, enrollment declining, and costs of business rising, schools are still expected to provide essential supports for every student despite difficult financial constraints. As these constraints persist and even mount, leaders must answer the question: Which programs are delivering the most meaningful benefits to students?

Key Takeaways Infant and early childhood mental health consultation supports child care providers and educators in managing children’s behavior and in understanding how providers’ own experiences shape the way they respond to the children in their care. Reflective practice spaces designed specifically for practitioners of color are a meaningful tool for preventing burnout and building a more culturally responsive early childhood workforce.