Explore · I4I

Teach For America (TFA) and Teaching Fellows Programs

2013

This study evaluates two programs that place teachers in high-need schools: Teach For America (TFA) and Teaching Fellows programs. TFA recruits primarily recent college graduates who commit to two years of teaching, while Teaching Fellows programs recruit both recent graduates and mid-career professionals who are expected to teach long-term. Both programs are highly selective (accepting about 12-13% of applicants), provide intensive 5-7 week summer training institutes before teachers begin, and offer ongoing support during the first years of teaching. TFA operates nationally with 43 regional programs, while Teaching Fellows programs are locally run in 19 locations with TNTP oversight. Teachers from both programs are placed in high-need schools serving predominantly low-income students and students from racial/ethnic minority groups. Both programs require participants to enroll in state-authorized alternative certification programs to complete coursework during their first years of teaching (averaging 137 hours of instruction). The programs differ in that TFA applicants apply nationally and are assigned to regions, while Teaching Fellows applicants apply to specific local programs; TFA requires a 2-year commitment while Teaching Fellows expect an open-ended commitment; and TFA focuses more on recruiting new college graduates while Teaching Fellows focus more on career-switchers.

6th Grade 7th Grade 8th Grade 9th Grade 10th Grade 11th Grade 12th Grade

Math Curriculum Comparison Study

2013

This study compared four elementary math curricula—Investigations in Number, Data, and Space; Math Expressions; Saxon Math; and Scott Foresman-Addison Wesley Mathematics (SFAW)/enVision Math—for students in 1st and 2nd grades. Schools were randomly assigned to use one of the four curricula. Each curriculum was implemented as the core math program in participating schools, with teachers receiving training from publishers before the school year began. The curricula differ in their approaches to mathematical emphasis, instructional approach, and supports for teachers. Implementation involved daily math instruction delivered by classroom teachers using the assigned curriculum materials, including textbooks, workbooks, manipulatives, and other resources specific to each program.

1st Grade 2nd Grade

Talent Transfer Initiative (TTI)

2013

The Talent Transfer Initiative (TTI) is a teacher transfer incentive program designed to redistribute high-performing teachers from higher-achieving schools to low-achieving schools within a district. The program identifies the top 20% of teachers based on value-added measures of student achievement growth and offers them $20,000 paid over two years to transfer to and remain in one of the district's lowest-achieving schools (bottom 20% by test scores). Teachers already in low-achieving schools who are identified as high-performing receive $10,000 retention stipends. The program targets grades 3-8 in math and reading/ELA. Implementation involves value-added analysis to identify candidates, recruitment of both teachers and receiving-school principals, voluntary interviews and hiring, and a half-day orientation. Site managers facilitate the matching process between candidates and schools. The program was implemented in 10 large, economically diverse school districts across 7 states, serving elementary (grades 3-5) and middle schools (grades 6-8).

3rd Grade 4th Grade 5th Grade 6th Grade 7th Grade 8th Grade

College Possible

2014

College Possible is a 2-year after-school curriculum designed for low-income high school juniors and seniors. Students apply as sophomores and enter the program as juniors. The program provides SAT and ACT test preparation services, college admissions and financial aid consulting, and guidance in the transition to college. Over 2 years, each participant is scheduled to receive 320 hours of direct program services. The program is limited to students from families below the median city/county household income with a suggested minimum GPA of 2.0. There are no costs to students, though participants agree to volunteer for 8 hours of community service per year in exchange for services. Partner high schools provide classroom space for the program to operate after school hours. The program is implemented by College Possible staff.

11th Grade 12th Grade

Higher Achievement

2013

Higher Achievement is an intensive year-round out-of-school-time program targeting rising fifth and sixth graders from at-risk communities in Washington, DC and Alexandria, VA. The program serves students throughout middle school (grades 5-8) with up to 650 hours of academic instruction per year. During the school year, the Afterschool Academy operates three days per week from 3:30-8:00 PM over 25 weeks, providing homework help, dinner, arts/recreation electives, community gatherings, and 75 minutes of small-group academic instruction led by volunteer mentors using a structured curriculum aligned with DC/Virginia standards. The Summer Academy runs five days per week, 8 AM-4 PM for six weeks, with four core academic classes (math, science, social studies, literature) taught by paid teachers to groups of about 13 students, plus two electives, weekly field trips, and a three-day university trip. As students approach high school, the program increases focus on the transition through family nights, high school visits, individual parent meetings, and dedicated mentoring sessions on applications. Students and parents must complete an application, attend an interview, and commit to 3-4 years of participation.

5th Grade 6th Grade 7th Grade 8th Grade

Small Schools of Choice (SSCs)

2013

Small Schools of Choice (SSCs) are small, academically nonselective high schools created in New York City between fall 2002 and fall 2008 to serve students in disadvantaged communities, mainly in neighborhoods where large, failing high schools had been closed. Over 123 SSCs were created to provide realistic choices for students with widely varying academic backgrounds. SSCs serve grades 9-12, with most schools enrolling around 400 students total. Most SSCs oriented their missions and curricula toward specific academic, artistic, social justice, or professional themes. Almost all were founded in partnership with local nonprofit organizations or private employers and received additional philanthropic funds during their first four to five years. SSCs were started with support from intermediary school partners such as New Visions for Public Schools, the Institute for Student Achievement, or the Urban Assembly. The schools emphasize three core principles: academic rigor, relevance through themed curricula and real-world learning opportunities, and personalized relationships between teachers and students enabled by small school size.

9th Grade 10th Grade 11th Grade 12th Grade

Success for All (SFA)

2014

Success for All (SFA) is a whole-school reform initiative whose goal is to help all elementary school students become competent readers. The program serves students in kindergarten through grades 5 or 6 (K-5 or K-6). SFA's reading instruction emphasizes phonics for beginning readers and comprehension for students at all levels, featuring a highly structured curriculum, use of cooperative learning strategies, across-grade ability grouping, frequent assessments, and tutoring for students who need extra help. The program includes components that address students' noninstructional issues such as behavior, attendance, and parental involvement. SFA employs strategies to secure teacher buy-in, provides teachers and leaders with initial and ongoing training, and fosters shared leadership. The program requires a 90-minute reading period and uses technology, cooperative learning in pairs and small groups, cross-grade ability grouping for reading (walk to read), quarterly assessments to measure progress and regroup students, and computerized small-group and individual tutoring for struggling students.

Kindergarten 1st Grade 2nd Grade 3rd Grade 4th Grade 5th Grade

Solar Walk (True-to-Scale Display Mode)

2014

Solar Walk is a software application for iPads that enables users to navigate a simulated, realistic-looking 3D solar environment using a pinch-to-zoom interface. The intervention specifically uses the true-to-scale (TTS) display mode, which shows planetary bodies in accurate scale. The application is intended to help high school students learn about the structure of the solar system, including the order of planets and the shape and size of their orbits. Students work individually with the iPad app during their regular science classes for about 20 minutes per day. Teachers provide only clarifying information during implementation, following a written protocol.

9th Grade 10th Grade 11th Grade 12th Grade

Reading Recovery

2013

Reading Recovery is a short-term early intervention designed to help the lowest-achieving readers in first grade reach average levels of classroom performance in literacy. Students identified to receive Reading Recovery meet individually with a specially trained Reading Recovery (RR) teacher every school day for 30-minute lessons over a period of 12 to 20 weeks. The intervention targets the lowest-achieving 15-20 percent of 1st-grade readers. RR teachers are trained through a year-long academic program that includes graduate coursework, behind-the-glass training sessions, and ongoing professional development. The intervention includes daily one-on-one lessons with a structured format: re-reading familiar books, running records, word/letter work, story composition, assembling cut-up sentences, and reading new books. RR teachers also assess students using the Observation Survey of Early Literacy Achievement and maintain detailed records of student progress.

1st Grade

Four Reading Interventions: Corrective Reading, Failure Free Reading, Spell Read P.A.T., and Wilson Reading

2006

This study evaluates four widely used remedial reading programs for struggling readers in grades 3 and 5: Corrective Reading, Failure Free Reading, Spell Read P.A.T., and Wilson Reading. The interventions were delivered as pull-out programs in small groups of three students, meeting five days per week for approximately 50-minute sessions from November 2003 through May 2004, totaling about 90 hours of instruction on average. Three interventions (Corrective Reading, Spell Read P.A.T., and Wilson Reading) focus primarily on word-level skills including phonemic awareness, phonemic decoding, and reading fluency through systematic and explicit instruction. Failure Free Reading focuses on building sight vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension through computer-based lessons, workbook exercises, and teacher-led instruction. Teachers were recruited from participating schools and received approximately 70 hours of professional development and support during the implementation year, including 30 hours of initial intensive training, 24 hours during a practice period, and 14 hours of supervision during the intervention phase.

3rd Grade 5th Grade