News

Strategic Data Project Launches 2020-2022 Cohort of Fellows for Educational Improvement 

October 13, 2020

Data and evidence leaders work together to close gaps for students and educators. 

Cambridge, Mass. (October 13, 2020)—The Strategic Data Project (SDP), an initiative of the Center for Education Policy Research (CEPR) at Harvard University, launched its twelfth cohort of SDP fellows, exemplary research and data leaders helping to transform education through the power of evidence....

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The Needs of Students and Educators Should Guide Our Use of New Classroom Technologies

September 4, 2020
Since the start of the pandemic it’s become common to suggest that education will have to adapt to a “new normal,” with increased use of online platforms. But private tech firms risk having an oversized say in what the “new normal” is — ignoring the needs expressed by teachers and learners themselves.... Read more about The Needs of Students and Educators Should Guide Our Use of New Classroom Technologies

Rural school districts can be creative in solving the internet connectivity gap—but they need support

August 10, 2020

While COVID-19-related school closures in spring 2020 challenged every school district, students in rural districts faced especially significant barriers. In particular, lack of consistent internet limited their access to online instruction.

These gaps in access to the internet and instruction were evident in our research. However, we also found that rural districts devised innovative strategies to help put materials and instruction in the hands of students.

The start of the next school year is approaching quickly, and many districts plan to start remotely. Ensuring...

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Harvard’s Partnering in Education Research Program Awarded Funding to Continue Training Future Education Scholars

August 5, 2020

Cambridge, MA (August 5, 2020) The Partnering in Education Research (PIER) Fellowship, an initiative of the Center for Education Policy Research (CEPR) at Harvard University, has received $4.5 million in funding from the federal Institute of Education Sciences to transform the way the next generation of education researchers are trained.

Launched in 2015 in collaboration with the Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE), the PIER Fellowship gives Harvard graduate students opportunities to work with...

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Districts Pivot Their Strategies to Reduce Chronic Absenteeism During Distance Learning

July 29, 2020

 

On the other side of the country, another effort, housed at Harvard University, is also helping districts tackle chronic absenteeism. Started in 2015, the Proving Ground program helps school districts leverage data to design, plan, implement and test interventions to improve learning outcomes. The program has 59 school district partners, most of them in New York and Ohio.

One of its first successful intervention programs involved weekly postcards sent home...

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Are Math Coaches the Answer to Lagging Achievement?

May 5, 2020

To address concerns about cost and effectiveness, Kraft and Harvard University education professor Heather C. Hill created and studied a virtual math-coaching program that could potentially be a cheaper way for districts to have dedicated math coaches. The program was based on a framework that was co-developed by researchers at Harvard and the American Institutes for Research. It centered on practices aligned to the Common Core State Standards, such as rich meaning-making and encouraging student questions.

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