A companion document to the White Paper Innovation Nation (Cm 7345). It presents a progress report on 'Lord Sainsbury's October 2007 Review' (The Race to the Top: A Review of Government's Science and Innovation Policies) on the Government's science and innovation policies.

Race to the Top (RTT), one of the Obama administration's signature programs and one of the largest federal government investments in an education grant program, received $4.35 billion in funding as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Through three rounds of competition in 2010 and 2011, RTT awarded grants to states that agreed to implement a range of education policies and practices designed to improve student outcomes. Using 2013 interview data from all states, this report documents whether states that received an RTT grant used the policies and practices promoted by RTT and how that compares to non-grantee states. The report also examines whether receipt of an RTT grant was related to improvements in student outcomes. Findings show that 2010 RTT grantees reported using more policies and practices than non-grantees in four areas (standards and assessments, teachers and leaders, school turnaround, and charter schools), and 2011 RTT grantees reported using more in one area (teachers and leaders). However, the relationship between RTT and student outcomes was not clear, as trends in test scores could be plausibly interpreted as providing evidence of either a positive, negative, or null effect for RTT. The following are appended: (1) Additional Figures Based on State Interviews; (2) Detailed Findings from State Interviews; (3) Interview Questions Aligned with RTT Policies and Practices; (4) Change over Time in States' Use of Policies and Practices Promoted by RTT; and (5) Relationship between RTT Reforms and Changes in Student Outcomes. [For the Executive Summary to this report, see ED569960.].

This paper describes the District of Columbia's progress in implementing a comprehensive and coherent approach to education reform from the time of application through June 30, 2011. In particular, this report highlights key accomplishments over the reporting period in the four reform areas: standards and assessments, data systems to support instruction, great teachers and leaders, and turning around lowest-achieving schools. Washington, DC has made significant progress in implementing a comprehensive approach to education in the four core reform areas since receiving the Race to the Top grant. Highlights of this report include: (1) Race to the Top has collaborated with the Division of Standards, Assessment and Accountability to create an aggressive Common Core Standards Roll-out Plan for the District. Each LEA (local educational agency) will implement the Common Core Standards beginning in school year 2011-12. During the spring and summer of 2011, OSSE (Office of the State Superintendent of Education) and Race to the Top participating LEAs provided extensive professional development for their teachers, including those teaching special education. Additionally, OSSE provided guidance to all LEAs so they could provide information on the Common Core Standards to parents through parent meetings and Back-to-School nights using parent guides created by the National PTA; (2) Washington, DC awarded $5,000,000 in Instructional Improvement Systems grants to four lead Local Education Agencies. These lead LEAs with expertise in instructional improvement systems are sharing their technology and expertise with 20 LEAs that are not as far along in their data systems initiatives; (3) DC has developed a number of rigorous metrics and tools for measuring the performance of teachers and schools and informing improvements to instruction. OSSE has developed common criteria for Race to the Top participating LEAs' teacher and leader evaluation systems. OSSE is in the process of managing a process of reviewing these plans to ensure that they meet these criteria. DC has adopted a common schoolwide growth model for use in the 2011-12 school year that is based on 2010-11 DC CAS data. The model results will be used as part of the Public Charter School Board's Performance Management Framework, DC Public Schools' School Score Card, and OSSE will give the data to LEAs to inform their practice. DC has also adopted a common value added model for use in participating LEAs' teacher evaluations; and (4) Although funding is not scheduled to begin until Year 2 of the Race to the Top grant, Washington, DC has been a leader in implementing initiatives for turning around the lowest-achieving schools. During the reporting period, DCPS, its largest LEA, implemented plans for turnarounds in 21 of its most struggling schools, including significant staffing changes at six schools being reconstituted under the No Child Left Behind law. DC Public Schools also has a comprehensive screening process that produces high quality teachers and principals for all of their schools, many of which are low achieving. As it relates to Race to the Top activity, DC PS has defined needs and requirements for SY11-12, established a detailed turnaround plan and timeline for each school slated for turnaround, posted job requisitions for enhanced capacity, and identified potential vendors to support the work. [For the parent document, "Race to the Top Annual Performance Report," see ED529267. For the state summary report, "Race to the Top. District of Columbia Report. Year 1: School Year 2010-2011. [State-Specific Summary Report]," see ED529308.].

In Improbable Scholars, David L. Kirp challenges the conventional wisdom about public schools and education reform in America through an in-depth look at Union City, New Jersey's high-performing urban school district. In this compelling study, Kirp reveals Union's city's revolutionary secret: running an exemplary school system doesn't demand heroics, just hard and steady work.

Everyone wants: High schoolers to graduate well-prepared for jobs. Improved STEM literacy. Greater achievement for inner-city children. Happiness for all children. So why are liberals spending billions of dollars working against those goals? In Race to the Bottom, Luke Rosiak uncovers the shocking reason why American education is failing: Powerful special interest groups are using our kids as guinea pigs in vast ideological experiments. These groups’ initiatives aren’t focused on making children smarter—but on implementing a radical agenda, no matter the effect on academic standards. Nonprofits pump billions into initiatives meant to redress racial inequities. Rather than fixing the problem, districts with a big gap between white and black test scores hire consultants who claim the tests are meaningless because they are “racist.” These consultants’ judgments allow school districts to ignore their own failures—ultimately hurting minority students and perpetuating racism. That is just one example. Drawing on his years in investigative journalism, Rosiak did a deep dive into school files, financial records, and parents’ stories. What he found is that nonprofit influence has crept into the educational bureaucracy all over America. Corrupt school boards and quack diversity consultants abound. Teachers drawing government pay claim it’s unsafe to return to in-person school, but “double dip” teaching in-person private classes. And amid all this focus on money and equity, academic standards are crumbling, which hurts American kids in ways we’ll be suffering for decades. Race to the Bottom is the first comprehensive exposé of the way radical ideology and self-serving administrators are destroying academic quality in America’s K-12 schools. Rigorous and deeply-researched, this is essential reading for anyone who cares about the future of our kids.

Yong Zhao, a distinguished professor at Michigan State University who was born and raised in China, offers a compelling argument for what schools can--and must--do to meet the challenges and opportunities brought about by globalization and technology.

This book brings together and builds on the current research efforts on adaptation, conceptualization, and theorization of Lesson Study (LS). It synthesizes and illustrates major perspectives for theorizing LS and enriches the conceptualization of LS by interpreting the activity as it is used in Japan and China from historical and cultural perspectives. Presenting the practices and theories of LS with practicing teachers and prospective teachers in more than 10 countries, it enables the reader to take a comparative perspective. Finally, the book presents and discusses studies on key aspects of LS such as lesson planning, post-lesson discussion, guiding theories, connection between research and practice, and upscaling. Lesson Study, which has originated in Asia as a powerful effective professional development model, has spread globally. Although the positive effects of lesson study on teacher learning, student learning, and curriculum reforms have been widely documented, conceptualization of and research on LS have just begun to emerge. This book, including 38 chapters contributed by 90 scholars from 21 countries, presents a truly international collaboration on research on and adaptation of LS, and significantly advances the development of knowledge about this process. Chapter 15: "How Variance and Invariance Can Inform Teachers’ Enactment of Mathematics Lessons" of this book is available open access under a CC BY 4.0 license at link.springer.com Theory and Practice of Lesson Study in Mathematics: An International Perspective shows that the power of Lesson Study to transform the role of teachers in classroom research cannot be explained by a simple replication model. Here we see Lesson Study being successful internationally when its key principles and practices are taken seriously and are adapted to meet local issues and challenges. (Max Stephens, Senior research fellow at The University of Melbourne) It works. Instruction improves, learning improves. Wide scale? Enduring? Deep impact? Lesson study has it. When something works as well as lesson study does, while alternative systems for improving instruction fail, or only succeed on small scale or evaporate as quickly as they show promise, it is time to understand how and why lesson study works. This volume brings the research on lesson study together from around the world. Here is what we already know and here is the way forward for research and practice informed by research. It is time to wake up and pay attention to what has worked so well, on wide scale for so long. (Phil Dara, A leading author of the Common Core State Standards of Mathematics in the U.S.)

African American voters are a key demographic to the modern Democratic base, and conventional wisdom has it that there is political cost to racialized “dog whistles,” especially for Democratic candidates. However, politicians from both parties and from all racial backgrounds continually appeal to negative racial attitudes for political gain. Challenging what we think we know about race and politics, LaFleur Stephens-Dougan argues that candidates across the racial and political spectrum engage in “racial distancing,” or using negative racial appeals to communicate to racially moderate and conservative whites—the overwhelming majority of whites—that they will not disrupt the racial status quo. Race to the Bottom closely examines empirical data on racialized partisan stereotypes to show that engaging in racial distancing through political platforms that do not address the needs of nonwhite communities and charged rhetoric that targets African Americans, immigrants, and others can be politically advantageous. Racialized communication persists as a well-worn campaign strategy because it has real electoral value for both white and black politicians seeking to broaden their coalitions. Stephens-Dougan reveals that claims of racial progress have been overstated as our politicians are incentivized to employ racial prejudices at the expense of the most marginalized in our society.

Race to the Top (RTT), one of the Obama administration's signature programs and one of the largest federal government investments in an education grant program, received $4.35 billion in funding as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Through three rounds of competition in 2010 and 2011, RTT awarded grants to states that agreed to implement a range of education policies and practices designed to improve student outcomes. This document is the executive summary for the final report on RTT for the evaluation commissioned by the U.S. Department of Education to address the issues related to the RTT grants and the use of policies and practices promoted by RTT. Using 2013 interview data from all states, the study documents whether states that received an RTT grant used the policies and practices promoted by RTT and how that compares to non-grantee states. The report also examines whether receipt of an RTT grant was related to improvements in student outcomes. Findings show that 2010 RTT grantees reported using more policies and practices than non-grantees in four areas (standards and assessments, teachers and leaders, school turnaround, and charter schools), and 2011 RTT grantees reported using more in one area (teachers and leaders). However, the relationship between RTT and student outcomes was not clear, as trends in test scores could be plausibly interpreted as providing evidence of either a positive, negative, or null effect for RTT. [For the full report, "Race to the Top: Implementation and Relationship to Student Outcomes. NCEE 2017-4001," see ED569959.].