American Institutes for Research

American Institutes for Research, a leading U.S. research firm, has been engaged in a previously funded project to determine if students in the Deeper Learning Network have (1) enjoyed more opportunities to engage in rich instructional activities, (2) developed stronger deeper learning skills, (3) performed better on state assessments, and (4) achieved better postsecondary outcomes than they would have in other schools. This supplemental grant would fund analyses of district data on teacher assignments and state test results, and strengthen a case study analysis, and associated reporting. This grant proposal supports the Program’s strategic goal of determining empirically if deeper learning instruction promotes greater postsecondary success.

American Institutes for Research, a leading U.S. research firm, has undertaken a study to consider whether students in the more than 400 schools in the Foundation’s Deeper Learning Network of model schools have more opportunities to engage in rich instructional activities, have developed stronger deeper learning skills, perform better on state assessments, and achieve better postsecondary outcomes than they would have in other schools. The study has three goals: (1) to assess the degree to which Network schools produce better student outcomes; (2) to describe school characteristics associated with deeper learning outcomes, scalability, and sustainability; and (3) to create an evidence base that policymakers can draw upon as they consider educational reform policies. With initial funding in 2011 and earlier in 2012, the Program is making the final request to the Board for this study, which will cost $4.9 million altogether.