Search

This chartbook is the 14th version to be produced for the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) by the Population Reference Bureau (PRB). The Chartbook describes the diversity of the Appalachian Region on a host of demographic and economic measures and provides an important annual view of the area and its people. The data contained in the 2018-2022 Chartbook describe how residents in the Appalachian Region were faring before and during the COVID-19 pandemic that began in March 2020. Nearly half of the years during this time period were pre-pandemic and half were during the pandemic era. Thus, this Chartbook is a blend of these two eras. As future data releases reflect the post-pandemic era, data users will have additional insights on the long-term changes that the pandemic brought to Appalachia's social and economic dynamics. Most of the data shown here come from the 2018-2022 American Community Survey (ACS), a nationwide study collected continuously every year in every county in the United States by the U.S. Census Bureau. The ACS is designed to provide communities with reliable and timely demographic, social, economic, and housing data each year. To provide as much county-level data as possible, we use ACS 5-year data files which provide reliable estimates for geographic areas with fewer than 20,000 people. Since many counties in the Appalachian Region have fewer than 20,000 residents, these data permit comparable statistics for all 423 counties in the Region. The primary purpose of the ACS is to measure the changing characteristics of the U.S. population in a way that is continually updated. The estimates in this Chartbook, therefore, are data collected over the five-year (or 60-month) period from January 2018 through December 2022. These ACS estimates are not averages of monthly or annual values, but rather an aggregation of data collected continuously over that time period.

We investigate the beginning of the school discipline pipeline using a reform in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools that limited the use of out-of-school suspension for students in grades K-2. We find that the reform reduced the likelihood of out-of-school suspension by 1.4 percentage points (56%) and had precise null effects on test scores and disciplinary infractions. This leads us to reject a key argument in favor of early-grade suspensions: namely, that early-grade suspensions improve classroom-level outcomes. For high-risk students, we find short-run increases in test scores that persist into third grade. The reform reduced the Black-white out-of-school suspension gap by 79%. [Author Sarah Komisarow received funding from the Duke University Office of the Provost for this work.]

May 17, 2024 marks the 70th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education, the landmark Supreme Court decision that ruled segregated schools were "inherently unequal." At the time, North Carolina was one of 17 states that enforced de jure segregation, that is, segregation by law. The state of North Carolina and the school districts within the state have played prominent roles in our nation's history of school desegregation. North Carolina's public school enrollment is increasingly multiracial, and the expansion of school choice means that a growing share of students attends charters and private schools, both of which tend to be more segregated than traditional public schools. On the cusp of this important anniversary, the authors assess where North Carolina schools are now in terms of school desegregation, as segregated schools are systematically linked to unequal educational opportunities and outcomes, while desegregated schools are associated with numerous short-term, long-term, academic, and nonacademic outcomes for individuals and society.

This paper investigates how teachers learn about race in the school context, with a particular focus on teachers' development of racial competency. Using in-depth, semi-structured interviews we find that teachers learn through three sources: from their peers, from years of experience, and from teacher preparation and in-service experiences. Furthermore, we find that learning occurs both informally and formally and that these sources of learning are moderated by three contextual factors: career status, school culture, and out-of-school factors We find that teachers rely most on informal avenues and encounters to develop racial competency.

This Postsecondary Teaching with Technology Collaborative (the Collaborative) report examines how faculty and staff at seven community colleges and two broad-access universities reconsidered students' online learning needs in the midst of the pandemic. The report focuses on a set of interconnected student mindsets and competencies that the authors call self-directed learning (SDL) skills; in their framing, SDL skills include motivational processes (e.g., building self-efficacy and sense of belonging), metacognitive processes (e.g., identifying and adjusting learning strategies and reflecting), and applied learning processes (e.g., managing time and seeking help). The authors explore whether and how the colleges offered supports for students to strengthen their SDL skills and the extent to which SDL skill supports were offered within online courses versus outside of class. Findings from interview data and secondary sources show that most institutions made changes to improve conditions for online teaching and learning, including improved use of learning management systems, increased professional development for instructors, improved physical technology infrastructure and expanded software licenses, and the development of student-facing online orientation materials. At the same time, increased use of online courses continued to present challenges, including poorer student performance in online course sections, lack of meaningful communication and engagement, lower likelihood for online students to seek help when they need it, and increased demands for students to apply SDL skills such as time and task management. Moreover, many SDL supports occurred at the institution level and therefore were not tailored to particular content areas or course types. These supports provided students with valuable and needed resources to help them succeed in college but also had some limitations. Finally, while most faculty and staff the authors interviewed expressed that SDL skills are important and should be supported by the institution, explicit instructional support for SDL skills inside classrooms appeared to be limited and uneven; faculty may not know how to teach these skills, may not think that they have the time or resources to do so, or may not see it as their responsibility. The report concludes with three recommendations for institutions to promote SDL skill development. "Teaching and Designing Online STEM Courses to Support Self-Directed Learning Skills" which focuses on teaching and designing online STEM courses to support SDL skills is a collaborative report.

This is the technical appendix for the report "From Insights to Impact: Fostering Innovation through Texas" which examines the current national landscape of higher education research and development to help gauge Texas' current position and identify opportunities to drive further innovations into the future. This appendix includes the following sections: (1) Maintaining Texas' Edge; (2) From Roadmap to Reality; (3) Texas' Competitive Position; (4) Technology Transfer Landscape; and (5) Amplifying the Impact. [This report was produced with TIP Strategies, Inc. and Research Bridge Partners.]

English learners (ELs) are one of the fastest-growing student groups in the U.S. K-12 system, making up about one in 10 students enrolled in public schools nationwide. Despite research showing that EL students need more resources and supports to be successful in school, funding at the federal, state, and local levels to provide those additional resources is largely inadequate and not well targeted to students' needs. This brief addresses the following questions: (1) Why is funding for EL students important? (2) What characteristics in the EL population are important to consider in funding systems? and (3) How are programs and services for EL students currently funded?

Despite increased attention to racial disparities in health, wellbeing, and academic outcomes--especially for Black, Latine, and Native American children and children from low-income households--little progress has been made in identifying the root causes of those disparities and, more importantly, identifying equitable policies and strategies to mitigate centuries of oppression and systemic inequities. There is a need to ensure that policies are developed with a racial equity and economic justice lens to activate and support transformation during children's early years, especially for those populations that have been historically marginalized and underrepresented. For this report, researchers conducted a landscape analyses and engaged with grassroots and grasstops early education partners to identify policies and strategies that show effect or promise in mitigating racial and economic disparities in early care and education (ECE). The research also focused on how policies can be more effectively enacted and implemented to advance equity. Its findings are presented in three core sections: (1) Child Opportunity Index (COI); (2) Disproportionality Analyses; and (3) Voices from the ECE Field. [The report was funded by the Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina Foundation.]

This report examines state portraits of a graduate and how state strategies for development and implementation can support future readiness. It also provides recommendations for state education agencies to consider to lift up the importance and visibility of these portraits. Several states have begun the process of developing a "portrait" or "profile of a graduate," which is a holistic look at the skills and competencies students need to master to thrive in work, postsecondary educational opportunities, community, and their personal lives. To better understand how states are utilizing the portrait of a graduate to prepare students for career and college, we conducted a scan of all 50 states to see which states had developed state-wide portraits of a graduate or visions of a high school graduate. The results inform the findings and recommendations of this report, including the skills states are highlighting as essential for students' future success and how states are making this vision actionable in service of cultivating future-ready graduates. As this review indicates, states are keenly aware that today's students will be called on to meet the growing challenges of the 21st century, as among the top skills are critical thinking and problem- solving, social awareness skills, and being an active citizen. Moreover, states deeply understand it is necessary to develop students' social and emotional skills and competencies. This report delves deeper into how states are implementing their portrait of a graduate to help students meet these expectations.

This report delves into the cost and effectiveness of the ASSISTments program as an online math support tool. Aiming to replicate previous findings, the study focused on the impact of ASSISTments on student learning in seventh-grade classrooms. The report outlines the study's objectives, setting, and participants alongside the study design, methods, and intervention details. Additionally, it investigates the effectiveness of ASSISTments and the data collection process for cost analysis. The pricing of "ingredients" used in the program's implementation is also discussed, and the cost-effectiveness ratio findings are presented. Overall, this comprehensive analysis provides significant insights into the costs of implementing technology-based programs like ASSISTments and their potential impact on student learning outcomes.

Automatic enrollment is a straightforward education reform that facilitates both educational excellence and equity in K-12 schools. By automatically placing highly qualified students in advanced coursework, this low-cost, bi-partisan strategy creates opportunities for high achievement for all students, with low-income, rural and small town, and underrepresented minority students especially appearing to benefit.

Teachers are the most important school-related factor impacting students' academic outcomes. To meet the needs and potential of all students, North Carolina must be able to recruit and retain high-quality teachers. North Carolina continues to experience challenges with vacancies and positions filled with teachers who are not fully certified in nearly all grade levels and subject areas. This report aims at identifying and amplifying actionable and replicable models for recruiting, preparing and retaining a diverse, highly effective educator workforce in North Carolina. This report was created with the input of the initial cohort of the North Carolina Educator Pipeline Collaborative which includes school districts, universities, and community colleges working in partnership to strengthen the educator pipeline in their communities.

The Independent Transfer Pathways in North Carolina Project served as a catalyst in forging a culture of cooperation between community colleges and independent colleges and universities in North Carolina by creating a unique opportunity to bridge the gap between the two systems. The project focused on developing discipline-specific articulation agreements, exploring financial aid options, and identifying best practices for advising. The partner campuses worked together to create a "culture of transfer" to ensure that students receive the most comprehensive information and are carefully advised from their first year at a two-year college until graduation with a bachelor's degree and to provide transfer students additional opportunities to seamlessly pursue higher education at a small to mid-sized independent college or university. The Independent Transfer Pathways Project highlights the value and effectiveness of collaboration across departments and across sectors to support community college transfer students in enrolling at and earning a bachelor's degree from four-year institutions. By bringing together and forging relationships among an enthusiastic and dedicated community of senior leaders, deans, faculty, and staff from community colleges and independent four-year institutions across North Carolina, the Independent Transfer Pathways Project greatly enhanced efforts to remove obstacles that reduce historical effectiveness with the transfer student population.

In 2023, charter school advocates continued to make legislative gains in statehouses across the country. These gains were made in red, blue, and purple states, oftentimes in ways that showed bipartisan support for charter schools remains firmly in place. In looking at the results of this year's legislative sessions across the country, four developments in particular stand out. First, in perhaps the biggest win this year, Montana became the 46th state to enact a charter school law. Second, charter school advocates notched an unusually large number of major wins on funding and facilities legislation, with especially significant progress in Ohio, Indiana, Wisconsin, Colorado, and Wyoming. Third, charter school supporters opened the door to new types of authorizers in several states, including in Montana (new state authorizer), Nevada (cities and counties), North Carolina (new state authorizer), Oklahoma (new state authorizer, more types of universities, and accredited private institutions of higher learning), Utah (private institutions of higher education), and Wyoming (new state authorizer). Fourth, charter school supporters successfully played successful defense on anti-charter school efforts in several states, with three of the most notable defensive victories in blue states. In New Mexico, the Senate Education Committee voted down a charter school moratorium bill that was proposed by the Senate President Pro Tempore by a 7-1 margin. The bill would not have allowed any more charter schools in school districts where 20% of the students already attend a charter school. In California, Governor Newsom vetoed a bill that would have made harmful changes to the Charter School Facility Grant program and unnecessarily raise facilities cost for charter schools that want to establish or expand in low-income communities across the state. In Michigan, the legislature reversed a 20% cut to the funding of virtual charter schools proposed by the governor and instead level funded these schools. This report provides highlights from this year's state legislative activity across the country, organized into the following categories: funding and facilities, authorizing and accountability, other issues, no law states, and harmful legislation.

At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, home visiting programs were faced with an unprecedented challenge: How do you deliver home visiting services without visiting homes? One home visiting model--Child First--quickly pivoted to telehealth, offering caregivers the option to receive services virtually. Child First has since resumed delivering services primarily in person, but some pandemic-driven implementation changes remain. To understand the impact of the pandemic on the Child First model, the study team conducted surveys and interviews with Child First staff members, and interviews with caregivers who received Child First services, to answer the following research questions: (1) To what extent did the implementation of Child First services change since the start of the pandemic?; (2) How did Child First staff members report implementing core components of the model since the pandemic began?; and (3) How did Child First caregivers report on Child First services that they received since the pandemic began? Overall, the study team found that the implementation of the Child First model following the first three years of the pandemic remains largely consistent with pre-pandemic implementation, despite the unique challenges to home visiting posed by the pandemic.

While multiple studies have examined the impact of school turnaround, less is known about reforms under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). To advance this literature, we examine North Carolina's Restart (NCR) model. NCR aligns with ESSA by giving school leaders increased flexibility. Also, NCR differs from previous turnaround models by repackaging a traditionally sanction-based approach to instead motivate school leaders with increased autonomy. Using comparative interrupted time series models, we find positive NCR effects in math, but not in English Language Arts or on non-test-based student outcomes. Also, nearly a quarter of the positive NCR effect can be explained by decreased teacher and principal turnover. These results provide evidence to support current shifts toward reform models featuring local autonomy.

The resources that federal financial aid, state financial aid, and federal public benefits programs provide, when they operate effectively, are critical to older students and students with children. This report seeks to shed light on how these programs are functioning by analyzing data and policies across four states--Colorado, Missouri, North Carolina, and Texas. We analyzed the designs of student financial aid programs to see how many state financial aid resources older students and student parents receive. We chose these states as test cases because they had state representative data in the 2018 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study, a survey administered by the U.S. Department of Education, and they were geographically, politically, and demographically diverse. In addition to examining financial aid programs, we also looked at states' public benefit program designs and policies and we conducted focus groups with older students and student parents in each state. This additional analysis provides a view of what it is like to rely on the system meant to support students to and through college, where it is falling short, and why. We found that Colorado, while far from perfect, designed its financial aid and safety net programs to provide the most robust support for adult and parenting students to enroll in and attend its institutions of higher education. Missouri and Texas provided the weakest support. North Carolina fell somewhere in the middle. We end this report by suggesting several recommendations for policymakers and stakeholders looking to design or reform state financial aid and safety net programs. Within budget constraints, they should adjust eligibility criteria for state aid programs so older students and student parents have the same access to grant programs as students leaving high school. Where states have flexibility in administering federal public benefit programs, they should use that flexibility to ease eligibility criteria and expand access. And they should communicate opportunities and fund supports to help older students and student parents to go to college and access public benefits.

Recent state legislative developments have brought accreditation to the forefront of public higher education conversations. Some accreditation critics state that accreditors have too much influence in higher education suggesting that their efforts may affect institutional autonomy and that they are allegedly structured as legalized monopolies answering to no one (Gillen et al., 2010). There are similar allegations from individuals who, for example, oppose issues focused on critical race theory and diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. This has led to some individuals referencing accreditors as agents of the progressive or "woke" movement to influence or conform colleges to a certain ideology. Some have even begun an effort to "de-accredit the accreditors." In this paper, Kathleen Rzucidlo discusses the recognition of accrediting organizations by Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) and US Department of Education (ED), recent legislation relative to accrediting organizations, and the potential impact of this legislation on not only accredited institutions but students and taxpayers as well.

Ample research investigates returns to teacher preparation and other instructional inputs for the general student population, yet evidence is lacking for students with disabilities (SWDs). This study uses North Carolina data to estimate achievement returns to teacher preparation by classroom type and level of classroom support for SWDs. I find that SWDs perform better when placed in inclusive classrooms and when these classrooms have co-teachers. Regardless of classroom type, SWDs benefit from more experienced teachers, but only gain from special education certified teachers in certain classroom configurations. These results indicate that education leaders can optimize resource allocation by minimizing separate classrooms for SWDs, relaxing special education certification requirements, and investing in an experienced teacher workforce with support from co-teachers.

The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) began a new wave of school accountability under which states draw on multiple measures to assess school quality. States have options in terms of how to weight components in their school quality indices and how many years of data to use to determine school ratings. In this study, we simulate school ratings using eight years of administrative data in North Carolina to demonstrate how state decisions about school ratings and identification influence school ratings and the list of schools identified for improvement. We then evaluate these decisions against a framework that considers the validity, stability, and equity of the ratings, underscoring the inherent tradeoffs that come with each. We show that while a system that weights proficiency more heavily than growth produces more stable school ratings, identifying schools based on multiple years of performance data instead of one more than offsets the loss of stability in shifting to a growth measure. We conclude with recommendations for state accountability systems under ESSA and for federal policymaking moving forward.

Implementation of ESA programs will not be easy. The ESA model is novel and foreign to most state education agencies, which have little to no experience with helping families purchase a wide variety of educational goods and services using government funds. Even if agencies had the relevant experience, ESA programs are complex, involving millions of individual transactions as thousands of families make purchases from thousands of schools and other education providers. EdChoice developed this guide to help state agencies succeed as they roll out ESA programs. EdChoice's goal is to ensure that ESA programs achieve their purpose: to empower families to choose the best education for their children.

Strong, well-prepared school leaders are a well-known lever for improving student achievement and retaining teachers, but principal retention has received less attention even as principals are leaving at worrying rates. State leaders can help develop strong principals in their states by investing in evidence-based professional learning opportunities for current and future leaders, as Missouri, Delaware, and North Carolina have done. Their experiences highlight how statewide learning academies, mentorships, and peer-to-peer supports strengthen the principal pipeline and, in turn, build an effective educator workforce.

The growth of homeschooling from a somewhat fringe movement during the 1970s and 1980s to a more widespread and socially accepted approach in recent decades has provided a strong foundation of flexible learning models. When Florida's school choice expansion, House Bill 1, was introduced in January 2023, one of its goals was to allow more homeschoolers to participate in the education savings account (ESA) program. But many homeschoolers and homeschool advocacy groups balked at the proposal. Having worked hard to achieve independence, they were loath to be linked to government funding. Even if the program were optional, they feared that associated regulations would eventually extend to traditional homeschoolers. In the end, the bill passed with new language that satisfied traditional homeschoolers by creating a new option for parents to educate their children at home. As states continue to enact and expand education savings accounts, Colleen Hroncich argues that it is crucial that policymakers craft bills in a way that maximizes freedom and minimizes roadblocks.

The Wake County Public School System's AIG 2019-22 Plan is designed to meet the academic, intellectual, social, and emotional needs of gifted and advanced learners with a focus on providing equitable access to AIG programming. To examine progress towards achieving the plan's goals, a descriptive study utilizing a variety of data sources was conducted. Emerging results from the District Nomination Local Norming Process are promising in addressing equitable access to AIG programming. Black/African American and Hispanic/Latino students were among the largest racial/ethnic subgroups nominated through this process. The goal of a 10% increase in underrepresented students identified was mostly achieved, but a similar goal for referred students was not. Related to comprehensive programming, the Talent Development (TD) program was also rolled out with 4th- through 6th-grade students. Specific to differentiated curriculum and instruction, the K-2 Science Nurturing Project lessons were completed and posted; however, teacher-reported usage was low. While Advanced Learning Services (ALS) and Academics staff planned for new math and English Language Arts (ELA) lessons for AIG and TD students in grades 3-8, these lessons were not created. Although the AIG 2019-22 Plan was not fully realized, there was a slight improvement in academic results. Seventy-nine percent of schools with an AIG subgroup met or exceeded expected growth for AIG students in grades 3-8 which represented an improvement from baseline. Demonstrated growth may be credited to the AIG processes and procedures already in place prior to the AIG 2019-22 Plan. Recommendations for improvement include: 1) fully implementing the District Nomination Local Norming Process, 2) consistently tracking the three nomination processes and TD students in a central database, 3) exploring the dissemination of the K-2 Science Nurturing Project lessons, 4) continuing cross-departmental collaboration to address 3rd-8th grade math and ELA instructional expectations and lessons, and 5) gathering experiential feedback from AIG and TD students and parents.

Higher education serves many purposes. One purpose dominates, however: to students, their parents, future employers, government officials, and many academic administrators, higher education is all about preparing students for the professional workforce. Other requirements, such as general education programs, are considered to be of lesser importance. In many cases, they are designed solely to support the primary goal of training professionals, providing generalized skills that can be translated to many professions. Yet treating general education programs as secondary constitutes a great loss of opportunity, as well-designed programs have the potential to help students become better citizens, deeper thinkers, and more moral people. In this report, the author explores actual learning processes at a primary level and shows why a tightly crafted general education that deliberately connects various types of knowledge and learning is vastly superior to one that that allows students wide latitude to choose among unconnected courses that may appear to be interesting at the time but offer little long-term insight. And is also preferable to one that attempts to teach skills without bothering with the content involved. This report should be read--and acted upon--by all policymakers, administrators, and academics who are truly concerned with the quality of education that colleges and universities provide.

States must adopt an equity-focused approach to transfer policies to address racial equity gaps and make progress toward attainment goals in postsecondary education. State higher education agencies should assess transfer performance based on race and income and establish standards for creating equitable transfer policies. To support state and system-level improvements in transfer outcomes, State Higher Education Executive Officers (SHEEO) launched the State Transfer Policy Standards Project. SHEEO and the Gardner Institute worked with four states--Colorado, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Washington--on an intensive self-study process. These states were chosen for their diverse student populations, institutional types, and governance models. The central goal of the self-study process was to assess how well transfer systems within those states were working for students of color and low-income students. Findings from the self-study were used to develop action plans to create more efficient and equitable transfer systems within the state. To facilitate this process, SHEEO drew upon its models for working with state teams and providing technical assistance and implementation support; the Gardner Institute adapted the Foundations of Excellence Transfer process to provide valuable insights at the state level. [This project was in partnership with the John N. Gardner Institute for Excellence in Undergraduate Education (Gardner Institute).]

We document that recent generations of elementary school teachers are significantly more effective in raising student test scores than those from earlier generations. Measuring teachers' value-added for Black and white students separately, the improvements in teaching for Black students are significantly larger than those seen for white students. The race-specific improvements in teacher quality are driven by white teachers. Analyses of mechanisms suggest that changing teachers' biases may be one potential channel. Our results suggest reason for optimism since these teacher quality differences should lead to improved student learning and a narrowing of the Black-white test score gap over time.

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) helps people with low incomes avoid hunger and afford food. It stimulates the economy, improves individuals' success at school and work, and promotes better health. SNAP's Employment and Training (E&T) program is designed to assist participants in gaining skills, training, or work experience that helps them obtain regular employment. States operate these programs and have flexibility in the services they provide, who receives them, and the entities that deliver these services. However, SNAP E&T has onerous restrictions and entrenched biases that most hurt communities of color. Several policies are rooted in racism and classism. By perpetuating systems of oppression, SNAP E&T pushes critical nutrition aid out of reach. These obstacles keep the program from serving as a supportive pathway to opportunity. In this report, we analyze these challenges and offer recommendations to advance racial equity within SNAP E&T and make it function more effectively.

In 2013, the North Carolina General Assembly (NCGA) passed its first private school voucher legislation with the introduction of the Opportunity Scholarship Program. The program was designed to provide private school tuition assistance to income-eligible families who chose to withdraw their child from public school and it represents a significant investment of taxpayer dollars to support private and parochial schools. This brief describes the proposed expansion of the program by the NCGA which would eliminate income requirements to receive vouchers, making all students, including those from wealthy families and those who are already attending private schools, eligible to receive public funds to subsidize tuition at private schools. The Public School Forum of North Carolina provides policy recommendations to bring accountability and transparency for private schools receiving public funds.

Reading Horizons partnered with LearnPlatform by Instructure to investigate the relationship between teacher implementation of Reading Horizons Discovery (RHD) and student literacy outcomes. The study involved 83 educators and 1,242 students across seven elementary schools in North Carolina during the 2022-23 school year. Researchers used mCLASS assessment scores (i.e., DIBELS Composite, phonemic awareness, letter sounds, decoding) to measure literacy achievement. Findings indicate that increased participation in RHD-facilitated professional learning correlated with higher spring literacy achievement in kindergarten and second grades. Furthermore, teachers who used more RHD core components reported greater teaching effectiveness. There were mixed relationships between the use of RHD core components and student literacy achievement. The current study offers promising results on the influence of RHD, with future studies ongoing in different contexts using correlational and quasi-experimental designs. [This report was prepared for Reading Horizons by LearnPlatform by Instructure.]