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The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) videos are designed to support states, schools, and teachers in the implementation of the CCSS. Each video is an audiovisual resource that focuses on one specific standard through examples and illustrations geared to enhancing understanding. The intent of each content-focused video is to clarify the meaning of the individual standard rather than to be a guide on how to teach each standard, although the examples can be adapted for instructional use.

Rapid changes in technology and increased competition from industrialized nations have changed the landscape and meaning of college and career readiness. As part of a strategy to better prepare students, 31 states have implemented college- and career-readiness standards (CCRS), with 20 states also requiring that students complete high school graduation requirements that will make them college and career ready. This briefing paper provides details on the meaning of college- and career-readiness standards, effective implementation of these standards, next steps in the implementation process, and progress being made by state departments of education in the southeast region toward this crucial goal.

Time can be interpreted as a resource and, as such, the amount of time devoted to the education of children is often examined as a separate and central resource in the educational process (Baker, Fabrega, Galindo, & Mishook, 2004). However, despite its simplistic appearance, time in an educational setting is a complex issue. This is partially because the amount of time actually spent on instructional tasks and the efficiency of instruction are hard to determine—instructional time is dependent on its relationship to curriculum and instructional quality (Baker et al., 2004). However, discussions regarding education and the notion of time typically gravitate toward a focus on the school year and on the school day, and it is from this perspective that the concept is examined.

This issue of FOCUS describes a systematic review that was conducted to address a critically important research question about cultural competency by taking stock of the current literature and evidence. The review examined whether cultural competency interventions improve rehabilitation outcomes for ethnically and linguistically diverse individuals with disabilities, and if so, for whom and under what conditions.

This issue of FOCUS describes the results from a series of comparative case studies exploring how selected national organizations, representing different stakeholder groups, can play an important role in communicating new research findings to diverse audiences. Knowledge value mapping helps understand the context of each organization’s mission and the interests of their members.

This issue of FOCUS discusses external validity and what rehabilitation researchers can do to help practitioners answer the question “How far can we generalize this finding–– is it applicable to other clients/ patients, with different characteristics, in dissimilar settings treated by other clinicians?,” which clinicians and other practitioners ask whenever researchers publish evidence in support of a new or revised intervention.

Effectively meeting the needs of an increasingly diverse population of students presents challenges for educators across the United States, including the Texas and Southeast Comprehensive Center regions. To support ever more rigorous achievement expectations, educators need to provide flexible, accessible curricula that give students’ multiple pathways to success and secure opportunities for all children.

A state department of education served by Southeast Comprehensive Center requested information on flex quarter schedules and extended school years, specifically strategies, strengths and weaknesses, and examples of states that have implemented these initiatives.

To expand learning opportunities for students, a number of states are considering initiatives such as flex quarter schedules and extended school years. According to Gewertz (2009), “A study for the Center for American Progress found that more than 300 initiatives to extend learning time were launched between 1991 and 2007 in high-poverty and high-minority schools in 30 states.” He adds that, “A compilation of extended-day activity at the state level by the Education Commission of the States found more than 50 efforts since 2000.”

Flex quarter schedules and extended school years are just two among many initiatives (i.e., extended school day, afterschool, summer learning, etc.) that various states are considering or implementing to potentially have a positive impact on student learning and achievement (Farbman, 2010; Harris & Princiotta, 2009). Refer to Appendix, Table 1. Use of Flex Quarter Schedules (FQS) and Extended School Years (ESY) for detailed information on strategies and state implementation of these initiatives.

This resource was developed in response to a request for information regarding the use of the My Math Lab project and similar math software programs (i.e., Plato, Aleks, Math in Focus, and others), and information on the effectiveness of math software programs in practice. In response to this request, staff conducted web-based and hand searches of literature and other resources to obtain information on the topic. The staff selected for inclusion in this report mathematics software products based on the following criteria: Specific products that were requested by the client, products with studies available that were evaluated in accordance with the What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) evidence review protocol for elementary school mathematics interventions (WWC, 2009d) and evidence review protocol for middle school mathematics interventions (WWC, 2009e), and products for which studies have been published in peer-reviewed journals and in other publications.

In this edition of the Southeast Comprehensive Center (SECC) eBulletin we highlight data on high school graduation rates.

Becoming a parent, at any age, can be a life-altering experience. Regardless of race, education, and socio-economic status, motherhood—and fatherhood—uniformly places demands on one’s life that were non-existent prior to the birth of a child. When school-aged students become parents, the new responsibilities can be overwhelming. For teenage parents who lack support from their own parents, this experience can be even more daunting as they seek support in adult-oriented systems, which even older parents may find challenging.

This brief addresses the question: What research or promising practices should an individual district or a cooperative among several districts consider with regard to the establishment of an alternative high school in a rural area?

The Early Warning Data System (EWDS) Tool was originally developed to calculate automatically the high-yield indicators related to dropout. The tool tracks research-based ninth-grade indicators related to high school dropout, such as attendance and academics, and automatically flags students who are below the specified benchmarks leading to graduation. It provides leading indicators so that school staff can quickly review data and plan interventions as early as 20 to 30 days after the beginning of the school year. Additional data points are incorporated at each grading period and at the end of the year to allow for intervention planning for summer or the beginning of the following year.

This FOCUS is adapted from Dr. Angela Harden's presentation at the "National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR) Knowledge Translation Conference," held July 29, 2009, in Washington, DC. Widely known for her methodological work integrating qualitative research into systematic reviews, she is an active contributor to the Cochrane and Campbell Collaborations and has a keen interest in research synthesis and knowledge translation. She has conducted extensive research into the health of young people and the communities in which they live.

This FOCUS presents a framework for integrating two distinct processes: knowledge translation (KT) and technology transfer (TT). The integration permits stakeholders involved in technology-based research and development activities to identify and coordinate their respective roles, and to optimize the eventual use of research by industry for production purposes.

This edition of FOCUS, authored by Marcel P. J. M. Dijkers, PhD, offers low-cost and no-cost steps that rehabilitation researchers can take to strengthen the quality of their evidence and, thereby, the likelihood of their work receiving a high evidence grade and being included in systematic reviews.

This edition of FOCUS presents the Need to Knowledge (NtK) Model for new product development. The model was designed to encompass all activities from inception of a project through post-launch evaluation to paint a complete picture of the research, development, and production processes. This technical brief explains the details related to the model’s stages and gates, while also introducing four specific opportunities to employ knowledge translation techniques.

This issue of FOCUS provides a brief overview of The Cochrane Collaboration and highlights entities and resources of the Collaboration that can assist disability and rehabilitation researchers and knowledge users in their knowledge translation efforts.

This issue of FOCUS provides examples of how technology-focused grantees funded by NIDRR can embed knowledge translation efforts throughout the technology transfer process, and describes the Product Utilization Support and Help (PUSH) Award.

The U.S. Department of Education convened this forum on November 9, 2010 to provide an opportunity for stakeholders representing families, communities, federal agencies, government, philanthropy, practitioners at all levels of the educational system, and support organizations to develop a policy strategy that fosters systemic, integrated, and sustained family and community engagement that connects to student learning. Effective family and community engagement emphasizes shared responsibility and opportunities to support children’s learning from cradle to career in the home, school, and community. This forum will help inform new directions for policies and identify federal, state, and local strategies that can drive these opportunities.