Making the Case: Compelling Data
This growing library features data points describing the impacts and outcomes of student-centered and competency-based teaching and learning. The data are sourced from research studies, evaluation reports and journal articles, as well as evidence collected directly by classroom, school, district and state leaders.
Support the growing field of student-centered learning. Submit data from your research study, district or school.
Add Data to Your Presentations
Project-Based Science Increases Scores in Math
A study of a middle school project-based science curriculum showed on average students performed higher than a matched comparison group on state math assessments by 12 percentage points in year two and 18 percentage points in year three.
Student-centered Instruction Builds Feelings of College Readiness
Students at three student-centered, career-focused schools reported development of personal and social skills needed for career and college-readiness. Of 17 students interviewed, 15 (88%) noted instructional practices like advisory, autobiography writing and presentations fostered the self-awareness, confidence and communication needed for college.
Internships Boost Students’ Confidence in Interpersonal Skills
In interviews at three student-centered schools, 14 of 17 students reported growth in interpersonal skills like communication and social networking, needed for college and career-readiness.
California Charters Decrease Disparities in Academic Growth
A study of charter schools identified Envision Schools, a network of three CA schools committed to performance assessment, as “busting the gap.” Average student achievement exceeds state averages overall. Black, Hispanic, English language learners and students in poverty show yearly growth the same or stronger than peers at the same school.
Student-Centered SEL Assessment Supports Skill Development
In a qualitative study in California, when social-emotional learning (SEL) assessment was formative and authentically embedded in classroom learning activities, both students and teachers reported the assessment measures were accurate and valuable tools to build deeper learning, self-awareness and positive relationships.
SEL Assessments Rated More Valuable When Done with Peers
A qualitative study piloting social-emotional learning (SEL) assessments in six California schools found when SEL reflections had an authentic purpose and were completed with a peer, students were more likely to report the measure was authentic and meaningful, compared to reflections completed alone.
Student-Centered Elements Boost Learning Value of Assessments
Focus group and interview data from a study piloting social-emotional learning (SEL) measures in six California schools found when SEL assessment is designed in a way that empowers student voice and choice in evidence of learning or demonstration of learning, they are more likely to report the measures are meaningful and useful.
Individualized Professional Development Sparks Change
Upstream Collaborative is a network of alternative schools in CA and WA working with Big Picture Learning on shifting to a personalized, interest-based approach. In a 2020 qualitative study, all coaches reported listening was key to offer unique advice and build relationships and modeling through individualized PD increased the pace of change.
Personalized Learning Grows Self-awareness
A small study found personalized learning promoted self-awareness in middle school students, a key social-emotional learning skill. Learner preference was the most frequently mentioned type of self-awareness in the qualitative data. Students became more aware of topics they were interested in, how they liked to learn and what motivated them.
Project-based Learning Builds Creativity and Entrepreneurship Competency
A qualitative study of a maker program in Hong Kong focused on real-world problem solving found the school's approach led to increases in 4 dimensions of creativity (novelty, utility, aesthetics and authenticity) and 3 areas of entrepreneurship (ideas and opportunities, resources and action).
Self-efficacy Impacts Performance
In a study of 400 German high school students, learners’ expectations of self-efficacy (belief in their ability to succeed), positively predicted their drawing quality and performance in solving real-world geometry problems.
Personalized Math Program Builds Skills
In a randomized control study of a supplemental mastery-based personalized math learning program, kindergarten students from 20 California classrooms, in which 100% of students qualified for free and reduced lunch, outperformed the control group on the Test of Early Mathematics Ability by 5.71 percentage points after using the program for 5 hours.