Lucas Westmaas
Research Analyst
Recent Publications by Lucas Westmaas
Publication
Results from a Two-Year Study of the Effects of Extended Learning Opportunities on Student Outcomes in New Hampshire
In 2005, New Hampshire shifted from “seat-time” requirements for grade-level advancement and graduation to a competency-based education system. The state subsequently required all local school districts to adopt and implement a competency-based assessment process and…
Publication
Blended Learning: Lessons from Best Practice Sites and the Philadelphia Context
The Philadelphia Education Research Consortium’s (PERC’s) inaugural project is centered on the emerging concept of Blended Learning. The first brief, published in September 2014, examines the research base, identifies a definition of this emerging concept,…
Publication
Blended Learning: Defining Models and Examining Conditions to Support Implementation
The Philadelphia Education Research Consortium’s (PERC’s) inaugural project is centered on the emerging concept of Blended Learning. This first brief, published in September 2014, examines the research base, identifies a definition of this emerging concept,…
Publication
Blended Learning: Lessons from Best Practice Sites and the Philadelphia Context
PERC research is produced through collaboration between researchers from Research for Action and the School District of Philadelphia’s Office of Research and Evaluation. For more information, please visit phledresearch.org. Over the course of the last…
Publication
Blended Learning: Defining Models and Examining Conditions to Support Implementation
PERC research is produced through collaboration between researchers from Research for Action and the School District of Philadelphia’s Office of Research and Evaluation. For more information, please visit phledresearch.org. This brief defines blended learning and…
Publication
Revisiting Cyber Charter School Performance
RFA’s updated cyber charter school analysis shows that cybers continue to lag far behind both traditional public and charter schools on the state’s performance measure, and average cyber performance trails behind the average performance of…
Publication
The Potential Effects of Opting Out of State Tests in Pennsylvania
Parents across the country have expressed frustration with standardized tests. This policy brief examines the degree to which student opt-outs might influence Pennsylvania’s new school rating system, the School Performance Profile (SPP), which relies heavily…
Publication
Pennsylvania’s School Performance Profile: Not the Sum of its Parts
Test-based accountability has been a primary feature of public school policy since 2001, when the No Child Left Behind Act required states to adopt annual assessment programs, identify sanctions for schools that did not meet…