Publications

Historically, urban high schools have proven to be the most challenging educational institutions in which to affect lasting reform. Yet policymakers and practitioners in Massachusetts have had insufficient evidence to guide their decision making on the conditions that work to improve student achievement at this level. This report explores this critical issue and generates discussion around possible strategies for leveraging best practices used in Massachusetts urban high schools that are improving.

This guide details the fundamental characteristics of the young adolescent learner and explains how Turning Points schools work to meet the needs of these students.

This Turning Points guide offers researched based tools and strategies for helping schools, teachers, families, and communities partner to deepen student learning and engagement.

This guide describes how schools can use the Turning Points benchmarks to access their implementation of the model, and includes detailed benchmarks for the six Turning Points practices.

This report provides evidence and examples that effective implementation of autonomies in schools with clear visions for teaching and learning creates schools in which students have a better chance of succeeding.

This guide provides a framework for developing a comprehensive approach to literacy in middle schools that is embedded across the curriculum.

This Turning Points guide addresses structural issues such as establishing small learning communities, and includes concrete examples of structures and processes explaining how these can be adapted to meet the needs of individual schools.