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These projects use existing data and research to generate a publication that informs questions of high priority for educators in the Southeast region. These projects are intended as quick turnaround responses to identified questions or topics. The briefs will be completed in 12 months or less. Each year, new projects will be identified through marketing research, regional needs assessments, and technical assistance and training. The U.S. Department of Education reviews and approves all Fast Response Projects.

A Review Of Methods and Instruments Used In State and Local School Readiness Evaluation
- This report provides detailed information about the methods and instruments used to evaluate school readiness initiatives, discusses important considerations in selecting instruments, and provides resources and recommendations that may be helpful to those who are designing and implementing school readiness evaluations.
  A pdf of the document is available on-line at: IES.ED.GOV_NECC_REL_Southeast

Evidence-Based Decision Making: Assessing Reading Across the Curriculum Interventions
- This publication provides a concise summary on seven interventions that have been used in various contexts:
  1. Read About
  2. Reading in the Content Areas
  3. Concept-Oriented Reading Instruction (CORI)
  4. CReating Independence through Student-Owned Strategies (CRISS)
  5. Reading Apprenticeship
  6. Literacy First
  7. Strategic Instruction Model-Content Literacy Continuum (SIM-CLC)
  Included in the summary is the evidence base on each intervention (research base and impact) and practical guidance for framing the decision-making process.
  A pdf of the document is available on-line at: IES_ED_GOV_NECC_/REL_Southeast
Levers For Change: Southeast Region State Initiatives To Improve High Schools
- This descriptive report aims to stimulate discussion about high school reform among Southeast Region states. The report groups recent state activities in high school reform into six "levers for change." To encourage critical reflection, the report places the reform discussion in the context of an evidence-based decision making process and provides sample research on reform activities.
  A pdf of the document is available on-line at: IES.ED.GOV_NECC_REL_Southeast
Analysis of State Policies and Procedures and District Implementation Practices Related to Response to Intervention (RtI)
- IDEA 2004 endorsed Response to Intervention (RtI) and similar tiered intervention approaches as a strategy to provide high quality instruction matched to student need and determine in the process whether a student has a specific learning disability. To inform states’ current formulation of RtI-related policies, guidelines, and programmatic supports to LEAs, it is important to understand the various models, components, and implementation challenges associated with RtI. REL Southeast will describe the existing literature on RtI implementation, and produce a descriptive analysis of current state RtI approaches and implementation case examples in the region. REL Southeast is collaborating with REL Mid-Atlantic in this investigation, which will as a result provide insight into RtI issues across the two regions.
Status of General Education Teacher Preparation to Provide Instruction to Students with Learning Disabilities
- NCLB has intensified the goal of ensuring that students with learning disabilities make academic progress in general education classrooms. This project investigates how general elementary education teacher preparation programs in the Southeast incorporate curriculum and instruction related to working with students with learning disabilities, including RtI and its components. Data sources include course catalogues and related program materials from a representative sample of programs in the region and key informant interviews with a small number of program representatives. The project will produce a typology of program approaches as well as provide a status report on the preparation of general education elementary teachers related to working effectively with students with learning disabilities.
Research-Based Strategies with Potential for Increasing Secondary Students’ Level of Effort in Doing Schoolwork
- A top issue for high school teachers is their students’ lack of motivation or unwillingness to do the work assigned (reading assignments, homework, studying for tests, completing essay questions). Recently, policymakers have discussed the need to increase the “rigor” of students’ opportunities to learn (to raise expectations so that students are prepared with 21st Century Skills). This intersection of initiatives to increase “rigor” with teachers’ reports of high school students’ increasingly problematic attitudes toward doing the work suggests a problem area that research might inform. Thus, we will conduct a review of the literature as a way of helping practitioners examine the research on classroom level strategies or interventions that show promise relative to increasing student effort on academic work assignments (e.g., homework, reading assignments, essays, math problems). We will summarize studies identified by type of work assignments to ensure more direct applicability to teacher practice.
The Academic Experiences of African-American Males: Implications for Policy and Practice
- The intent of this Fast Response is to work with social psychologists to identify lines of experimental research that are directly applicable to improving the classroom performance of under performing students, particularly African-American males. Practitioners (members of the target audience) will provide feedback on early drafts of the document in terms of its value to teachers. The product will be a written summary of promising social psychological interventions or principles that have direct application to the problem of improving the motivation and achievement of under performing students in classroom settings with a particular focus on African-American males.