When students first enroll in college, they are required to demonstrate readiness for college-level work. Course placement depends on standardized assessments, and students who do not attain a satisfactory score are typically assigned to developmental (e.g. remedial) education courses. The theory behind this approach has been that remedial…

In the spring and fall of 2013, the Center on Education Policy (CEP) convened two meetings of researchers, policymakers, and practitioners to discuss ideas for a more relevant and coordinated research agenda on the Common Core State Standards. Participants in these meetings identified several needs and made a number of thoughtful suggestions. Many…

"Something in Common" is the first book to provide a detailed look at the groundbreaking Common Core State Standards and their potential to transform American education. This book tells the story of the unfolding political drama around the making of the Common Core State Standards for math and English language arts, which were adopted by…

As America's Great City Schools implement the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), they have a unique opportunity to integrate strategies for teaching, intervening, and supporting the nation's urban students in a way that will ensure they have the literacy, numeracy, behavioral, and engagement skills necessary to be successful in college and…

Kindergarten has changed significantly in the last two decades: children now spend more time being taught and tested on literacy and math skills than they do learning through play and exploration, exercising their bodies, and using their imaginations. Many kindergartens use highly prescriptive curricula geared to new state standards and linked to…

This document is one of eight reports prepared to support the development of a new learning system, a development effort that is the first step in a major initiative undertaken by the Stupski Foundation. The Foundation endeavors to improve the life options of all students, especially underserved urban youth of color by fundamentally redesigning…

This paper traces the evolution of curriculum reform in Mississippi from a state level, norm-referenced accountability system to a performance-based, centralized accreditation system that integrates instructional management requirements into improvement standards. Accountability legislation has primarily been concerned with quality of student…

The "2011 State Preschool Yearbook" is the newest edition of our annual report profiling state-funded prekindergarten programs in the United States. This latest "Yearbook" presents data on state-funded prekindergarten during the 2010-2011 school year as well as documenting a decade of progress since the first…

The "2010 State Preschool Yearbook" is the eighth in a series of annual reports profiling state-funded prekindergarten programs in the United States. This latest Yearbook presents data on state-funded prekindergarten during the 2009-2010 school year. The first report in this series focused on programs for the 2001-2002 school year and…

State policymakers should ensure learning standards for kindergarten are created and aligned both with early learning standards and standards for 1st grade and beyond. Learning standards for kindergarten should be implemented comprehensively across five key domains: physical and motor development, social/emotional development, approaches toward…

Most systems of administrative control include both formal and informal, explicit and implicit evaluative mechanisms that sense deviation from standards and activate corrective actions to return subordinates to acceptable levels of performance or to correct beliefs. A review of prior studies showed, however, that few school districts have specific…

This study traces the 5-year effects of California's Proposition 13 on the state's "Big Eight" school districts' secondary curriculum. Personnel and parent representatives agree on influences behind curriculum change patterns. First, teacher reductions have led to larger and fewer sections of classes, decreasing students' scheduling…

The comparative effects of instruction in self-questioning, summarizing, and question-answer relations on reading comprehension test performance were studied with 49 juniors and seniors enrolled in a remedial reading course at Georgia State University. The objective was to find a method to help students pass a statewide college reading exit…

This paper reports on (1) the results of a 1984-85 national survey of the status of school administrator preparation, (2) recent literature in the field, and (3) where the field appears to (and should) be going. Participants in the survey included state certification officials, large public school district officials, and directors of doctoral…

The "2009 State Preschool Yearbook" is the seventh in a series of annual reports profiling state-funded prekindergarten programs in the United States. This latest Yearbook presents data on state-funded prekindergarten during the 2008-2009 school year. The first report in this series focused on programs for the 2001-2002 school year and…