The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), passed in 2015, signaled a major shift in the roles of states and districts in supporting school improvement. Under ESSA, state education agencies (SEAs) and local education agencies (LEAs) have more responsibility and flexibility in developing and implementing plans, informed by local context, to support the…

Over the past two decades, college and career readiness became a priority in K-12 education. While graduation rates have been rising, far too many high school graduates are not ready to succeed in college or a job. Employers note that freshly-minted employees too often need additional training to perform their roles, many are ineligible for…

How might policymakers and educators utilize the work already being done as states redesign their accountability systems? The 2015 reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), brought much needed attention to the performance of traditionally underserved subgroups of students. Supported by greater flexibility under ESEA…

In conjunction with the Denver Plan instituted in 2005, Denver Public Schools (DPS) has embarked upon a consistent strategy of opening new schools in an effort to improve overall academic performance. DPS has pursued this strategy under several different paths: an annual request for proposals from charter school applicants; allowing current…

Many metrics along K-12 education may serve as indicators of potential success, but they are not goals. Students must leave the public school system at least proficient enough to face the tasks ahead. At the moment when students depart the K-12 system to enter college or career, it matters neither how proficient they were years before, nor the…

This is a response to a request asking for states known to be nationwide leaders in Response to Intervention (RtI) and links to policies, rules, and guidance that they have in place regarding RtI. The links listed were obtained through searching state departments of education websites and Google using the terms "response to…

This descriptive study identifies the thinking and learning skills--such as good decision-making strategies and monitoring one's own learning progress--that students should acquire, as described in standards documents from state departments of education, from national subject-area organizations, and from organizations concerned about adequate…