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…

About 13 percent of children aged 3 through 21 enrolled in public schools received special education services in school year 2015-16, and about 3 percent of children from birth through age 2 received special education services. Concerns about the difficulties identifying and evaluating children for special education have been raised by the media,…

This report describes the use of Lead Turnaround Partners (LTPs) in the current School Improvement Grant (SIG) program and provides the results of document review, surveys, and interviews with eight State Education Agencies and seven Lead Turnaround Partner organizations. The study focuses on the implementation of the transformation and turnaround…

In a 2012 paper for the Center for American Progress, "The State of Evaluation Reform," Patrick McGuinn (Drew University) identified the opportunities and challenges facing education agencies in Race to the Top (RTTT) grant-winning states as they prepared for the implementation of new teacher evaluation systems. The 2012 study undertook…

High-quality out-of-school-time (OST) programs have a positive effect on youth development, but many cities have found it difficult to address the challenges of expanding and improving the quality of programs offered to underserved and high-need students. In response, The Wallace Foundation sponsored an initiative to help five cities increase…

Making Connections was the Annie E. Casey Foundation's signature place-based, community-change initiative of the 2000s. It sought to build on previous work and launch an effort focused firmly on the framework of family strengthening. The Foundation started Making Connections in 22 places, focusing eventually on first 10, then seven sites. It…

This report focuses on the seven original Youth Transition Demonstration (YTD) projects selected for funding in 2003. Three of the original seven projects were selected for a national random assignment evaluation in 2005; however, this report only focuses on program operations prior to joining the random assignment evaluation for the three…

Discussed the State of Colorado's introduction of performance contracting into its relationships with community mental health centers. Describes the nature of the contract and its implementation. Particular emphasis is placed on the implications of the contract for program evaluation. (Author)

Now that all 50 states and the District of Columbia are building statewide longitudinal data systems, the next step is to ensure that the information in these systems is used to improve student learning. The Data Quality Campaign (DQC) has identified 10 actions that states can take to ensure that the right data are available and accessible and…

This document is divided into three volumes. Volume I describes what exemplary Private Industry Councils (PICS) do, Volume II explains why they are effective, and Volume III tells how to implement exemplary practice. Volume I contains case studies of 10 exemplary PICs organized by 7 topics areas (history and structure, policies and program…

This annual report describes the activities and accomplishments of the Colorado Part C statewide system of early intervention for fiscal year 1999-2000. It begins by discussing the agencies involved in the provision of services and other supports in early intervention. The innovative service delivery models that are used and the program's sources…

This report profiles three workforce organizations across the country--in Colorado, Georgia and New York--and explores the strategies they used to grow their programs locally. The report examines the dilemmas workforce organizations frequently face in meeting not only the needs of their dual customers--job seekers and employers--but also the needs…

This report describes the beginning of a community-based effort across Colorado to promote healthy lifestyles and modify risk behavior of children, in conjunction with the Colorado Comprehensive Health Education Act of 1990. The report summarizes what was accomplished during the first year of funding and offers a picture of how communities across…

This paper reviews progress on Colorado's Postsecondary Education Master Plan which forms the policy direction of the state's higher education system. In particular it reviews the Colorado Commission on Higher Education's (CCHE) implementation of Colorado State legislative House Bill 1187 (HB1187). Each major section of the legislation is…

This paper reports on the Colorado Commission on Higher Education (CCHE) and their progress in implementing their goals as set by the state legislature which concern efforts to assess students knowledge capacity, and skills. In particular the report describes CCHE efforts to monitor institutional implementation efforts, summarizes institutional…