This brief tells the story of Lumina Foundation's and states' efforts to promote an equity agenda for higher education, featuring the 2015 Equity Policy Academy-- which focused on improving educational equity for students from historically underserved groups--as a turning point. Based primarily on interviews with Lumina staff and key state leaders…

The largest college within an online university of over 50,000 students invested significant resources in translating a complex assessment system focused on continuous improvement and national accreditation into an effective and efficient electronic portfolio (ePortfolio). The team building the system needed a model to address problems met…

The human brain develops rapidly in the first five years of life. High-quality early learning experiences can have a profound and lasting positive effect on young children during these years, setting the stage for success in kindergarten and beyond. This is especially true for young children with high needs who are from low-income families; who…

Within the educational reform debate, there is general agreement that the development of high academic standards is an important first step toward improving academic outcomes. This report highlights the standards initiatives being implemented in Colorado, Delaware, Minnesota, and South Carolina. All four states have made substantial progress in…

The Minnesota Department of Children, Families, and Learning plans to implement the "profile of learning" plan in 3 phases over 3 years beginning in the 1996-97 school year. This information brief contains a chart that depicts the profile of learning and highlights each of its elements. The profile of learning is composed of 10 broadly…

The Minnesota Legislature directed the Minnesota State Board of Education to set in rule the content and performance standards that public high school students must achieve in order to graduate. This information brief describes the history and current status of the High School Graduation Rule for public school students in Minnesota. The state's…

Adult basic education (ABE) programming efforts in Minnesota for the 1992-93 year were designed to accomplish the following state plan-stipulated goals: (1) continue developing/implementing a statewide ABE delivery system to enable adults (especially disadvantaged adults) with basic skill deficiencies to identify and achieve their personal and…

This study finds that nearly every school in the Great Lakes states is threatened to fail the Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) requirements mandated by the federal "No Child Left Behind" (NCLB) Act. NCLB holds schools and districts accountable for student achievement on state standardized tests and schools that do not make AYP face…

This appendix describes the analytical procedures used to project the status of schools in the Great Lakes state toward meeting AYP (Adequate Yearly Progress) requirements from 2005 to 2014. To "make AYP," the school as a whole and each numerically significant subgroup must meet "Annual Measurable Objectives" (annual…