High-quality career and technical education (CTE) and work-based learning opportunities can support students along a pathway to credential attainment, employment and upward economic mobility through intentional skill development and experiential learning. CTE concentration in high school can increase graduation rates while helping students build…

State-level departments of education vary in their mechanisms for monitoring online courses and programs. This study reviewed various state models for initial and ongoing evaluation of online courses. Five constructs were identified through this review, and examples from Georgia, Maryland, California, Washington, and Colorado were detailed. The…

Washington is building a comprehensive learning system that emphasizes quality from birth to 18 years. With $1 million in funding from the Early Start Act, and matching funds from the Raikes Foundation, the Department of Early Learning (DEL) and the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) have completed an Expanded Learning…

This report details the story of the Race to the Top - Early Learning Challenge (RTT-ELC) Grant in Washington for the period of 2012-2016. It provides detailed reflections on the state's accomplishments over the grant period, shares the enhanced vision for the RTT-ELC in Washington, and provides specific details about what has changed in the state…

The Race to the Top - Early Learning Challenge (RTT-ELC) program, authorized by Congress in 2011, is designed to improve the quality of early learning and development programs for children from birth through age 5. This discretionary grant program is administered jointly by the U.S. Departments of Education (ED) and Health and Human Services…

This Race to the Top - Early Learning Challenge (RTT-ELC) annual performance report for the year 2015 describes Washington's accomplishments, lessons learned, challenges, and strategies Washington will implement to address those challenges. Year 4 of Washington's RTT-ELC was one of preparing to sustain the programs beyond RTT-ELC support and to…

This Race to the Top - Early Learning Challenge (RTT-ELC) annual performance report for the year 2014 describes Washington's accomplishments, lessons learned, challenges, and strategies Washington will implement to address those challenges. Year 3 of Washington's Race to the Top - Early Learning Challenge (RTT-ELC) was one of refinement and…

Open Educational Resources (OER) offer unique new opportunities for educators to share quality learning resources, especially in an increasingly digital world. Forty-six states and the District of Columbia have adopted the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), providing them with the unprecedented advantage of being able to share resources that are…

The "New Environmental Paradigm" or NEP appears to have gained considerable popularity in academic and intellectual circles, as well as among many college students; however, very little is known concerning the degree to which the general public has come to accept the ideas embodied in it. Thus, although there have been dozens of studies…

Flexibility and accountability are two levers for change that occupy an increasingly prominent place among federal strategies for educational improvement. In return for introducing higher academic standards and performance-based accountability systems, states and districts have been granted increasing flexibility over how they may use the funding…

The report presents findings of an audit of preschool special education programs in Washington State. It was found that the enrollment had quadrupled since 1978-79, with the majority of programs center-based. Three school districts over-reported preschool handicapped enrollment, and suggestions are offered for revising enrollment audits and…

In 1991, a study was conducted to evaluate intake assessment at the various adolescent alcohol and drug treatment centers in Washington State. The three goals of this study were: (1) investigate the level of agreement among drug treatment professionals on the placement of adolescents in different treatment programs; (2) evaluate the existing…

This paper presents an overview of the major findings of a study evaluating federally-supported child day care in Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington. The principal objective of the study was to evaluate day care quality using the proposed federal day care standards as a baseline and to develop strategies to improve these services. The study…

The National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect funded a project to develop and field-test an evaluation procedure that could be used by interested states or communities to determine the extent of congruity between (1) their provisions for responding to the problems of child abuse and neglect, and (2) provisions prescribed in the Federal Standards…

This report from the State Superintendent of Public Instruction responds to a directive from the Washington State Legislature to provide information on the progress of the development and field testing of minimum procedural standards and model evaluation programs for teachers. It contains a draft of the proposed minimum procedural standards for…