This multi-site case study examined leadership strategies used during successful implementation of standards-based grading systems in three Wisconsin high schools. It found that leaders' reported commitment, patience, and persistence showed evidence of sustainable, high-functioning systems. It drew two main conclusions: first, school leaders need…

Background/Context: Early childhood education joined the standards movement in 2002 with the Good Start, Grow Smart initiative (Brown, 2007), with advocates arguing that standards were a tool for creating more continuity and coherence in PreK systems (Bowman, 2006; Kagan 2012). Critics posed concerns about a perceived poor fit between…

Science education has experienced a significant transition over the last decade, catalyzed by a re-envisioning of what students should know and be able to do in science. That re-envisioning culminated in the release of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) in 2013. The new standards set off a chain reaction of standards adoption and…

This policy brief outlines the Common Core implementation plans for 15 states, including the professional development and resources/tools--such as instructional materials, toolkits, frameworks, crosswalks, and curriculum guides--that each state is providing. The authors suggest that supplemental resources like McREL's Common Core…

These appendices accompany the report "Final Report of the i3 Impact Study of Making Sense of SCIENCE, 2016-17 through 2017-18." Science education has experienced a significant transition over the last decade, catalyzed by a re-envisioning of what students should know and be able to do in science. That re-envisioning culminated in the…

In this multi-method case study, the authors explore the success of school reform in Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS), whose school reform combines a portfolio strategy and a managed instruction approach. Portfolio strategy is a term used to describe an approach that decentralizes resources and decision-making to school sites--increasingly in…

The goal of the Wisconsin "Model Academic Standards for Social Studies" is to design a social studies program that develops knowledgeable, active citizens who are able to recognize, analyze, and act on personal and public problems or decisions that affect the well-being of an individual, group, a nation, or the world. Following an…

During the 1993-94 program year, the 16 local Wisconsin Technical College System (WTCS) postsecondary districts delivered a total of 98,191 services to 36,071 clients through grant activities funded by the Carl D. Perkins Act. The WTCs board developed a format and process for reporting performance measures. All 16 WTCS districts exceeded the 35%…

This document is intended to serve as a resource for the implementation of Wisconsin's Cooperative Education Skill Standards Certificate Program. Following an introduction there is an overview of the program, school district eligibility requirements, local partner responsibilities, and factors that may present barriers to program implementation. A…