State education leaders across the country are rightly prioritizing efforts to improve elementary student reading outcomes. However, too often these initiatives do not focus enough on the key component to strong implementation and long-term sustainability: effective teachers. Only when state leaders implement a literacy strategy that prioritizes…

Following a high-quality early care and pre-K experience, the kindergarten-through-third-grade years set the foundation upon which future learning builds; and strengthening this continuum creates opportunities for later success. Key components of a quality experience in K-3 include school readiness and transitions, kindergarten requirements,…

Following a high-quality early care and pre-K experience, the kindergarten-through-third-grade years set the foundation upon which future learning builds; and strengthening this continuum creates opportunities for later success. Key components of a quality experience in K-3 include school readiness and transitions, kindergarten requirements,…

High-quality teacher preparation is a critical building block of an effective and stable teacher workforce. In California, the Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CTC) currently oversees teacher preparation programs (TPPs) at more than 100 institutions, and these programs graduate more than 10,000 teacher candidates per year. Over the past…

Providing teachers with data-driven feedback, aligned professional development and opportunities for advancement may help limit attrition, contribute to more effective teaching, and improve student learning. However, research shows that much of the professional development teachers currently receive does not improve either teacher or student…

The 2020-21 National Teacher and Principal Survey (NTPS) is a nationally representative sample survey of public and private K-12 schools, principals, and teachers in the 50 states and the District of Columbia. NTPS collects data on core topics including teacher and principal preparation, classes taught, school characteristics, and demographics of…

The "State Teacher Policy Yearbook" presents the most detailed analysis available of each state's performance against, and progress toward, a set of specific, research-based teacher policy goals aimed at helping states build a comprehensive policy framework in support of teacher effectiveness. In this seventh installment of the…

The National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) has long advocated that any meaningful understanding of "effective" teaching must be rooted in results for kids. Whatever else they accomplish in the classroom, effective teachers improve student achievement. It seems like common sense. Yet, until recently, it has been an exceptional way of…

Information Resource Management--State University System of Florida (IRM-SUS) is the primary collector and provider of data concerning state universities that is used to make sound education policy decisions. The office provides technical assistance to those using the information, state and federal reporting support, those supplying information,…

This paper presents Connecticut Coalition for Achievement Now's (ConnCAN's) fourth annual "State of Connecticut Public Education" report. In addition to ConnCAN's traditional look at the state of Connecticut public schools, this year's report takes a look at Connecticut's policy environment: namely, where it stands in the "Race to…

Teacher absenteeism is a global phenomenon. It is recognised in numerous studies and policy documents as one of the most critical causes of children's impaired learning and moral growth, and as a barrier to national and international development goals, such as the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) and Education For All (EFA). This research is the…

As necessary as reading is to the success of a child--and entire nations--many low-income countries overlook the fundamental duty of their school systems to produce readers. Galvanized by the Education For All (EFA) mission to provide universal access to primary education by 2015, donors and low-income countries have focused on scaling up inputs…

The "State Teacher Policy Yearbook" examines what is arguably the single most powerful authority over the teaching profession: state government. This Alabama edition of the National Council on Teacher Quality's (NCTQ's) "State Teacher Policy Yearbook" is the first of what will be an annual look at the status of state policies…

This paper is the National Council on Teacher Quality's (NCTQ) fourth annual review of state laws, rules and regulations that govern the teaching profession. This year's "Yearbook" takes a different approach than the past editions, as it is designed as a companion to the 2009 "State Teacher Policy Yearbook", NCTQ's most recent…

This report addresses questions related to increasing the numbers of Latino teachers in U.S. classrooms and improving the preparation of those teachers and all teachers of Latino children. The report presents demographic data on Latinos concerning: percentage of total population, population projections, states of residence, median age, educational…