This paper focuses on the formation of the Rand Change Agent Study, characterizes it as the pursuit of school reform for "social equity" and attempts to demonstrate anew its significance. First, the paper finds that "social equity" was among the main motivations for the Rand Change Agent Study. It was clear in the earliest…

The paper presents a framework for school guidance in the twenty-first century that focuses the guidance approach, on promoting lifelong learning and takes into account the impact of VUCA (volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity). It outlines the goals, objectives, and key players involved in guidance approach and provides a structured…

"Beyond Good Intentions" provides a guide for states to craft equity-driven policies that are specific, actionable, measurable and well funded. It outlines four major steps states should take when considering and creating new policy: (1) Examine the Data to Set the Goal for the Policy: Specific types of data to consider when identifying…

Adult Education in the Republic of Ireland has experienced exponential change. Since 2013, the Further Education and Training (FET) sector has developed and implemented a range of strategies and policies transforming the landscape. Policy implementation is a complex process and as the 16 Education and Training Boards work to interpret FET policy…

Great organizations have a clear sense of what they want to accomplish and how they are going to get there. For state boards of education, this vision and roadmap are typically articulated in a strategic plan. The best plans are living documents that guide state board actions or multiple years; lesser plans gather dust. What separates the two? The…

This report is the second in a series that unpacks the barriers to access that families face, the variety of solutions that navigation organizations have developed, and the challenges that limit the reach and impact of those solutions. This series offers recommendations for how to help navigators address these challenges and support more families…

This paper describes the author's personal involvement with issues of policy and implementation that were sparked by the "Lau" decision. Topics included are student assessment, the bilingual education wars, the role of research, the paradigm shift with the advent of standards, and California state policy in the education of English…

Focusing on teachers' practices amid a national curriculum 'implementation' project for schools identified as having high enrolments of students experiencing disadvantage, this paper uses narrative methods to illustrate what we refer to as teachers' everyday work-for-change. Teacher interview data was generated via a longitudinal multi-site case…

This paper outlines potential actions and roles for intermediaries to facilitate the development and implementation of truly equitable education-to-career pathways systems. Specifically, it could guide the broader field of intermediary organizations and efforts to engage in policy and advocacy by outlining how intermediaries can influence the…

The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is the primary application that determines access to federal, state, and institutional financial aid. When students fail to complete their FAFSA application, they are less likely to enroll or complete a credential, leaving tens of millions of federal resources for students on the table. Boosting…

Physical activity (PA) policies have the potential to ensure adequate opportunities for children to develop PA behaviors for a lifetime. Examples include mandating that schools provide recess and physical education for a specified amount of time per week; ensuring that physical education teachers are licensed; providing activity breaks in academic…

As did the vast majority of higher education institutions, SUNY implemented test-optional admissions policies across all campuses for students applying to enroll in Fall 2021. SUNY and its peers made this decision in direct response to the COVID-19 pandemic, which reduced applicants' access to SAT/ACT testing. A majority of these schools have…

Many policies in higher education are intended to improve college access and degree completion, yet often those policies fall short of their aims by making it difficult for prospective or current college students to access benefits for which they are eligible. Barriers that inhibit access to policy benefits, such as cumbersome paperwork, can weigh…

This compendium presents comprehensive information from the surveys for the full report "Linking Adult Education to Workforce Development in 2018-19: Early Implementation of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act at the Local Level. Evaluation Report. NCEE 2023-001r" (ED626771), and serves as a supplement, which provides in-depth…

There is renewed interest around including performance assessments in state and local assessment systems to spur positive changes in classroom instruction and student learning. Previous research has identified the external conditions that mediate the role of assessment in changing instructional practices. We extend that work by focusing on the…