A well-designed accountability policy has four essential elements: (1) it's grounded in the belief that all students can learn and succeed; (2) it measures the academic progress of all students by campus and district over time; (3) it highlights gaps between different groups of students; and (4) it provides support and assigns consequences to…

School goal setting is often described as a key leadership practice for school improvement. Important for the effectiveness of goal setting is the close monitoring of progress. This article examines goal-monitoring practices in three schools that were seen as being effective and contributing to improvement. The findings highlight the importance of…

The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) with its research partner have developed a system that changes the equation on monitoring. The research-driven approach to monitoring allows DESE, within its existing activities and resources, to use monitoring to improve the state system of support as well as direct…

The purpose of this study was to use an action research approach to improve family-school partnerships within one rural high school. The action research process occurred over three school years and involved multiple cycles of investigation. Each cycle of investigation involved an ongoing, iterative process of reflecting, planning, acting, and…

Under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), every state must develop a plan to provide a quality education to all students, hold schools accountable for how all students achieve, and identify and help schools that are struggling. It matters greatly how California designs its accountability system and supports school improvement. Getting this…

The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), passed in 2015, signaled a major shift in the roles of states and districts in supporting school improvement. Under ESSA, state education agencies (SEAs) and local education agencies (LEAs) have more responsibility and flexibility in developing and implementing plans, informed by local context, to support the…

This special report -- informed by the Education Commission of the States' March 2018 School Improvement Thinkers Meeting -- guides state leaders toward a better understanding of how to improve lower-performing schools. This brief contains questions in four key areas to provide a road map for digging into school improvement systems and orienting…

The Board of Education's mission is to equitably educate the whole child so that every student graduates with the tools to reach their full potential (Houston Independent School District (HISD), 2019). To succeed in their mission, the board participates in Lone Star Governance, whose intent is to provide a continuous improvement model for…

The Virginia Board of Education's Regulations Establishing Standards for Accrediting Public Schools in Virginia (also referred to as the "Standards of Accreditation") are designed to ensure that an effective educational program is established and maintained in all of Virginia's public schools. The Standards of Accreditation: (1) Provide…

The passage of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) marked the beginning of a new development cycle for accountability systems. State leaders once again have an opportunity to redesign their accountability systems based on the provisions included in ESSA and to ensure that systems improve outcomes for all students. The correct identification of…

Similar to many states, the Louisiana Department of Education (LDOE) does not mandate the use of specific literacy screening or progress monitoring tools. LDOE sought a measurement approach that resulted in accurate and reliable information on student progress and outcomes, yet respected local control. This state spotlight presents initial…

Throughout every region of North Carolina, leaders of organizations in all fields -- business, education, government, community, faith-based, and others -- agree that the future prosperity and well-being of the state's citizens requires successfully educating all of its children. That means effectively supporting children of every race and…

The Board of Education's mission is to equitably educate the whole child so that every student graduates with the tools to reach their full potential (Houston Independent School District (HISD), 2019). To succeed in their mission, the board participates in Lone Star Governance, whose intent is to provide a continuous improvement model for…

Every student deserves an education that prepares him or her for lifelong learning, success in the world of work, and participation in representative government. Unfortunately, far too many students are not receiving the high-quality educational experiences needed to help them reach these goals. Meaningful progress toward equity in education does…

State report cards should help families, educators, policymakers, and other critical stakeholders in various states understand and act on education information for schools, school districts, and states as a whole. While each state finds itself in a different place regarding its own progress in building state report cards with such an impact,…