The civic education policy framework and gap analysis tool are intended to guide state leaders as they address the complexities of preparing students for college, career and civic life. They allow for adaptation to state- and site-specific circumstances and may be adopted in whole or in piecemeal fashion, according to states' individual…

Since the passage of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) in 2015, state teams have been preparing their state plans aligned with ESSA for submission in April or September 2017 to the U.S. Department of Education. Because ESSA lands much of the decision-making and responsibility in education at the state and local levels, state education leaders…

This report provides six mini-case studies of higher education policy reforms enacted in other states, exploring the important role that state policy leadership played in developing, promoting, and implementing these policies aimed at improving higher education outcomes, and discussing the relevance of each reform effort for California. This…

Summarizes the research on school effectiveness and identifies state policy implications followed by a discussion of current state education policies and their relationship to school effectiveness research. (MLF)

The educational reform strategies of Texas, California, and South Carolina are examined as they relate to reform outcomes. The current effort toward educational excellence must shift its focus from regulation and compliance monitoring to mobilization of institutional capacity. (SLD)

State-sponsored teacher networks in Vermont and California are compared, using interviews with teachers, network staff, and policymakers. It is concluded that state-sponsored networks can improve teachers' knowledge and motivation while empowering them. Recommendations are made for loosely coupled and capacity-building strategies to support…

The Minnesota Business Partnership (MBP) was studied as a policy innovator in state school reform (for kindergarten through grade 12) in relation to agenda setting, alternative formulation, and authoritative enactment. Focus is on the MBP's policy-making involvement during the 1985 state legislative session. Overall, the MBP's influence was…

This research sought to determine and describe the impact of standards-based reform as a policy instrument by studying the ways in which state adoption of content standards affects local policy, programs, and practice. In 1992, the state of Delaware embarked on a plan to improve its public schools. While the state worked at determining what…

It is difficult to base evaluations on concepts irrelevant to state policy making. Evaluation of a multiproject program requires both time and differentiation of method. Data from the California Early Childhood Program illustrate process variables for program component analysis, and research questions for intraprogram comparison. (CP)

The Board on Testing and Assessment of the National Research Council convened a workshop in 1994 to help policymakers and others better understand the complex issues emerging from the standards-based educational reform movement. This bulletin synthesizes the workshop discussions. It is organized around four major themes that emerged from the…

This report provides an overview of selected state initiatives related to the training and supervision of paraeducators serving students with disabilities. The five states highlighted in the document were selected because of the significant work each has done in the area of paraeducators. In all five states, paraeducator initiatives began prior to…

In the context of the growing challenges to public education that have materialized in California over the past decade, this first of two volumes is presented as a resource document for legislators and others interested in education reform. Volume 1 looks at emerging education issues for the 1995-96 legislative session and summarizes the state's…

This study presents a longitudinal and intertextual analysis of educational policymaking activity in California over a 10-year period to identify factors that supported local policy implementation in a shifting political climate. Analysis reveals the essential nature of coherence, capacity building, and changed practices in building an alternative…

Applying item response theory, and the Rasch model in particular, to measure trends and examine policy coherence in state education reform shows a change in the picture of state leadership and a generalized pattern of policy making among the states. Using item response theory in policy analysis is explored. (SLD)

This paper describes two Department of Education reports on gifted education--1972's Marland Report and 1993's "National Excellence: A Case for Developing America's Talent." It relates report findings to findings from a survey of states' policies. The paper calls for states to design programs that nurture talent potential of all students…