This case describes an ongoing system reform effort to transform the learning experiences of young people in British Columbia through changes to curriculum and graduation requirements. Over the past decade, the province of British Columbia has undergone substantial reform to its central curriculum and assessment framework. Interlinked with this…

Over the last two decades, the Los Angeles Unified School District has adopted a series of policies to improve college readiness for its hundreds of thousands of students. Among those policies was the adoption of the A-G curriculum requirements for all graduating high school seniors. These policies were intended to better prepare students for…

The Learning Policy Institute (LPI) conducted research in New Mexico to provide state leaders and stakeholders a research perspective on the challenges facing education and to identify evidence- based ways that state policy can address them. This report complements the main report, "Improving Education the New Mexico Way: An Evidence-Based…

Research shows that the more courses students take and complete, especially early in their postsecondary programs, the more likely they are to graduate. In particular, students who take 15 credits per semester or 30 credits a year have a higher likelihood to complete associate and baccalaureate degrees than students enrolling in fewer hours, even…

Rhode Island's School Accountability system is in a period of transition to the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). The accountability data released October 2017 is based on the 2016-17 administration of the PARCC assessment. Results from the Multi-State Alternate Assessment in ELA/literacy and mathematics are also included. The results of this…

The rhetoric of the creative economy agenda has influenced the revised Ontario curriculum in the arts for grades 9-12. Yet, increasing rhetorical and substantive support for a creative economy agenda in Ontario at large is not sufficiently reflected in the revised Ontario arts curriculum. The expanded agenda is not matched by expanded substantive…

As Iraq's Kurdistan region develops rapidly, it is creating jobs that require a solid education and technical skills. The government has launched an ambitious reform of basic and secondary education to increase its quality and has expanded opportunities for tertiary technical and university education. But expansion of secondary vocational…

This report traces the development of the workplace apprenticeship system and college-based pre-apprenticeship training in Canada's most western province, British Columbia. The Canadian system is mildly distinctive in an international context and within Canada, British Columbia is increasingly distinctive. Federal government influence has been…

This report summarizes how school and district leaders and academic coaches in two Texas school districts used assessment and other types of data to assess the quality of teaching and learning, to coach and supervise teachers, and to guide management decisions. The report also describes how district and school leaders supported teachers' use of…

This study sought to understand which aspects of current school accountability measures cause high school principals the most concern and what specific actions they were taking to address their concerns. This study took place in Genesee County Michigan. The primary method of data collection was semi-structured interviews. Thirteen traditional high…

This study evaluates a curriculum policy that required college preparatory coursework for all students, using data from Chicago Public Schools (CPS). Beginning in 1997, CPS ended remedial coursework and required all students to complete a college-preparatory course sequence for graduation. In this study, the authors constrain their analysis to the…

Concerned about the lack of focus on students' needs for support in order to meet rigorous academic standards at the secondary and postsecondary levels, the Pathways to College Network--a partnership of national organizations and funders working to improve postsecondary opportunities for underserved populations--is undertaking a national…

The Center for Policy Research in Education (CPRE) studied the background, implementation, and effects of curriculum policies, including graduation requirements, student testing, curriculum controls, and indicators. This document examines the findings about curriculum policy in the school context. A total of 188 interviews were conducted at the…

This bulletin highlights state initiatives addressing education problems, examines new laws, updates the state of Wisconsin's activities to improve the quality of its education, and concludes with an annotated list of nine publications on educational reform that are available from the Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau. Information is included…

This issue of CPRE Policy Briefs draws on a report by William Clune and others entitled "The Implementation and Effects of High School Graduation Requirements: First Steps Toward Curricular Reform." Evidence from this indepth study of the effects of education policies in six states indicates that state-mandated increases in minimum course…