The Agricultural Act of 2014 authorized $200 million for the development, implementation, and evaluation of up to 10 pilot projects to test innovative strategies to reduce dependency on and increase employment among Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participants. The 10 States that received grants were California, Delaware, Georgia,…

Recent policies intended to improve teacher quality have focused on the preparation that teachers receive before entering the classroom. A short-lived federal rule would have required every state to assess and rank teacher-preparation programs by their graduates' impact on student learning. Though the federal rule was repealed, last year some 21…

Educators, researchers, and policy makers concerned about college under-enrollment among underserved groups of students have traditionally focused reform efforts at the high school level. Over the last several decades, however, there has been a growing interest in improving college readiness beginning at the elementary level. Recently, the…

This report details the story of the Race to the Top - Early Learning Challenge (RTT-ELC) Grant in Washington for the period of 2012-2016. It provides detailed reflections on the state's accomplishments over the grant period, shares the enhanced vision for the RTT-ELC in Washington, and provides specific details about what has changed in the state…

The Early Learning Challenge (ELC) program awarded more than $1 billion in four-year grants to 20 States to implement comprehensive and cohesive high-quality early learning systems that support young children with high needs and their families. A key lever in making these improvements was the enhancement of States' Quality Rating and Improvement…

This Race to the Top - Early Learning Challenge (RTT-ELC) annual performance report for the year 2014 describes Washington's accomplishments, lessons learned, challenges, and strategies Washington will implement to address those challenges. Year 3 of Washington's Race to the Top - Early Learning Challenge (RTT-ELC) was one of refinement and…

Although the United States is touted as a country where anyone could be successful regardless of social class or national background, upward social mobility is hard to attain. Less than one in 10 children born into poverty will reach the top of the income distribution. For many individuals, postsecondary education has historically been a way out…

Career and technical education (CTE) is increasingly seen as a major potential contributor to the recovery of the U.S. economy. However, the effectiveness and impact of the current Carl D. Perkins Act (otherwise known as Perkins IV) that governs CTE are unclear. Is the federal investment in CTE paying off? To answer this, we need to establish the…

Accountability policies imply much about high school teachers' abilities and willingness to use state assessment data to improve instruction. This study asked what teacher- and school-level variables best predict how frequently teachers use state assessment data and how much instructional benefit they derive from use of data. Research has…

To spotlight effective practices, the Washington State Board of Education (SBE) is highlighting schools that are closing achievement gaps and performing at high levels. In 2009, the SBE partnered with the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) to create the Washington Accountability Index. The Index is a new way to measure schools'…

Because teachers' efforts are central to the success of standards-based reform, it behooves the policy community to look carefully at the beliefs about instruction that are rooted in this reform theory. Building on teacher-centric research on standards-based reform and ideas about teaching practice from research on multicultural education, this…

This study investigated the relationship between the scales used for the WASL assessments and the RIT scales used to report performance on Northwest Evaluation Association tests. The study estimated the changes in reading and mathematics RIT score equivalents for the WASL performance levels in those subjects. Test records for more than 12,000…

In the Washington State juvenile justice system, serious or repeat offenders receive the full panoply of due process rights and procedures, with the exception of jury trials; minor offenders are diverted to community boards that require community service or victim restitution; and status offenders are removed from the courts' jurisdiction and…

Perhaps the most ambitious example of the way in which flexibility and accountability have been brought together can be found in the State Flex and Local Flex demonstration programs. Although no additional resources are provided to participating states and districts, the enhanced flexibility granted under State Flex and Local Flex allows…

Researchers in this study analyze the websites of 30 Washington state school districts to explore differences and similarities between high- and low-performing districts. The study offers evidence about ways educators use accountability data on district websites to communicate with parents, community members, and business representatives about…