This implementation guide was developed to assist states that want to give more families access to needed educational opportunities and the ability to customize their children's learning. Surging enthusiasm among voters and policymakers means more states are likely to launch Education Scholarship Account (ESA) programs in the immediate future. The…

As part of a standards revision project for the state of Nebraska, the Region 11 Comprehensive Center in partnership with the American Institutes of Research, conducted a scan of publicly available state information and existing research on revision processes. From that, we've created this guide sharing 10 key elements states should consider when…

States and districts use career pathways in a variety of ways, in a variety of settings, and under vastly different circumstances to give young people access to meaningful careers and stable lives. In this report, the authors conducted case studies of career pathways initiatives in Texas, Ohio, and Colorado to better understand the triumphs and…

This critical case study analyzes Michigan's implementation of Public Act 4 (PA4), also known as the "emergency management" (EM) takeover law. PA4 grants the state control of school districts with dire budgetary problems. As most U.S. school districts are citywide, PA4 gives the state direct control over all the (previously locally…

State agencies provide for MTSS [multi-tiered systems of support] initiatives with the purpose of producing meaningful outcomes. The impact of MTSS is dependent upon the ability of educators to implement the practices correctly and consistently. A lack of implementation fidelity can result in a practice or program being less effective, less…

This report delves into experiences from states that are operating pre-K classrooms in charter schools in order to inform stakeholder discussions and decision points as the state moves to sustain the Preschool Development Grant (PDG) programs currently operating in charter schools. As the number of children enrolled in state-funded pre-K…

The transition to kindergarten is an important time in the young life of a preschooler. Research has shown that the quality of children's kindergarten transition processes has implications for their future academic and social outcomes, and the level of family engagement in kindergarten. Research further indicates that children living in families…

The new federal education law, the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), envisions a powerful role for states in managing the evidence base behind school improvement efforts. Not only must they certify that interventions meet the "evidence-based" requirements spelled out in the law, they also must monitor and evaluate federally funded…

This publication highlights how state leaders tackle data interoperability with the emergence of data standards for student information, assessment, digital content, and other educational applications. While states are at various maturity levels for interoperability, each state shares goals for interoperability, the drivers for those goals,…

Performance funding has become an increasingly prevalent state policy to incentivize student retention and degree completion at public colleges. Using a Cox proportional hazards model on state-level data from years 2000 to 2013, this study analyzes the latest wave of policies that embed base appropriations into the state budget to fund student…

State education leaders are committed to providing leadership to ensure that all students have access to personalized, engaging learning experiences supported by digital instructional materials and resources. With the transformation to digital learning, more and more states are enacting policies and guidelines to support the implementation and…

This report offers state leaders key areas for action to continue progress in implementing evaluation systems, even as federal policies on teacher evaluation relax state requirements. The Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) offers its current best thinking for how state agencies can make the smartest use of funds, time and partners to refine…

State takeovers were an infrequently applied strategy to address financially and academically troubled schools for many decades. The opportunity for a more extensive state role in taking over troubled schools grew further with the announcement of the federal "Race to the Top" (RTTT) program in 2009. RTTT required states to develop plans…

This article reports on why states are quitting the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) and Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC). The two consortia sought to develop state-of-the-art assessments that focused on problem solving and the application of knowledge, and that moved away from former tests'…

In this report, State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA) builds upon the research and recommendations from prior publications with a focus on the role of state leadership in supporting districts and schools to increase high-speed connectivity and access for students and educators. SETDA firmly believes that high-speed broadband…