Since 2013, states have witnessed significant legislative activity related to secondary- and postsecondary-level career/technical education (CTE). One key goal of much recent policymaking activity has been to improve alignment between high school and postsecondary CTE programs, including by developing state or regional structures to design career…

Demographics in the U.S. have changed dramatically over the last three decades. Indiana's demographics are changing, too--albeit less dramatically. To explore how demographic shifts are changing the composition of Indiana's schools, the Center for Evaluation and Education Policy (CEEP) uses Common Core of Data (CCD) school enrollment data from the…

Teachers need longitudinal student-level data, such as attendance history, course-taking patterns, grades, and test scores, to tailor instruction to individual students' strengths and weaknesses. This factsheet uses the findings from the "Data for Action 2013" analysis to discuss how states can provide teachers with student-level…

Beginning in 2011, the Department of Education (Education) used its statutory authority to invite states to apply for waivers from certain provisions in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) through its Flexibility initiative. To receive Flexibility waivers, states had to agree to meet other requirements related to college- and…

In 2015, the State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA) administered the Digital Instructional Materials Survey regarding state policies and guidelines for the acquisition, vetting, and funding of instructional resources for all 50 states, Guam, and the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI). Based upon this survey,…

The importance of public education has never been greater as we enter the dawn of a new millennium. Innumerable efforts have been focused on improving public education, but the unfortunate result has been an array of fractured, piecemeal efforts. What is needed is a systemic approach to go from "tweaking" to "transforming"…

Chronic absence is a national crisis, dragging down achievement for students across the country. Attendance Works defines chronic absence as missing 10 percent or more of school days for any reason--excused or unexcused as well as suspensions. The purpose of this brief is examine the role of state policy and action in ensuring chronic absence is…

The third-grade year is considered a pivotal point in a child's educational career, as a critical shift in learning takes place--one where basic reading skills are established and can begin to be utilized for more complex learning. State policymakers are well aware of the importance of ensuring that all students are reading at grade level by the…

For transfer students, the transfer of credit between institutions creates a barrier to graduation as students' time and money is ultimately wasted when courses do not successfully transfer as credit applicable toward degree requirements at the receiving institution. Understanding the extent to which courses at your institution transfer to other…

States are uniquely positioned to provide feedback to teacher preparation programs (TPPs) on the effectiveness of the teachers they train, and to provide information about the quality of TPPs to the public. States have been building the significant data capacity to reliably and securely link teachers with their students' achievement and growth…

As a continuum of professional learning for building and district leaders transitioning from leadership preparation programs into practice, the state of Kansas enacted mentoring and induction requirements as part of their role in supporting development of leadership skills important to on-the-job application of essential knowledge. One approved…

To formulate a "systems-based" plan to address the PK-12 infrastructure crisis, in 2016, the 21st Century School Fund (21CSF) and the University of California-Berkeley's Center for Cities + Schools (CC+S), in partnership with the National Council on School Facilities and the Center for Green Schools at the U.S. Green Building Council,…

Nearly 25 years after New Jersey first took control of a troubled school district, a proposed state takeover of the Camden public schools sheds a critical spotlight on that state's long--and still mostly unsuccessful--record of trying to right struggling districts through such intervention. The state began running the public schools in Jersey City…

Most societies today are culturally diverse. Increasingly, minority groups are demanding recognition and self-governing rights to protect their ways of life against that of the majority. These demands represent a serious challenge for the state: how is it to balance between the equally legitimate claims of the many cultures inhabiting its…

In 2013, Governor Jerry Brown and the California legislature radically restructured the state's school funding system and accountability systems with a weighted student formula and a mandated local planning process in each district. The new law substitutes local politics and grassroots agency for state-driven mandates and compliance reviews. While…