This Race to the Top - Early Learning Challenge (RTT-ELC) final performance report for the year 2016 describes California's accomplishments, lessons learned, challenges, and strategies California will implement to address those challenges. California's Race to the Top - Early Learning Challenge (RTT-ELC) implements a unique approach that builds…

The Race to the Top - Early Learning Challenge (RTT-ELC) program, authorized by Congress in 2011, is designed to improve the quality of early learning and development programs for children from birth through age 5. This discretionary grant program is administered jointly by the U.S. Departments of Education (ED) and Health and Human Services…

This Race to the Top - Early Learning Challenge (RTT-ELC) annual performance report for the year 2015 describes California's accomplishments, lessons learned, challenges, and strategies California will implement to address those challenges. California's RTT-ELC implements a unique approach that builds upon its local and statewide successes to…

In California, at the time of this study, the CAHSEE determined if a student will graduate with a high school diploma or receive a certificate of completion of high school requirements. Although students may have completed all their high school credits, if they do not pass the CAHSEE, then the student will not receive a high school diploma or a…

This Race to the Top - Early Learning Challenge (RTT-ELC) annual performance report for the year 2014 describes California's accomplishments, lessons learned, challenges, and strategies California will implement to address those challenges. California's RTT-ELC implements a unique approach that builds upon its local and statewide successes to…

During a four-week period (May 23, 2011-June 21, 2011), the Western Regional Advisory Committee (RAC) held a series of public meetings to solicit input and deliberate on key educational needs facing the four states in the region--Arizona, California, Nevada, and Utah. A two-day, face-to-face, public meeting was held May 23-24, 2011 in Arlington,…

California school districts are being expected to "do more with less." They face critical and competing pressures to improve academic achievement while remaining fiscally solvent in a time of increasing budgetary pressures. This report examines the financial circumstances of California's school districts and the actions they have been…

This paper provides information about California High School Exit Examination, a comprehensive standards-based exam. The purpose of the exam is to: (1) Determine prospective high school graduates' knowledge and skill levels relative to those needed for entry-level employment; (2) Determine prospective high school graduates' mastery of the state…

In April 2007, Federal No Child Left Behind regulations were finalized that provided states with additional flexibility for assessing some students with disabilities. The regulations allowed states to offer another assessment option, alternate assessments based on modified academic achievement standards (AA-MAS). States are not required to have…

Federal regulations (U.S. Department of Education, 2007a) provide states with the flexibility to offer an alternate assessment based on modified academic achievement standards (AA-MAS). This assessment option is for a small group of students with disabilities who can make significant progress, but may not reach grade-level achievement within the…

This article presents an interview with J. Michael Ortiz, a member of the Aspen Institute's Commission on No Child Left Behind, on the issues concerning the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). Aspen Institute's Commission is an independent panel that was established in 2006 to conduct a high-level review of the federal government's signature…

Legislative and programmatic efforts to improve teacher quality have become a major focus of state policymaking in recent years. States have employed numerous strategies in response to concerns about the preparation, quantity, and capacity of the teacher workforce. In this chapter, the authors introduce conceptual frameworks for understanding…

A variety of viewpoints were represented in this symposium for chief state school officials and senior staff of state departments of education. Russell Vlaanderen, Education Commission of the States, opened with a national overview: "The Policy Implications of Minimum Competency Testing: The Case of the Standardized Student." Attorney…

Accountability for students with disabilities who receive special education services is now a result of policy requirements in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA) of 2004 and the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) of 2001. Together these pieces of federal legislation require that students participate in statewide…