This report is the thirteenth annual state charter school laws rankings report produced by the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools. In each report, they analyze, score, and rank each state's charter school law against their model charter school law. The purpose is to determine which states have created the statutory and regulatory…

The Innovation Schools Act of 2008, § 22-32.5-102, et seq. C.R.S., was designed to provide a pathway for schools and districts to develop and implement innovative practices in a wide variety of areas and contexts to improve student outcomes. Innovation schools are required to articulate a vision around the autonomies they are seeking, as well as…

This report was created in accordance with §22-30.5-113, C.R.S. which specifies that information be reported about the progress of charter schools, including comparison information about school performance disaggregated by student group. The statute requires that this report include information regarding charter school oversight and support,…

The impact of school resources on student outcomes was first raised in the 1960s and has been controversial since then. This issue enters into the decision making on school finance in both legislatures and the courts. The historical research found little consistent or systematic relationship of spending and achievement, but this research…

With a new Governor, State Superintendent, and Legislators in Sacramento and a diminished federal role in education, there is an opportunity for California's leaders to take stock of recent educational reforms and make necessary improvements. Several high-profile reforms over the past few years, including the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF)…

Until recently, the vast majority of students, entering California community colleges were placed in developmental courses, and relatively few went on to complete transfer-level courses in English and math. Several colleges responded to this longstanding challenge by experimenting with placement and curricular reforms. In 2017, new legislation (AB…

This study examines Algebra II completion and failure rates for students entering Texas public high schools from 2007/08 through 2014/15. This period spans the time when Texas students, beginning with the 2007/08 grade 9 cohort, were required to take four courses each in English, math (including Algebra II), science, and social studies (called the…

Until recently, the vast majority of California's community college students--hundreds of thousands of students each year--started in remedial courses that slowed down or halted their academic progress. Attrition was high, particularly for Latino and African American students. After years of important but piecemeal reforms, in 2017 a landmark law…

This document presents the technical appendices that accompany the full report, "Special Education Finance in California." The appendices include: (1) Problems with AB 602 and Other State Funding Programs for Special Education; (2) Additional Figures for Analysis of Distribution of Students with Disabilities; (3) Using Supplemental and…

The Oregon Statewide Report Card is an annual publication required by law (ORS 329.115), which reports on the state of Oregon's public schools. The purpose of the Statewide Report Card is to monitor trends among school districts and Oregon's progress toward achieving the goals referred to in ORS 329.015. This report also provides a tool that makes…

Michigan is at a critical moment in time -- a historic moment where citizens and leaders must choose whether the state will take advantage of new opportunities to become a top ten education state -- or face a continued and dramatic educational decline. Today, national data reveal that Michigan's public education system is among the poorest…

The Oregon Statewide Report Card is an annual publication required by law (ORS 329.115), which reports on the state of public schools. The purpose of the Statewide Report Card is to monitor trends among school districts and Oregon's progress toward achieving the goals referred to in ORS 329.015. In addition, this report provides a tool that makes…

The quality of Illinois schools and the performance of their principals play significant roles in determining the future for children. Their success hinges on recognition that principals play a critical role in shaping the environments in which children learn. Illinois schools can and will be enriched by developing a principal pipeline system that…

In the 2012-13 school year, Kentucky led the nation with an 85.4 percent high school graduation rate for low-income students and a one-percentage-point graduation gap between low-income and non-low-income students. In 2013-14 the state ranked fourth in the nation with a seven-percentage-point incomebased graduation rate gap. Even though Kentucky's…

Pennsylvania has historically operated one of the nation's least equitable state school finance systems, and within that system exist some of the nation's most fiscally disadvantaged public school districts. The persistent inequalities of Pennsylvania's school finance system are not entirely a result of simple lack of effort, as policies intended…