Accumulating evidence indicates that student attendance is closely tied to a range of educational outcomes, and yet millions of students are chronically absent each year. Under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), schools are now held accountable for their students' attendance at a scale this country has never before seen. As such, this is a…

"Pathways to Implementation" highlights innovative strategies and effective models in career pathways policy, implementation, and programming, as well as challenges states encounter in this work. This seven-part series addresses the key elements of Bellwether's framework for career pathways policy implementation. Each brief defines the…

The purpose of this qualitative collective case study was to explore current paraprofessional training programs offered to support paraprofessionals working with students with disabilities (SWDs), including both pre-service and in-service training. Specifically, this study evaluated training offered by local school districts within Southern…

This study examines teacher response to year one implementation of the A+ Schools Program arts integration model. Twenty-two randomly selected teachers from three school sites were observed over a 12-month period to gather baseline and year one data. Performance results indicated no significant changes in teacher behaviors based on Friedman's test…

Using a case study approach, this qualitative study was an examination of a California community college's counseling faculty perspectives on a collegewide reform known as guided pathways (GP). Relying on semistructured interviews, the examination focused on how the counseling faculty perceived their roles in the GP implementation process, the…

Despite marked growth in evaluation use and capacity in the U.S. Federal Government over the last 50 years, the levers that have driven institutional change have not previously been identified. This ethnographic study mapped the process and factors that have led to the diffusion of value in evaluation in the U.S. Federal Government. Analyses of…

Multi-tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) is an outgrowth of Response to Intervention (RtI). The various systems of support for students and school communities provided through these programs are integral to modern education and embedded in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEIA) of 2004. While there are many benefits to…

The implementation of quality assurance (QA) is one of the most challenging reform areas for Turkey due to the unique organization of its higher education system. This paper explores the development of QA systems in Turkish universities. Using a qualitative case study approach, the authors examine how Turkey accomplishes the goal of implementing…

This problem of practice explores disproportionality and its relationships with K-12 student social emotional learning experiences, out-of-school suspensions, and academic outcomes at Choice Public Schools (a pseudonym) a Charter Management Organization (CMO). It examines properly implemented culturally responsive multi-tiered systems of support…

As a follow-up to the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA) February 2023 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) Simplification Pre-Implementation Survey, NASFAA administered a post-implementation Survey in October 2024 to at least one contact at NASFAA membership institutions with 2,906 potential…

The Community College Pathways (CCP) program had an outstanding second year. In 2012-2013, the program reproduced the positive outcomes realized in the first year of implementation, including successful course completion rates of over 50 percent for both Pathways. Simultaneously, the administration of the Pathways has continued to develop and…

This chapter describes the challenges and practical barriers community colleges face when implementing comprehensive reform, exploring how reforms are leading to some improvements but not often scaled improvements.

By investigating the factors facilitating and hindering a small scale educational change, this study highlights the crucial role of leadership in designing and implementing an educational change at a transnational university in Vietnam. During its initiation stage, the programme leaders seemed to fail to (1) set up a clear schedule for changing,…

The passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), also known as the economic stimulus package, provided an extra $3 billion for school improvement grants (SIGs) under section 1003(g) of Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. Along with this funding increase, the U.S. Department of Education issued guidance…

The Developmental Strategies for College Readiness and Success Resource Guide was produced by the Education Commission of the States and the Southern Regional Education Board for the "Countdown to 2015: Developmental Strategies to Advance Readiness in the Common Core Era" convening held April 21-23, 2014 in Charlotte, North Carolina. The…