The 17th edition of "The State of Preschool," the National Institute for Early Education Research's (NIEER) report on their annual survey of state preschool policies, provides government policymakers valuable information for planning short- and long-term responses to the crisis. The report includes information for every state on child…

This qualitative, phenomenological case study was to determine the impact the state accountability system has on school improvement practices for schools that have been designated under the statewide system of support. Nine district and school level leaders were interviewed from one suburban school district designated as…

The 1960s launched the school movement of choice. Today, school choice is nationally threaded through many states serving a diversity of students. Indiana developed and implemented the Indiana Choice Scholarship Program (ICSP) policy in 2011 to align with these national initiatives to benefit students. The goal for Indiana was to ease the burden…

Over the past four years, New America has been researching Grow Your Own (GYO) programs as a strategy for growing and diversifying the teacher workforce. GYO programs--partnerships between school districts, institutions of higher education, and community-based organizations to recruit and prepare community members to become teachers in local…

The purpose of this study is to assess the effectiveness of the Texas "Closing the Gaps by 2015" plan to increase Hispanic enrollment into and graduation from institutions of higher education. This study uses Interrupted Time Series with Comparison Group to analyze 26 years of student cohorts in Texas universities. Controlling for…

As a condition of receiving federal funds, the Every Student Succeeds Act requires state education agencies to implement statewide assessments in mathematics and English language arts every year in third through eighth grade and once in ninth through 12th grade. The federal law also requires a science assessment once in each of three grade spans:…

The annual National Deafblind Child Count is the world's first and longest-running count of children who are deafblind. Begun in 1986 on behalf of the U.S. Department of Education, it represents a collaborative effort between the National Center on Deafblindness (NCDB) and state deafblind projects throughout the country, including those in the…

Since 1990, Indiana's 21st Century Scholars program has been leading the way as a model for early college promise programs across the country. It is Indiana's promise to students that no matter life's circumstances or obstacles, college is an option for them. In this report, students are broken out into three groups by income level: scholars,…

School vouchers are state-funded programs--often called scholarship programs--that allow students to use public monies to attend a private school. The state provides a set amount of money, typically based on the state's per-pupil amount, for private school tuition. There are currently 27 voucher programs in 16 states and the District of Columbia.…

School vouchers are state-funded programs--often called scholarship programs--that allow students to use public monies to attend a private school. The state provides a set amount of money, typically based on the state's per-pupil amount, for private school tuition. There are currently 27 voucher programs in 16 states and the District of Columbia.…

The number of English learners (ELs) in Alabama has increased significantly in recent years. English learners include U.S.-born children whose first language is not English, newcomers to the U.S., and other students developing English proficiency. These children are in Alabama schools, acquiring academic English instruction that promotes mastery…

Education savings accounts (ESAs) are education funding mechanisms that allow for families to receive a deposit of public funds to a government-authorized savings account. Using student-level longitudinal data, this paper examines how families participating in the Florida Gardiner Scholarship Program use education savings account funds. Results…

This Race to the Top - Early Learning Challenge (RTT-ELC) annual performance report for the year 2015 describes Rhode Island's accomplishments, lessons learned, challenges, and strategies Rhode Island will implement to address those challenges. In 2015, Rhode Island made significant progress toward its ambitious but achievable goals under the Race…

This Race to the Top - Early Learning Challenge (RTT-ELC) annual performance report for the year 2015 describes Vermont's accomplishments, lessons learned, challenges, and strategies Vermont will implement to address those challenges. Vermont's remarkable progress in increasing participation in their tiered quality rating and improvement system,…

This Race to the Top - Early Learning Challenge (RTT-ELC) annual performance report for the year 2015 describes Oregon's accomplishments, lessons learned, challenges, and strategies Oregon will implement to address those challenges. Oregon continues to make great strides in efforts to create a dynamic early learning system capable of anticipating…