Public reporting makes data about schools and districts--including enrollment, student performance, teacher effectiveness, and more--available to the public. These data never include information that could be used to identify individuals and are critical to meeting the information needs of parents, educators, administrators, policymakers, and…

School safety policies are constantly evolving, often in response to fatal events. After several high-profile and tragic shootings over the past 15 years, school safety has become a major focus for parents, school officials, policymakers and the public nationwide. ECS [Education Commission of the States] conducted a scan of school safety-related…

Over the past decade, SREB state policy-makers have focused on actions to reduce dropout rates and increase high school graduation rates. Some policy-makers have suggested that raising their state's compulsory attendance age (often called the dropout age) to require students to stay in school until age 17 or 18 is an important step. However,…

This study seeks to address the question "How do school and district leaders and teachers become aware of, take steps to comprehend, and form opinions about state policies?" These "first impression processes" represent significant parts of the processes by which district administrators, school administrators, and teachers make…

Louisiana is currently one of the 19 states in the United States that still allow the use of corporal punishment in public schools. The research questions that drove this study explored Louisiana-published court cases involving corporal punishment in public schools, district policies regarding the use of corporal punishment, reported instances of…

A state department of education (SDE) served by the Southeast Comprehensive Center (SECC) at SEDL requested information regarding state use of schoolwide, large-scale professional learning communities (PLCs). Specifically, the SDE staff wanted to know the following with respect to PLC work in other states: (1) Are PLCs state-mandated through…

Over the next three years, the California State Board of Education (SBE) and the California Department of Education (CDE) will refine the college and career readiness (CCR) measures in the state's school accountability system. Determining which measures to use, given that they need to be robust, useful, equitable, and cost effective--and…

The Virginia Plan for Higher Education is designed to identify trends that the Commonwealth must address if it is to prosper and succeed. Through input by higher education partners, The Virginia Plan is intended to help guide a vision for Virginia's future through a common framework. This framework is built on the premise that all partners in…

The Southeast Comprehensive Center (SECC) at American Institutes for Research (AIR) publishes this biannual update of college- and career-readiness standards and assessment (CCRS-A) resources. This list of resources is designed to assist staff in state education agencies (SEAs) and other educators in their curricula, instruction, standards, and…

This strategic action plan highlights policy and funding recommendations to make significant progress toward Washington's educational attainment goals. To meet those goals, adults ages 25-44 in Washington will hold a high school diploma, and at least 70 percent will have a postsecondary credential. Significant progress will require systemic…

West Virginia uses multiple state assessments to measure student achievement and inform program decision making. States are required to provide guidance for appropriate participation of all students, including those with English Learners and those with disabilities, in required state assessments. The West Virginia Department of Education has…

Completion by Design, funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, is a partnership between participating colleges and state-level policy organizations. The initiative's strong policy component seeks both to change policies in ways that support the colleges' change strategies and to spread the learning and ideas stemming from Completion by…

This brief describes a new wave of state legislation, which emphasizes individual principal accountability as part of a broader educator talent-management strategy. The brief provides a snapshot of new state-level policy on principal evaluation and describes reasons for policy change as represented in state policy language and trends in policy…

Over the past decade, educators and policymakers have sought to increase the number of students pursuing and completing postsecondary credentials. Community colleges play an important role in efforts to increase the percentage of Americans with postsecondary education. Community colleges play an important role in educating the early childhood…

The Texas Education Agency (TEA) prepares an annual report on graduates and dropouts in Texas public secondary schools. This report includes state summaries of the annual dropout rate, longitudinal graduation and dropout rates, and state attrition rates. In addition to statewide statistics, the report provides historical information about dropout…