Educator Effectiveness/Quality

On the Road to Implementation: Achieving the Promise of the Common Core State Standards

This brief from Achieve identifies the key areas that state policymakers should consider in order to implement the new Common Core State Standards with fidelity. The brief provides suggestions for aligning these new standards with their existing standards and course requirements, as well as aligning assessments for collecting data and measuring achievement. The brief lists steps each state can take to ensure they are implementing the standards effectively.

Creating College Readiness: Profiles of 38 Schools That Know How

This report provides a profile of 38 schools and details how these schools have implemented strategies to promote and advance college readiness. The report outlines each school, characteristics that make the school unique, and lessons learned from undertaking particular strategies. The report is organized into six sections: 1) alternative schools, 2) charter schools, 3) comprehensive schools, 4) early college high schools, 5) magnet schools, and 6) private schools. In several cases, schools may have utilized more than one strategy to achieve their goal.

Stepping It Up: Building Pathways to College Success in Pennsylvania and Nationwide

This paper presents findings from the Pennsylvania Governor's Conference on Higher Education in March 2009 surrounding ways to improve college success. The paper presents four steps to achieving this derived from analysis of the presentations. The steps include: 1) identifying the challenges to increased college success; 2) creating and action plan for success; 3) putting the plan into action; and, 4) working together to increase college success.

Building Capacity to Promote College- and Career-Readiness for Secondary-Level English Language Learners: Policy Brief Featuring Austin, Texas

This policy brief discusses the growing second-language learner population in schools. Through case studies of schools in Austin and the Rio Grande Valley region of Texas, it provides state and federal policymakers recommendations for policy changes that can help schools increase student achievement among this population.

Grad Nation: A Guidebook to Help Communities Tackle The Dropout Crisis

This guidebook is a step-by-step guide for schools, families and the community on how to be involved in addressing the dropout crisis. The authors provide research-based information and tools with each section to be used in implementing programs specific to the community. Each section provides background information on topics relevant to the community as a whole such as the cost of high dropout rates, along with questions techniques, strategies, and additional resources to address the community needs.

Policy Statement on ESEA Reauthorization

This policy statement from the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) provides reasons why the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) should be reauthorized. The authors include recommendations for ESEA reauthorization in the four core areas of reform: standards, assessments, and accountability; data and reporting; teachers and leaders; and supports for next-generation learning.

Roadmap for Reform

This report, sponsored by Digital Learning Now, identifies 72 measures that state policy makers should incorporate into their state policy in order to facilitate high quality digital learning for all students. The authors stress the importance of providing all students access to digital forms of learning, including virtual and blended learning, using digital learning to provide personalized learning trajectories, and providing quality content, instruction and choices through digital learning.

Time Well Spent: Eight Powerful Practices of Successful, Expanded-Time Schools

This report from the National Center on Time & Learning discusses key practices in optimizing increased learning time. The authors surveyed 30 high-performing schools, including 11 high schools, with longer school days and/or years and identified eight “powerful practices” of using increased learning time to improve student performance and engagement. The report provides case study illustrations to show school-level implementation for each of the eight practices.

High School Longitudinal Study of 2009 (HSLS:09). A First Look at Fall 2009 Ninth-Graders’ Parents, Teachers, School Counselors, and School Administrators

This report introduces additional National Center for Education Statistics survey data that compiles general descriptive information provided by ninth graders’ parents and school staff. The study sample included 21,000 ninth graders in 944 schools nationwide. Results for parent education greatly varied, as did their educational aspirations for their children, and around a quarter of parents planned to pay for their child’s education but had not yet saved.

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