Policy: State

North Carolina Program to Recognize Exemplary STEM Schools

North Carolina has launched an initiative to publicly recognize STEM schools and school-based programs. The state education department recently released an application guide and although there are no financial incentives, participation incentives include public recognition and improved program practices. Applicants are rated as "early," "developing," "prepared," or "model" and those rated as "prepared" and "model" receive recognition after approval from the state board of education.

An Emerging Federal Role for Competency Education

This policy brief is the first in a series of briefs on how the federal government can support competency-based education. The brief opens with a description of competency-based education and a working definition, followed by state examples that illustrate a shift towards competency-based education. The brief also discusses the federal role in expanding competency-based education, including barriers in federal accountability and assessment policies.

Wyoming Community College Commission Director Calls for Remedial Course Changes

Jim Rose, director of the Wyoming Community College Commission, proposed that the state require students identified as needing remediation to take remedial courses in high school as opposed to waiting until they start college. He argues that community college students are taking too long to obtain their degrees and this proposal would assist in moving students through the community college system more quickly and save students money.

Pathways through College: Strategies for Improving Community College Student Success

This brief discusses the barriers to community college completion faced by students, such as lack of preparation, financial aid, and competing obligations. The brief also offers solutions for improving community college student outcomes through implementing promising practices and strategies, some of which include curriculum alignment and student supports.

Recently Released State Policy Framework Provides Guidance to States to Advance Competency-Based Pathways

Submitted by Anne Bowles on

Achieve has released a new state policy framework, Advancing Competency-Based Pathways to College and Career Readiness, to support state education policymakers in envisioning and planning for policies that encourage student-centered approaches designed to help all students learn the full scope of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS).

Trends in Seat-Time vs. Competency-Based Policy

Submitted by Austin Pate on

The traditional model of credit accumulation adopted by states across the United States is based upon a seat-time requirement known as the Carnegie Unit. Using this model, students must be seated in a class for specific number of hours in order to receive credit for the course. This is true for all students, regardless of prior knowledge, skills, or experiences, and has been the primary means of credit accrual in the United States since the early 20th century.

REL Midwest and Public Television Present Competency-Based Education

Submitted by REL Midwest on

At 10 p.m. on Monday, September 2, at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, September 3, and at 11 a.m. on Sunday, September 8, 2013 (all Central Time), Illinois public television viewers can watch Implementing Competency-Based Education Practices in the Midwest, a REL Midwest Making Connections event produced with WTTW in Chicago and taped with a studio audience. The program archive will be available online later in September.

Research-Based Options for Education Policymaking: Twenty-first-Century Skills and Implications for Education

This brief describes the different interpretations of  what "21st century skills" are as well as the different perspectives of how these skills should be implemented and assessed. The brief also includes recommendations for policymaking around implementation and assessment of 21st century skills. These recommendations include refocusing accountablity systems, defining proficiencies and competencies around work-based learning opportunities, expanding secondary and higher education cooperation, and implementing Linked Learning.

Improving Postsecondary Education Through the Budget Process: Challenges & Opportunities

This report from the National Association of State Budget Officers describes the current challenges of public higher education finance and shares examples of how states are implementing policy and budget strategies that address these challenges. In addition, this report provides an analysis of collaborative partnerships between states and institutions of higher education designed to improve the higher education system as well as recommendations for finance reform.

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