The middle grades have become the agreed upon starting point for high-quality Career Technical Education (CTE) programs, as this represents a critical time for students making important decisions that may have a lasting impact on their careers. However, there lacks a common view among state and local leaders on what makes up a high-quality middle…

The Native American Needs Assessment Action Plan is designed to assist educators and administrators in addressing the needs and areas of possible opportunity that have been identified through the annual Native American Needs Assessment conducted by the North Dakota Department of Public Instruction. The Action Plan is organized around areas of need…

As voucher and tax-credit scholarship programs have expanded in recent years, another promising development has been the incorporation, into more such programs, of provisions that hold participating private schools to account for their students' performance. The newest and largest voucher programs, such as those in Louisiana and Indiana, have gone…

State implementation of new standards (revising, adapting, and adopting new standards) is a significant undertaking. Such an effort at the state level requires extensive support, planning, and resources. Implementing new state standards also requires the support of multiple education leaders--governors, legislators, state departments of education,…

The 2015-16 Pro-Kid Policy Agenda for California is the only comprehensive roadmap at the state level for policymakers, stakeholders, and others who want all children--especially children of color and children from low-income families--to have the opportunity to reach their full potential. A plethora of research shows that investments in quality…

School boards have always recognized the improvement of student achievement as central to their role in governing public schools. The Washington State Education Reform Act and the Federal No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) have, however, significantly affected the way schools go about educating students and the way boards hold schools accountable for…

Improving early literacy is essential to increasing high school graduation rates allowing students to be successful in postsecondary education and ensuring the prosperity of all Americans, according to a report released by the National Governors Association (NGA). "A Governor's Guide to Early Literacy: Getting all Students Reading by Third…

This Issue Brief, an update of "Authorizing Virtual Charter Schools: Rules of the Road on the Digital Highway" by Gregg Vanourek, is part of NACSA's Cyber series, which addresses issues in policy and practice that concern authorizing online schools and blended learning. It aims to improve authorizer understanding and oversight of online…

Standards drive critical elements of the American educational system--the curricula that schools follow, the textbooks students read, and the tests they take. Similarly, standards establish the levels of performance that students, teachers and schools are expected to meet. To succeed in the 21st century, all students will need to perform to high…

For lower-achieving students with disabilities, effective and appropriate alternate assessment based on modified achievement standards (AA-MAS) can open the door to greater expectations and opportunities. State policymakers have the option of providing certain students who have disabilities with AA-MAS aligned with grade-level content--and now…

This guide will help policymakers understand and define the principles behind fusing core subject knowledge and higher-order thinking skills. Recommendations that reflect these principles will help policymakers support 21st century readiness for all students throughout a reauthorized ESEA and other federal legislation.

American high schools have a major gap to close--a gap that threatens not only the future of the students they serve but of the nation as well. At a time when postsecondary education or training has increasingly become a must for young people, most students continue to leave high schools unprepared to pursue those options. Until recently, there…

Charter schools emerged in the early 1990s as a strategy for improving student learning and increasing quality educational options, often for underserved students and communities. The charter school idea centers on the promise of increased autonomy for accountability for results. Thus, the charter movement has helped to lead the charge--and has…

Results of the 2007 National Assessment of Educational Progress tell that more than one-third of 4th graders (and an even higher number of at-risk students) read so poorly they cannot complete their schoolwork successfully. It is critical to start early if children are to develop the skills they need to be successful. Research evidence confirms…

This guide is intended to be useful to educators in high schools and middle schools, to superintendents and school boards, and to state policymakers in planning and executing dropout prevention strategies. The target audience includes school administrators as well as district-level administrators, seeking to help develop practice and policy…