High school graduation rates have increased dramatically in the past two decades. Some skepticism has arisen, however, because of the confluence of the graduation rise and the starts of high-stakes accountability for graduation rates with "No Child Left Behind" (NCLB). In this study we provide some of the first evidence about the role of…

In this article, the authors utilize core ideas from Critical Race Theory (CRT) to examine the nature of education reform in two river cities. Similar to other cases of education reform in urban districts, the reforms in the two focal cities reflect at least four characteristics in common: (1) a form of portfolio management; (2) the growth of…

As NIET enters its 20th year, research continues to point to the effectiveness of NIET's support and the positive impact of investing in human capital. The Winter 2020 Research Summary captures both NIET's key long-term impact, shares promising results highlighting that the TAP System [The System for Teacher and Student Advancement] sustains…

Never before has more been asked of State Education Agencies (SEAs), commonly known as state departments of education. In recent years, policymakers at the state and federal level have viewed the SEA as the default entity for implementing new and sweeping K-12 initiatives--everything from Race to the Top grants and SEA waivers to teacher…

The Every Students Succeeds Act (ESSA) provided states with newfound flexibility on accountability measures and school improvement strategies. Many policy experts have analyzed states' ESSA plans, which explain how states use their federal funds under various provisions of the new law, as well as the approaches states take to identify and rate…

Abundant evidence has shown that quality early childhood programs generate enormous long-term benefits for young people as they grow to become productive adults, for our economy, and for society. But we don't have to wait 10 or 20 years to see strong returns on our investments in young children. Some programs create real savings in a year or less.…

Across the 50 states, career and technical education (CTE) programs at the K-12 and postsecondary levels have seen enormous policy action - 2013 alone saw at least 78 substantive policy changes via legislation, state board rules and executive orders specific to CTE and workforce development. What are the drivers behind this sudden policymaker…

Building on its previous work examining education and the economy, the Alliance for Excellent Education (the Alliance), with generous support from State Farm[R], analyzed the economies of all fifty states and the District of Columbia to determine the economic benefits that states could see by improving high school graduation rates. Using a…

Is it time for Ohio to take bolder steps toward turning around its most troubled schools and districts? If so, what might the alternatives look like? Options for rebooting these troubled schools have come in the form of mayoral control, state takeovers, market competition through charter schools and other choice programs, as well as millions of…

Created by the U.S. Congress in 2006, the Teacher Incentive Fund (TIF) represents the first federal initiative targeted directly at state and district efforts to introduce performance measures into educator compensation. TIF responds to a growing body of evidence that existing pay structures do not respond to labor force realities or adequately…

This study evaluates how welcoming thirty American cities--the twenty-five largest and five smaller "hotspots"--are to "nontraditional" problem-solvers and solutions. It assumes that the balky bureaucracies meant to improve K-12 education and hold leaders accountable are so calcified by policies, programs, contracts, and…

In the current evolving economic environment, developing and implementing effective processes to improve the skills and capability of employees are seen as central to improving individual, organizational and national performance and global competitiveness. Recognizing that universities and colleges are critical to their state's growth and economic…

In an effort to better understand the various economic benefits that a particular urban area could expect were it to reduce its number of high school dropouts, the Alliance for Excellent Education, with the generous support of State Farm[R], has developed a sophisticated economic model in partnership with Economic Modeling Specialists Inc. The…

In 2010, unprecedented levels of resources began to flow through state education agencies (SEAs) to support dramatic change in persistently low-performing schools under the expanded federal School Improvement Grant (SIG) program. The challenge for states is to leverage the federal investment to drive dramatic and sustainable change efforts in…

The "2006 Agenda for Children Louisiana Kids Count Special Report on Child Care" documents and describes the supply and affordability of child care and early education in each of Louisiana's 64 parishes. Seventy-eight percent (78%) of Louisiana's children under the age of five are cared for by someone other than a parent or guardian on a…