This playbook provides ways in which Governors and teams can blur the lines between high school, postsecondary education, and the workforce. Governors play a significant role to Raise the Bar for student success by developing an "education-to-workforce system" that focuses on Unlocking Career Success.

The evolving educational landscape of our students' needs post-Covid has highlighted that student response to intervention must be of concern to all educators. Our student population has experienced an event that is like no other in our shared educational histories and our response to the aftermath of this event and how we assist students who are…

Nearly 1 in 5 U.S. students attend rural schools. Researchers report that at least half of public schools are rural in 12 states (i.e., Montana, South Dakota, Vermont, North Dakota, Maine, Alaska, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Wyoming, New Hampshire, Iowa, and Mississippi) (Showalter et al., 2019). Providing quality education to all rural students is a…

This Special Report outlines state-level policy components that help ensure work-based learning opportunities for high school students are well-coordinated, broadly accessible, aligned to state or regional workforce demands, and of high quality.

Across the United States, schools and districts are redesigning high school toward the goal of better engaging and preparing students for success after graduation. This report highlights four innovation schools and districts--(1) Noble High School in Maine; (2) International High School at Langley Park in Maryland; (3) the Science and Math…

Maine replaced its existing high school statewide assessment with the SAT® and administered the exam to almost all public high school juniors. A primary goal of this policy change was to increase 4-year college enrollment by public school students in Maine. This brief report provides an overview of the data, research methodology employed, as well…

The shortage of special education teachers is a persistent problem in Maine. In addition to the shortage of individuals prepared to work as special education teachers, there is also a need to support special education students in the general education classroom. The majority of students who are identified with disabilities spend most of their time…

"Dual enrollment" refers to programs in which students take postsecondary courses while simultaneously enrolled in high school. While programs differ among and within states, all programs share the goal of supporting students to complete their postsecondary education more quickly and cheaply while also fulfilling high school graduation…

The purpose of this study was to examine how competency-based learning (CBL) is defined across states in the Regional Educational Laboratory Northeast and Islands region and gain insight into barriers and facilitators to implementation of this reform. Many states in the region have started to consider and implement competency-based learning as a…

The advent of new technologies and increased access to robust connectivity is reshaping the K-12 landscape for teaching and learning. School districts nationwide are leveraging digital instructional materials and resources to deliver transformative and impactful personalized learning opportunities for students and to enhance the administrative…

Many reports on rural education give little attention to digital learning. At most, they tend to note either infrastructure needs or the potential of remote course access, with little focus on instruction, outcomes, or exemplars. This report intends to begin correcting that imbalance by connecting the dots between rural regions, rural education,…

This individual profile provides information on Maine's college entrance exam standards and polices. Some of the categories presented include: (1) College entrance exam policy; (2) Purpose; (3) Major changes in college entrance exam policy since the 2009-10 school year for financial reasons; (4) Preparation state offers to students taking college…

The Maine Department of Education (MDOE) is at the forefront of national efforts to align high school curriculum to college and career readiness standards. Embarking on a mission it calls A Personal Journey for Next Generation Learners, Maine has employed several key strategies to ensure all of its students graduate from high school with the…

This bimonthly newsletter provides information about the progress of the Honor States Grant Program, a governor-led effort to improve college--and work-ready graduation rates. This issue explores how effective education governance can support innovative state policy development, successful policy implementation, and a redesigned high school…

Annually, ACT provides a snapshot of the college and career readiness of ACT-tested high school graduates. This report is offered as a service to inform policymakers and practitioners about selected indicators of effectiveness and how that translates into readiness. It is designed to stimulate discussion, inquiry, and action. This report is…