Despite the myriad of challenges that families, students, teachers and policymakers faced in 2021, the momentum to transform education did not waver. New opportunities for students unfolded in more than a dozen states through expanded private and public school choice. An additional 1.7 million students gained eligibility for private choice alone,…

To innovate for the future and improve equity, while also protecting foundational and proven principles that support high-quality education, ExcelinEd is committing to 5 goals over 5 years to impact 5 million students. Those goals hold the key to impactful and far-reaching changes in education, with the power to transform schools, students' lives,…

Background: The state of Arizona has recently mandated the Structured English Immersion Model (SEI) in the state's public schools, and as a result the local flexibility that existed regarding the choice of program models for ELLs has ended. In the school year 2008-09, these regulations were made even more restrictive after the implementation of…

This report reviews achievement gaps in both reading and math between ELL and non-ELL students in Arizona over the post-Proposition 203 period 2005-2009 and during the first year of implementation of the 4 hour ELD block, 2008-09. The study finds that Arizona has made little to no progress in closing the achievement gap between ELL and non-ELL…

During a four-week period (May 23, 2011-June 21, 2011), the Western Regional Advisory Committee (RAC) held a series of public meetings to solicit input and deliberate on key educational needs facing the four states in the region--Arizona, California, Nevada, and Utah. A two-day, face-to-face, public meeting was held May 23-24, 2011 in Arlington,…

Focusing on student proficiency in reading and math from 2003-04 to 2006-07, this report compares gaps in performance on state achievement tests between grade 8 American Indian and Alaska Native students and all other grade 8 students in 26 states serving large populations of American Indian and Alaska Native students. In response to a request by…

The National Indian Education Study (NIES) is administered as part of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), which was expanded to allow more in-depth reporting on the achievement and experiences of American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) students. It fulfills a mandate of Executive Order 13336 issued in 2004 calling for closer…