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…

A governor's State of the State address is an opportunity to outline policy priorities, highlight past accomplishments and reflect on the condition of the state and country. In 2018, 17 governors are serving their last year in office, having reached the end of their term or deciding not to seek re-election. Many of them used their State of the…

With many cities showing an interest in afterschool system building and research providing a growing body of useful information, this Wallace Perspective offers a digest of the latest thinking on how to build and sustain an afterschool system, and the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead for this promising work. The report (a follow-up to a…

California's alternative education options for youth vulnerable to dropping out of school have been established at different historical points and for different student age and target populations. For purposes of this brief, "alternative school" is defined as belonging to one of six legislatively authorized types of public (non-charter)…

Social media's established power to communicate and engage with mass audiences, combined with its largely free and easy-to-use platforms, makes it an irresistible lure for private, nonprofit and government institutions. What is murkier, but more important than ever, is solving the problem of properly planning and creating a structure so that…

State education agencies (SEAs) and local education agencies (LEAs) made clear in a recent Reform Support Network (RSN) survey and follow-up interviews that staff must have the capacity to successfully engage stakeholders through social media. This is not a new challenge for government; staff capacity -- the number of staff and their access to…

After two decades of major education reforms without seeing major gains for low-income students, state leadership is coming to the conclusion that there is something inherently wrong with America's K-12 system. States have called into question the time-based system built around the Carnegie unit and are now rapidly advancing an alternative. By…

The Developmental Strategies for College Readiness and Success Resource Guide was produced by the Education Commission of the States and the Southern Regional Education Board for the "Countdown to 2015: Developmental Strategies to Advance Readiness in the Common Core Era" convening held April 21-23, 2014 in Charlotte, North Carolina. The…

High-quality out-of-school-time (OST) programs have a positive effect on youth development, but many cities have found it difficult to address the challenges of expanding and improving the quality of programs offered to underserved and high-need students. In response, The Wallace Foundation sponsored an initiative to help five cities increase…

The Breaking Through (BT) initiative promotes an expanded and enhanced role for community colleges in providing access to college for low-skilled adults. BT is uniquely important in its systematic integration of adult education, developmental/remedial education, professional-technical education (PTE), and career planning and preparation in…

Policy changes in state higher education since the early 1980s are described. For each innovation, the problem and impetus for change are described, as well as the results. Contact persons and some publications are identified. While two states addressed both quality and flexibility in fiscal reform, 13 states had incremental reforms addressing…

Implementation of quality indicators in the evaluation of adult education programs of 49 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico was examined. The study focused on development of measures and standards for the indicators and the impact of quality indicators on state accountability systems and program quality. Most states had completed…

This report profiles the state departments of education (SEAs) in Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri, Nevada, and North Dakota. These SEAs reported in 1996 that they had changed from a departmental structure (e.g., separate units for special education), into cross-cutting teams in the previous five years. Findings indicate that since…

In the past two years, 26 states have established task forces to study issues of quality, mission, efficiency, governance, access, and financial support and arrive at some new solutions. What separate these initiatives from previous ones are their magnitude and scope and the resources used. (MSE)

Statewide learner competency and assessment systems in 11 states were examined. Information was gathered through telephone interviews and a review of materials on the learner competency and assessment systems being used/developed in each state. Special attention was paid to the states' activities regarding development of the following: systematic…