This resource was prepared for an Early Learning Challenge (ELC) State in response to a request for information about initiatives to improve the quality of child care and early education provided by family, friends, and neighbors in the 20 RTT-ELC States. This information will be helpful to other States as they consider how to continue to increase…

For more than a decade, states have evaluated school performance largely through a single measure--test scores--and rated schools on whether they improved students' performance in reading or math. The idea was to focus schools' attention on the outcomes that mattered most and to focus states' attention on the schools that needed the most help in…

Caught between extraordinary public expectations and relatively modest constitutional authority, U.S. presidents historically have fashioned all sorts of mechanisms--executive orders, proclamations, memoranda--by which to move their objectives forward. William Howell asserts that under President Barack Obama's administration, presidential…

Gov. Wolf has indicated his willingness to modify pensions for future Pennsylvania public sector workers by using a variant of the "stacked hybrid" design proposed in 2013 by Pottsville Republican Rep. Mike Tobash. Negotiations of a compromise pension deal, however, remain stalled because Senate leaders remain committed to their own…

The following profiles address how the state departments of education are supporting local educators in classroom implementation of the Common Core by providing and/or facilitating the development of instructional resources and materials aligned to the new standards. In order for instructional resources and materials to be aligned to the Common…

The following profiles address how the state departments of education are helping educators prepare for and implement the Common Core and aligned assessments through professional learning. The major professional development efforts around the Common Core were examined in order to understand the overall efforts of each state. An exhaustive list of…

The following profiles address how the state departments of education are helping educators prepare for and implement their states' new college- and career-readiness standards and aligned assessments, through professional learning. SREB researchers examined each state's major professional development efforts around its new standards in order to…

Implementation of college- and career-readiness standards is some of the most important work currently underway in states to improve student achievement and public education overall. SREB examined the efforts of 14 states--including 11 SREB states--to support implementation of new college- and career-readiness standards. The goal of the research…

The following profiles address decisions and actions that state education policy-makers--in the state departments of education, unless otherwise noted--are taking to foster successful statewide implementation of their states' new college- and career-readiness standards and aligned assessments. These profiles provide a descriptive overview of each…

The following profiles address the basic decisions and actions that state education policy-makers--in the state departments of education, unless otherwise noted--are taking to foster successful statewide implementation of the new standards and aligned assessments in 15 states. These profiles provide a descriptive overview of each state's…

The history of state legislation to establish community colleges in Pennsylvania is traced from 1937, when proposals were first introduced, to 1963, when the colleges were legally authorized. (MB)

After a decade or so spent largely on setting academic standards against which to hold schools accountable, states are themselves being held accountable for helping schools figure out how to meet them. The result is a huge leadership challenge. With few or no added resources, state education agencies are retooling to provide more technical support…

Article concerns the case of Pennsylvania Association for Retarded Children, Nancy Beth Bowman, et al. v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, et al. (CB)

The Rural Opportunities Offer Tomorrow's Success (ROOTS) program is a series of policy initiatives which address problem areas in rural education, economic development, health care, and access to programs in Pennsylvania. Policy initiatives to create a better educated rural workforce include: (1) expanding career and financial counseling in rural…

THIS IS A REPORT OF A CONFERENCE SPONSORED BY THE OFFICE OF EDUCATION AND ATTENDED BY SPEECH AND HEARING SUPERVISORS IN STATE DEPARTMENTS OF EDUCATION, AS WELL AS SPEECH AND HEARING PROFESSIONALS IN LOCAL SCHOOL PROGRAMS, IN COLLEGE TRAINING PROGRAMS, IN FEDERAL AGENCIES, AND IN NATIONAL PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS. ADDRESSES AND DISCUSSIONS WERE…