Civics education continues to gain national importance, especially in the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election and with recent debates about the teaching of history that addresses the legacy of racism and discrimination in the United States. Despite the increasing interest in strengthening civics education, states continue to differ in…

This article details how a team of university professors representing five PETE/HETE programs in Washington State work together for success. At a time when enrollment in higher education is down across the nation, it is crucial for university programs to work together to strengthen their programs to recruit and retain future health and physical…

We contextualize the magnitude of teacher attrition during the pandemic, including from the 2020-2021 school year to the 2021-2022 school year, using longitudinal data on teachers in Washington since the 1984-1985 school year. The teacher attrition rate after the 2020-2021 school year (7.3%) increased by almost one percentage point from the…

A system of climate learning includes students, educators, administrators, educational leaders, community members, and others across different contexts and from diverse lived experiences. As people begin to foster climate learning within these systems, the work of drawing people together in this work can seem daunting. However, the lessons from…

Elementary and secondary district leaders seeking to recruit teachers and diversify their teaching workforce will find useful, research-based strategies in this brief from the Region 4 Comprehensive Center. The brief focuses on ways to develop work-based learning programs in secondary schools that engage students in considering teacher careers.…

This November marks another anniversary of the collapse of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, an example appropriate to introductory science or physical sciences courses from grade school to university. The purpose of this brief submission is to add an element to this story, which, despite having been mentioned before, has not received the prominence it…

A significant movement is underway across the nation to design K-12 assessment systems that better equip stakeholders to provide an equitable and excellent education to each child. While some of these innovations emerged before the pandemic, the massive disruption to instruction fueled a new urgency to rethink the potential of assessments to drive…

Much attention has been focused on the importance of providing physical and mental health services to students in educational environments in recent years. Millions of students receive school-based health services, and for many students, schools are their first and only option to receive health care. State policymakers have a lot to consider in…

State legislators have the opportunity to create and support legislation that positions data as a tool to help decisionmakers at all levels take action to support student success. This checklist can serve as a guide to crafting legislation that addresses education data. It applies specifically to education data legislation which includes bills…

The 2021 Legislature tasked the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) with convening a workgroup to develop recommendations to support recruiting and retaining a multicultural and multilingual educator workforce with state salary allocations that are competitive and reflective of current economic conditions. The K-12 Basic…

School discipline policies are broadly intended to foster a high-quality learning environment by maintaining safety in the classroom; however, far too often, schools adopt measures that harm a student's social, emotional, academic, and in some cases, physical health and well-being. To create physically safe and emotionally supportive environments…

The 2022 Legislature required OSPI to promote survivor-centered and trauma-informed responses to sexual assault and to support survivors of sexual assault in Washington's K-12 public schools. OSPI partnered with a contractor to research best practices, review mandatory reporting laws, conduct listening sessions, update model protocols, and develop…

Over the years, as states have sought to incorporate more inclusive and relevant academic standards and curriculum for K-12 students, they have interpreted ethnic studies in both broad and narrow terms. While most states use the term ethnic studies to describe their efforts to incorporate the knowledge and perspectives of traditionally excluded…

There is a growing call to reconsider current approaches to national and state assessment system policies and practices. State and local education agency leaders, educators, community leaders, and advocates have voiced concerns that current state assessment systems--defined primarily by end-of-year multiple-choice tests--are unable to meet…

In the 2020-21 school year, school districts provided data on classroom-level use of educational technology assessments. Districts also reported data about instructional opportunities in educational technology at the elementary, middle, and high school levels. The educational technology assessments developed by the Office of Superintendent of…