School ratings are a ubiquitous feature of the U.S. educational system. Alongside state-mandated measures of school performance, non-state organizations such as GreatSchools.org and Niche have created consumer-oriented systems of school ratings that draw on publicly available information about schools. Claiming the purpose of their rating systems…

Today, nearly all states either offer or allow digital learning in some form, with instruction provided by a variety of providers. This instruction typically takes one of three forms: (1) Full-time virtual schools: Students take their entire course load online via an independent, charter, or district-sponsored program; (2) Blended learning models:…

This twelfth edition of "Measuring up to the Model: A Ranking of State Charter School Laws" evaluates each state's public charter school law against the 21 essential components of a strong charter school law. These 21 components are drawn from the National Alliance's "A New Model Law for Supporting the Growth of High-Quality Public…

The Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) recommends that districts consider a variety of alternative models, strategies and schedules for the reopening of public schools for fall 2020. Designing and planning early will be key to a successful reopening. Each school district may have a customized plan for reopening that best fits its students,…

Practically overnight, the spread of COVID-19 caused a sudden shutdown of classroom-based instruction--the centuries-old emblem of formal education. Fortunately, the capabilities of the technological era--in which broadband connectivity, mobile communication, and video conferencing are increasingly common--meant that for the first time in world…

School choice was intended to expand options and equity, and it holds promise for many students with unique needs. But it is clear that no choice system can be equitable until all students have real access to those choices. More than 400,000 youth are currently in foster care in the United States, many of whom experience significant obstacles in…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to share lessons learned and tools developed that teachers can use to build pedagogically sound online courses. Transitioning to online instruction is not learning to teach all over again, and it does not have to feel that way either. Through the lens of three common questions new online teachers ask, the…

This document is designed to assist districts, administrators, and educators with all phases of the West Virginia COVID-19 2020 reentry planning process. This is a living, iterative, document that will be updated regularly to best benefit those associated with the grade six through grade twelve education community in West Virginia. This document…

As students and teachers shift to working from home, many district policies need to shift as well. Our new publication, "Recommended District Policies for At-Home Teaching and Learning," provides recommendations with a focus on: What policies are both feasible and most likely to produce strong learning outcomes for all students,…

This study examined the North Carolina Virtual Public School's (NCVPS) credit recovery program and other common credit recovery options available to students in the state. The study compared short- and longer-term academic outcome data across credit recovery options, as well as correlations between the academic outcomes and characteristics of…

The purpose of this document is to provide information on the calculations and data from the 2017-2018 Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) that were used to assess the findings in the related thematic briefs. Using the 2017-18 CRDC data, variables were selected to observe the enrollment and experiences of students with disabilities in different…

Wisconsin Virtual School, a state online learning program that offers supplemental online courses to partner districts in Wisconsin, administered a survey to its teachers in fall 2014 to learn more about their training experiences and challenges. More Wisconsin Virtual School teachers reported participating in training or professional development…

The Brown Center on Education Policy at Brookings releases an annual Education Choice and Competition Index (ECCI) that chronicles how school choice is manifested in the nation's 100+ largest school districts. The ECCI scores and ranks districts on the degree to which families within the district's borders have access to: (1) maximum choice; (2) a…

The Brookings Institution releases an annual Education Choice and Competition Index (ECCI) that chronicles how school choice is manifested in the nation's 100+ largest school districts. The ECCI scores and ranks districts on the degree to which families within the district's borders have access to: (1) maximum choice; (2) a choice process that…

Exploring the critical role of school choice in the future of education reform, the Education Choice and Competition Index (ECCI) is an interactive web application that scores large school districts based on thirteen categories of policy and practice relevant to choice. The intent of the ECCI is to: create public awareness of the differences among…