Defined as the tendency for structures and groups to "grow more alike, to develop similarities" policy convergence is a recognized factor in policy analysis across fields. In the arts education sphere, this can mean adopting similar curriculum standards, imitating an after-school arts program, or even borrowing a large-scale metropolitan…

Oklahoma HB1775 seeks to both shape the discussion of race and gender in PK-12 education. We conducted a content analysis of the Oklahoma Academic Standards for Social Standards (2019) in reference to HB1775. This paper examines how the language of the law is reflected in the standards and implications for teachers and administrators. The authors…

State summative assessments play an important role in measuring student learning and guiding educational improvement efforts, despite their limitations. But there is growing momentum in individual states and nationally to rethink these assessments with an eye toward reducing time spent on testing and increasing the tests' instructional relevance.…

In 2012 Washington became the 42nd state in the nation to adopt a charter school law. Charter schools in Washington are autonomous public schools operated by a nonprofit organization rather than a school district. As a local education agency, each school must follow many of the same compliance and reporting requirements that traditional districts…

This brief examines state-defined long-term goals for improving achievement in states' Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) plans as of January 2018, and offers early insights into the varied approaches states have taken in setting long-term goals, timelines, and trajectories to reach their goals.

The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) requires states to outline their academic and English language proficiency goals and provide a detailed proposal for the statewide accountability system in a state ESSA plan. This brief, a collaboration between Achieve and UnidosUS, provides a two-part analysis of states' goals for English learners (ELs) in…

As the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) is implemented, states are evaluating their accountability systems to gauge these systems' alignment with ESSA stipulations. The implementation of ESSA provides states with opportunities to change the compositions of their accountability systems and to select indicators that are aligned with their visions…

The U.S. Department of Education (Department) issued a Dear Colleague Letter (Letter) on November 16, 2015, to "clarify that an individualized education program (IEP) for an eligible child with a disability under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) must be aligned with the State's academic content standards for the grade in…

The U.S. Department of Education (ED) provided feedback to several states recently regarding the states' ESSA plan. Among other issues, ED raised questions regarding the use of indices for the achievement indicator. ED expressed concerns that some of the states' index systems allowed the performance of high achieving students to "mask"…

In 2016 the state of Massachusetts began a process to end the confusing series of alterations to education by revising and aligning the state's academic standards and tests. In March 2017 the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) approved revisions to the state English language arts (ELA) and math standards. The purpose of this report…

In 1993, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts dramatically overhauled its K-12 education system and created a new school finance formula, building an educational accountability structure to ensure every child has access to a high-quality education. The Massachusetts Education Reform Act (MERA) established academic standards in core subjects, mandated…

Education standards do not flop spectacularly. Their failure gives rise to nothing like the black-and-white films of early aeronautical experiments: no missiles exploding on launch pads or planes tumbling from the sky. But 10 years after 46 of the 50 states adopted the Common Core standards, the lack of evidence that they have improved student…

The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) has ushered in an era of renewed focus on English Learners (ELs) in states' accountability systems. The new law not only emphasizes the academic achievement and growth of ELs alongside their peers, but it also demands that states prioritize English language acquisition and proficiency for ELs. Under the No…

In the past few years, there has been a surge of interest in expanding the scope of high schools. Shifting away from an earlier era that focused primarily on graduation rates and achievement tests, states have built a range of college- and career-readiness measures to track things like whether students are taking and passing advanced courses,…

"Making Career Readiness Count 3.0" provides an analysis of how the 50 states and the District of Columbia are including and incentivizing measures of career readiness in their new accountability systems under ESSA, as well as an analysis of state-level accountability systems in states with dual systems. This report is the result of a…