In the past few months, the COVID-19 pandemic has further exposed the deep inequities in our society. After experiencing months of limited education, the effect on students will include extensive learning gaps, particularly for at-risk students. As students return to school, educators need to keep equity at the center of their focus and actions.…

This paper reviews state strategies for incorporating performance assessment in policy and practice. Specifically, the paper reviews the use of performance assessment in 12 states in the Innovation Lab Network, a group committed to developing systems of assessment that provide meaningful measures of college and career readiness. This review…

The federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) grants states more authority over their school accountability systems than did No Child Left Behind (NCLB). Hence, states have an opportunity to design improved school rating systems. Three of the most important improvements that states can make are to ensure that their accountability systems: (1)…

On April 3, 2017, sixteen states (Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Dakota, Tennessee, and Vermont) and the District of Columbia submitted their Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) state accountability plans to either the US Department of…

New England has a rich history of innovation and economic prosperity due, in part, to the fact that the region is home to some of the nation's most prestigious higher education institutions as well as a wide array of other postsecondary offerings. Nearly 60% of the students that Thomas College, Maine, serves are "first-generation"…

The passage of the "Every Student Succeeds" Act (ESSA) provides states the opportunity to craft new goals and strategies for science education. By setting clear goals for science achievement, states can leverage existing policies, including assessments and graduation requirements, to help drive toward set goals. This brief provides a…

We use a difference-in-differences analytic approach to estimate postsecondary consequences from Maine's mandate that all public school juniors take the SAT®. We find that, overall, the policy increased 4-year college-going rates by 2- to 3-percentage points and that 4-year college-going rates among induced students increased by 10-percentage…

In the upper northeast corner of the United States, the commitment to competency education has grown so strong that entire states are embracing it through high-leverage comprehensive policies. Of the six New England states -- Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont -- four have established comprehensive state…

Forty-two states and the District of Columbia have enacted charter school legislation. The Education Commission of the States (ECS) analysts reviewed laws in the 50 states in creating an online database that highlights how state charter school laws vary, particularly in how states establish standards and accountability for charter school…

As requested by the Maine Legislature's Joint Standing Committee on Education and Cultural Affairs, the Maine Education Policy Research Institute (MEPRI) has conducted a study with the purpose of examining current research and evidence-based policies related to teacher credentialing systems. The goal is to inform revisions to Maine's current…

The education system of the United States is not adequately preparing a large proportion of its students for college, career-training, and, ultimately, jobs that provide enough income to support a middle class standard of living. Because the education system has failed to attain hoped-for outcomes, some states are investigating new systems,…

This report examines the ongoing effort to revamp teacher evaluations. After collecting and synthesizing data from 17 states and the District of Columbia, it provides five major lessons for policymakers. New evaluation systems are just one part of sweeping changes in American schools. Because the number and extent of these changes are daunting,…

K-12 education resources are often allocated non-strategically, with schools spending time and money on activities that have little relationship to student outcomes. Most of these decisions take place within districts, rooted in the processes of setting schedules, staffing levels, and assignments, and creating final budgets. Local Education…

The Every Students Succeeds Act (ESSA) provided states with newfound flexibility on accountability measures and school improvement strategies. Many policy experts have analyzed states' ESSA plans, which explain how states use their federal funds under various provisions of the new law, as well as the approaches states take to identify and rate…

This is the final report of a large-scale independent evaluation of the Building Assets and Reducing Risks (BARR) model in ninth grade in eleven high schools in Maine, California, Minnesota, Kentucky, and Texas. This sample of schools included large and small schools in urban, suburban, and rural areas, serving students from a wide range of…