This brief from the Region 2 Comprehensive Center, in consultation with the New York State Education Department, presents seven state case studies that illustrate the implementation of performance-based assessments. It contributes to the growing research on performance-based assessment, highlighting specific state-level policies that include…

This study synthesizes lessons learned about the promising role of "career navigators" at community colleges to aid students in the transitions through disjunctures in their careers. Career navigators are student support personnel who follow students from recruitment, through their studies or training programs, to job placement. Findings…

This policy issue brief provides recommendations for state policymakers to generate a shared vision for student success that prepares all students for college, career and civic life. The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) provides states with an unprecedented opportunity to transform K-12 education systems with new flexibility. The new law makes it…

Since 2012, community colleges have made a considerable effort to increase student success and completion. Today, as much greater attention is being paid to drawing stronger linkages between education and workforce needs, institutions are becoming more strategic and deliberate in this work. In particular, many institutions are building stronger…

This report shares stories from around the country about community and state leaders working to strengthen partnerships, practices, and policies--all to improve the odds for youth. Stories in this report include: (1) Using new data to spark public conversations about youth issues in Indianola, MS; (2) Leaders building a children and youth master…

Southern Regional Education Board's (SREB's) Commission on Career and Technical Education challenges states to build bridges from high school to postsecondary attainment and career advancement by developing rigorous, relevant career pathways that align secondary, postsecondary, and workplace learning and lead to high-skill, high-wage jobs in…

CTE works! That was the recurring theme that attendees heard at the 2012 National Policy Seminar (NPS) hosted by ACTE. For those new to the event and lobbying, a pre-conference workshop, "Learning the Ropes of Washington CTE Advocacy," laid out the basics of Hill advocacy. Veteran CTE advocates were offered a basics-plus session,…

National initiatives to raise K-12 standards and align them to postsecondary entrance requirements have prompted states and/or state postsecondary systems to enact policies to improve alignment among postsecondary readiness standards, postsecondary placement and diagnostic exams, and developmental education curricula. This report examines how six…

As they closed the books on the 2012-2013 school year, Long Beach City College continued the task of pouring over years of student enrollment data. They found that after years of offering remedial courses for students who entered unprepared for the rigors of higher education, the college reported and astonishing 500 percent increase in the number…

At open-access two-year public colleges, the goal of the traditional assessment and placement process is to match incoming students to the developmental or college-level courses for which they have adequate preparation; the process presumably increases underprepared students' chances of short- and long-term success in college while maintaining the…

This paper presents a comparison of Virginia's mathematics performance expectations with the common core state standards for mathematics. The comparison focuses on number and quantity, algebra, functions, geometry, and statistics and probability. (Contains 1 footnote.)

Assessments matter in education. Testing is nothing new; tests have been around as long as school itself. However, over the last 15 years, state assessments have grown to be an increasingly central, and often controversial, part of schooling. As states raise their standards, it is more important than ever to ask: What is a high-quality assessment?…

This first draft of the "Comparison of Virginia's 2009 Mathematics Standards of Learning (SOL) with the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) for Mathematics" provides a side-by-side overview demonstrating how the 2009 Mathematics SOL are aligned to the CCSS. The comparison was made using Virginia's complete standards program for supporting…

"Gauging Progress, Accelerating Pace" is the seventh biennial report to Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) states on their progress in meeting SREB's Challenge to Lead goals for education. Each customized state report documents progress on both measurable outcomes and state policies. Through effective policy implementation, the…

Annually, ACT provides a snapshot of the college and career readiness of ACT-tested high school graduates. This report is offered as a service to inform policymakers and practitioners about selected indicators of effectiveness and how that translates into readiness. It is designed to stimulate discussion, inquiry, and action. This report for the…