States began adopting the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) in 2010 after they were launched by the Council of Chief State School Officers and the National Governors Association. Five years later, policymakers in numerous states continue to debate the Common Core and related elements, such as how to assess the standards. This brief provides a…

Describes findings and recommendations of the first annual report of the Massachusetts Education Reform Review Commission, which focused on standards and assessments, accountability, district and teacher capacity, and funding. (PKP)

It is difficult to find a person who unabashedly admires each and every detail of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act. However, amid all the howls and moans about the implementation of NCLB, the flywheel has been whirring, catching, and turning. In some places, it has turned more than in others, but no matter what the underlying philosophy or…

The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) is, quite possibly, the most comprehensive and systemic education reform act passed by Congress in the last 40 years. Given only 17 states ever fully complied with NCLB's predecessor, the 1994 Elementary and Secondary Education Act, it is only proper that legislators, policymakers, and researchers are now asking…

In higher education, a university is typically loosely coupled with its suprasystems, but its various schools or colleges tend to be tightly coupled with the university, as are departments with their respective schools or colleges. Similarly, in the corporate sector, a training department is typically tightly coupled with the company management…

In Physics "critical mass" refers to the minimum amount of fissionable material required to sustain a chain reaction. The adoption of state education policy isn't often equated with this concept, but occasionally solutions and ideas seem to gather around a common problem. If the solution at hand is simple, easily understood, and…