Public community colleges have struggled with reduced funding allocations, unstable enrollments, low completion rates, and growing racial equity gaps while facing increased accountability for outcomes. As a result, public community colleges are trying to determine how to efficiently use limited funds to effectively meet equitable student outcomes.…

In 2013, the Washington Student Achievement Council (WSAC) proposed as the state goal that 70 percent of the state's 25- to 44-year-olds (i.e., early and mid-career residents) should have a credential beyond high school. WSAC's Strategic Action Plan (SAP) provides a framework to organize the policy and practice innovation needed to achieve this…

The Washington State Encyclopedia of Education Data uses data from a variety of sources to present a holistic look at educational outcomes in the state organized around the Washington Student Achievement Council's Strategic Framework. The key areas addressed in the Encyclopedia are educational attainment and outcomes, state investment and…

The Washington State Board of Education (SBE) issues an annual report to the Governor, the Legislature, and the public, in accordance with the Charter School Act, RCW 28A.710.250. The statute requires the annual charter school report to include the following: (1) the performance of the state's charter schools during the preceding school year,…

In collaboration with the Washington State Charter School Commission (CSC), the State Board of Education (SBE) issues an annual report to the Governor, the Legislature, and the public, in accordance with RCW 28A.710.250. While this is the fourth annual report, the data represent four or fewer years of results, with schools opening and closing, and…

The State Board of Education (SBE) issues an annual report to the Governor, the Legislature, and the public, in accordance with Washington State's Charter School Act (RCW 28A.710.250). This is the fifth annual report on the performance of the charter schools. RCW 28A.710.250 requires that the SBE, in collaboration with the Charter School…

In collaboration with the Charter School Commission (CSC), the Washington State Board of Education (SBE) issues an annual report to the Governor, the Legislature, and the public, in accordance with the Charter School Act, RCW 28A.710.250. While this is the third annual report, the data represent three or fewer years of results, with schools…

Student loan default, defined as federal loan borrowers' failure to make any payments for at least 270 days, is an issue of increasing importance to community colleges and their students. This report takes a unique look at student loan default at nine community colleges across the nation, and how those colleges are working to help students avoid…

Making robust and reliable information about schools accessible is one of the most powerful ways to foster engagement and promote informed decisions that will shape our communities. Though education data is frequently collected and aggregated at the state level, data is rarely synthesized across cities. This report provides comparable information…

This issue of "Policy Insights" reviews the results from an annual survey, conducted by the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE), of tuition and fees at public colleges and universities in the WICHE region (which includes Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North…

The "Personnel Development Program to Improve Services and Results for Children with Disabilities" is authorized under Section 662 of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and is known as the Personnel Development Program (PDP). The PDP is administered by the U.S. Department of Education's (ED's) Office of Special…

This report portrays various performance indicators that are intended to facilitate an assessment of the postsecondary education system in Illinois. Descriptive statistics are presented for Illinois and five other comparison states as well as the nation. Comparison states were selected according to the degree of similarity of population…

This report portrays various performance indicators that are intended to facilitate an assessment of the postsecondary education system in Minnesota. Descriptive statistics are presented for Minnesota and five other comparison states as well as the nation. Comparison states were selected according to the degree of similarity of population…

As educators, government officials, and foundations leaders have embraced the agenda of dramatically increasing college success and credential completion, they have come to understand the need for better data on student outcomes to guide the improvement efforts of institutions, systems, and states. The data on degree completion and other final…

Performance funding in higher education ties state funding directly to institutional performance on specific indicators, such as rates of retention, graduation, and job placement. One of the great puzzles about performance funding is that it has been both popular and unstable. Between 1979 and 2007, 26 states enacted it, but 14 of those states…