No Child Left Behind and the Every Student Succeeds Act have made accountability central to conversations about education policy. But neither statute articulates a clear vision of what constitutes "quality" or "equity" in education, nor do they include a mechanism to ensure that schools have sufficient resources to pursue that…

The purpose of this study was to explore the alternative education placement characteristics in the state of Arkansas and the demographics of the students placed in ALE. There are eleven characteristics of which two are required to be present in a student profile in order for a student to be placed in alternative education in Arkansas. This…

At least 16 states have limited exclusionary discipline for elementary age students, but little is known about the effects of these policies on discipline rates and disproportionality. This paper tests whether a limit on exclusionary discipline in grades K-5 in Arkansas impacted the likelihood of suspension and expulsion overall, for different…

Innovation zones help state policy leaders create space in state policy for local educators to design innovative education models. They allow local districts or schools to request a waiver from outdated state policies and regulations that communities have identified as a barrier to high-quality, student-centered learning. These models are also…

For any labor market to function properly, clear information is needed to guide decision making; its absence invariably leads to less than optimal decisions and inefficiencies. While the broader labor market is riddled with imperfect information, the teacher labor market is particularly vulnerable--largely for the lack of the most basic…

Existing literature has established the benefits of recess and physical activity for children. In response, more schools in the United States are implementing, or even requiring, extended recess time for students. With these policy changes, it is important to understand the impact upon students, faculty, and staff. The following study used the…

Researchers suggest that the economy of the future will consist of jobs that do not currently exist, there will likely be a shortage of individuals with necessary education and credentials to fill those jobs, and if the nation does not produce this workforce, there will likely be a $1.72 trillion loss in productivity by 2030. Considering these…

State policymakers in the United States have in recent years experimented with new initiatives to change the procedures used by public institutions to assess and assign academically underprepared students to non-credit developmental education (or remedial) courses. This study explores whether the most recent developmental education reform in…

Concerned with low on-time graduation rates, state lawmakers continue to turn to outcomes-based funding (OBF) as one policy approach to support postsecondary degree attainment and workforce goals. Policymakers have also been confronted with constituent complaints about student debt loads, course schedules and academic programs that force students…

There is a growing body of research that suggests the first year of high school is a critical transition point for students. It also finds course-taking and successful completion of those courses in 9th grade to be valuable predictors of students' success in high school. The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) provides states an opportunity to…

This brief reviews state plans submitted to the U.S. Department of Education as of October 1, 2017. It focuses on three key topics for early learning in the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA): setting clear goals and policy priorities for early learning, integrating early learning into school improvement, and supporting early childhood educator…

While the United States is simultaneously recovering from a global pandemic and facing a national reckoning of racial injustice, the effects of COVID-19 continue to exacerbate academic and opportunity gaps that were decades in the making in K-12 systems. Most students are performing worse than before the pandemic. For students of color, there is a…

This special report provides context and examples of new legislation impacting preparation, certification, induction, professional development, evaluation and compensation for leaders of schools and districts.

Teacher evaluations can be used by states and districts to support and develop an exceptional workforce. Accurate evaluations based on quality data can help differentiate teacher performance, inform feedback, improve professional development, provide opportunities for pay increases and advancement, and provide rationale for teacher dismissals. Yet…

Even as states made educational advances in recent years, they have often struggled to close achievement gaps between white students and students of color and between wealthier and poorer students. Arkansas is a state that has unquestionably made great strides in overall educational adequacy since the Arkansas Supreme Court made a stream of…