There is a growing call to reconsider current approaches to national and state assessment system policies and practices. State and local education agency leaders, educators, community leaders, and advocates have voiced concerns that current state assessment systems--defined primarily by end-of-year multiple-choice tests--are unable to meet…

In recent years, record numbers of undocumented and asylum-seeking families and children from Mexico and Northern Triangle countries--El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras--crossed the U.S. southwest border in search of safety and opportunity. Some cross undetected, without registering with immigration authorities and becoming…

This Policy Brief outlines some of the challenges presented to students -- particularly those who are historically underserved -- who are transitioning from high school to college this fall. It shares the ways in which "near peer" advisors, or recent high school graduates, can help ease the transition and steer students toward success.…

Migration over the U.S. southwest border in the past decade has been composed of growing numbers of undocumented and asylum-seeking families and children from Mexico and Central America, with larger increases starting in fiscal year (FY) 2017. By U.S. law, states must provide education to all children, regardless of immigration status. Yet…

The "State Teacher Policy Yearbook" examines what is arguably the single most powerful authority over the teaching profession: state government. This Louisiana edition of the National Council on Teacher Quality's (NCTQ's) "State Teacher Policy Yearbook" is the first of what will be an annual look at the status of state policies…

Concern has grown among black educators about government litigation and administrative proceedings involving state systems of higher education as they relate to equality of educational opportunity. Properly prepared and presented to the courts, these cases can enhance equal educational opportunities by eliminating the continuing effects of past…

Hearings on the enforcement of civil rights legislation in higher education and the impact of policies and litigation on compliance are presented. Efforts to desegregate and enhance historically-black state colleges are addressed. Louisiana's civil rights consent decree is outlined, with attention to: governance, student access, student financial…