This action research study aims to identify and address equity gaps within a PK-8 New Jersey school by leading a professional learning community (PLC). The study will use action research methods to conduct an educational equity audit, which will inform the annual school plan and create a leadership action plan to stimulate organizational change.…

Over the last few years, much attention has been focused on the nationwide teacher shortage. As teachers begin to retire in record numbers, and the number of students entering teacher education majors continues to decline, concern around the teacher shortage heightens (US Dept. of Ed., 2016). The numbers are even more dire when looking at Teachers…

To address the question of how to develop the capacity for every instructional coach to provide job-embedded professional learning for every teacher and student, the Utah State Board of Education's quality instruction team designed and built a statewide 22 networked professional learning system that includes instructional coaches, local education…

Across the United States, State Education Agencies (SEAs) are using tiered strategies, such as Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) frameworks, to ensure that all students, including diverse learners, receive equal, high-quality education. However, little is known about the extent to which SEAs are encouraging use of MTSS to address the needs of…

The objectives of the audit were to determine whether the Kentucky Department of Education (Kentucky) had an adequate oversight process in place to ensure that (1) local educational agencies' (LEA) American Rescue Plan (ARP) Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) plans met applicable requirements and (2) LEAs use ARP ESSER funds…

As open enrollment public charter school districts have continued to grow in Texas, researchers and policymakers have continued to question how these public charter school districts spend public taxpayer dollars. Although extensive research has addressed how public charter school districts spend money to recruit teachers, complete capital…

When the COVID-19 pandemic drove schools online in March 2020, state education leaders were left without access to data needed to understand how best to support students. The pandemic revealed the strengths and limitations of state education data systems while inspiring new strategies for collecting, reporting and using data. In 2021, DataSmith…

In this article, Amanda Williford, Jason Downer, Kate Miller-Bains, Jenna Conway, and Lisa Howard tell us how a university research center, an early education advocacy group, and a state department of education joined forces in a research-practice partnership to develop and implement a more comprehensive assessment of young Virginia children's…

Statement of Purpose and Method of Study: The purpose of this study is to describe the perspectives, processes, and experiences identified during the implementation of the SIG Transformation Model in a rural school district in Mississippi. The Transformation Model is one of the four approved prescriptive models identified by the federal government…

Micro-credentials are increasingly being adopted across a variety of industries and countries, including the kindergarten through grade 12 education system in the United States, as a way to identify workers with specific skills, knowledge, and competencies. This report presents the results of a study conducted by RAND researchers who investigated…

This document provides state education agency (SEA) leaders with a systematized approach to identifying and defining elements, major tasks, and deliverables for conducting a meaningful resource allocation review (RAR). Based on the findings of an intensive four-year design process, field research, and recommendations from the pilot audit of the…

We compare the institutional standards and expectations for English language arts (ELA) educators from the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE), the leading professional organization in this field, and the state of Georgia. By conducting a critical policy analysis of documents from NCTE and the Georgia Department of Education (GADoE) we…

In this paper, we report the findings of a case study that explored how one State Education Agency (SEA) and two Local Education Agencies (LEAs) in a southern state enacted federal and state policies to provide Accessible Educational Materials (AEM) to students with disabilities, work that is ongoing in the southern state as of this writing.…

The objectives of this audit was to determine whether the Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (Washington) had an adequate oversight process in place to ensure that (1) local educational agencies' (LEA) American Rescue Plan (ARP) Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) plans met applicable requirements and…

Although multilingual learner (ML) students are present in nearly all K-12 settings, they tend to be served by schools and educators who are inadequately prepared to support them. While state education agency leaders may be well-positioned to address inequities in ML education, given their roles as policy intermediaries, their work is politically…