Assessments matter in education. Testing is nothing new; tests have been around as long as school itself. However, over the last 15 years, state assessments have grown to be an increasingly central, and often controversial, part of schooling. As states raise their standards, it is more important than ever to ask: What is a high-quality assessment?…

Following the passage of No Child Left Behind, there has been increased attention among researchers, policymakers, and practitioners on the emergence and implementation of standards-based education. Existing literature documents both the promise of standards-based education and the various potential obstacles to achieving success that teachers,…

Principals' wheelbarrows are full of initiatives: closing learning gaps, preparing for the Common Core State Standards, differentiating instruction, and improving college and career readiness, to name a few. Meanwhile, principals have too few assets in their toolboxes to meet all the hefty demands. Taking the long view, it becomes clear that true…

WestEd, a research and development agency, and ConnectEd: The California Center for College and Career have partnered to develop a framework for college and career readiness. In this article, the authors look at one student's successful journey from high school to college to career, and highlights a career-readiness framework to ensure more…

Although the phrase "college and career readiness" has been in circulation since the mid-2000s, it has become nearly ubiquitous in discussions about K-12 and postsecondary education, especially in the last two years. In spring 2010 an unprecedented collaboration led to the development of the "Framework for Success in Postsecondary Writing," an…

Preparing all students for success requires a renewed emphasis on supporting high-quality teaching, on using data to inform decision-making, and on creating a culture of high expectations. To support the shift toward college and career readiness, more than 45 states and the District of Columbia have adopted the Common Core State Standards (CCSS).…

The Common Core State Standards spell out the sophisticated language competencies that students will need to perform in academic and technical subject areas. English language learners (ELLs) face a double challenge--they must learn grade-level content while simultaneously building their language proficiency. This policy brief discusses these…

The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) were developed through an unprecedented, state-led initiative that drew on the expertise of teachers, parents, administrators, researchers and content experts from across the country. The Standards define a staircase to college and career readiness, building on the best of previous state standards in English…

The large number of underprepared students entering the nation's two-and four-year colleges and universities has created what Levin and Calcagno (2008) consider a "remediation crisis" (p.181). Despite the recent attainment of high school diplomas, many incoming students are academically unprepared for college-level coursework in reading,…

The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) and assessments aligned to them represent a significant milestone in public education reform in the U.S. Developed with consultation from higher education, the rigorous new standards and the assessments now being drafted by two consortia promise to help students reach higher levels of academic achievement and…

This Roadmap, developed by the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) Next-Generation State Accountability Taskforce, presents a vision for next-generation accountability systems to support college and career readiness for all students. It is written by and for states, building on the leadership toward college and career readiness. This…

Implementation of college- and career-readiness standards is some of the most important work currently underway in states to improve student achievement and public education overall. SREB examined the efforts of 14 states--including 11 SREB states--to support implementation of new college- and career-readiness standards. The goal of the research…

The following profiles address decisions and actions that state education policy-makers--in the state departments of education, unless otherwise noted--are taking to foster successful statewide implementation of their states' new college- and career-readiness standards and aligned assessments. These profiles provide a descriptive overview of each…

By 2012, all of the states in this study had started implementing new or revised teacher and leader evaluation systems. The systems include many and varying updates. In some cases, the updates were designed to meet conditions for a state's "Race to the Top" grant. In others, the updates were made to meet conditions for a state's waiver…

This report builds on a foundation of knowledge about the academic readiness of the ACT-tested high school graduating class of 2012 as presented in "The Condition of College & Career Readiness" (see ED534761). An important conclusion of the "Condition" report is that far too many high school graduates are not prepared for…