The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) requires state education agencies (SEAs) to collaborate with school districts, civil rights organizations, principals, teachers, "other school leaders," parents, and "stakeholders representing the interests of children with disabilities, English language learners, and other vulnerable…

West Virginia's Regional Education Service Agency 2 (RESA 2) serves six districts in the southwestern part of the state--Cabell, Lincoln, Logan, Mason, Mingo, Wayne--which together have 95 schools. RESA 2 was one of two RESAs to pilot implementation of the Learning School approach, beginning in the summer of 2014. RESA 2's first cohort included…

In January 2012, the West Virginia Governor's Office released an influential report, "Education Efficiency Audit of West Virginia's Primary and Secondary Education System," written by Public Works (2012), a management consulting company headquartered in West Chester, Pennsylvania. Based largely on this report, the West Virginia…

High school students who complete technical coursework in a given field should be able to demonstrate their skill mastery by passing a technical skill assessment that is recognized in that field. States are using a variety of approaches to assess students' skill attainment, with some adopting industry-recognized assessments linked to national…

In the fall of 2008, the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) commissioned a research study comparing the college access provider resources in Virginia to the access and academic achievement needs of the state. That study--conducted by researchers from the College of William and Mary and West Carolina University--resulted in the…

A study conducted from 1996-2000 focused on the academic development of children within a statewide educational reform effort, including changing the organizational structure of the early years of schooling into nongraded primary programs (formerly age-based classrooms for kindergarteners through third grade). The multisite study involved children…

Nearly one third of U.S. students will fail to graduate from high school this year and another one-third will graduate without the skills needed to be successful after high school. These statistics are even more alarming for minority and low income students, with fewer than 10% of low income minority students going on to earn bachelors' degrees…

The Early Childhood Education Network was created as a result of a year-long collaborative project between the National Association of State Boards of Education (NASBE) and the Policymaker Partnership to help states create an infrastructure to support the delivery of quality services to children and their families. The boards of education in six…

Declining revenues and enrollments in many states, combined with concerns over industrial competitiveness, are bringing changes to community colleges. (MLW)

A study was undertaken to investigate the role of state boards and systems of higher education in the statewide coordination and funding of public senior academic libraries. Data and information were gathered during the fall of 1976 and the summer of 1977 from on-site interviews with staff members of boards and systems of higher education in ten…

Because PL 95-207 requires the chief state school officer in each state to play a key role in the implementation of career education, this study sought the professional judgements of twenty chief state school officers on crucial issues in career education. Among the findings of the interviews was that most chief state school officers felt career…

Presents excerpts from an interview with Robert C. Andringa, minority staff director of the House Education and Labor Committee. Andringa argues the need for increased participation in the federal legislative process by state and local officials concerned with educational matters, and offers a number of recommendations for achieving that end. (JG)

This report presents findings from case studies conducted during the 2003-04 school year, the second year that the supplemental services provisions of the "No Child Left Behind Act" (NCLB) had been in effect. It follows up on baseline data collected the previous school year. This study conducted interviews in a purposive sample of six…

An interview with the Illinois State director of research and evaluation, covers issues related to commissioning and using evaluators. Pancrazio's position is with the State Board of Education. Focus is on the preparation of research reports to facilitate decision making and policy making. (TJH)

This case study is intended to provide education planners in other states with information on Colorado's experience with the Lifelong Learning Project. It is organized into several sections. To set the context, major circumstances affecting state-level planning and policy development are described. They are presented under two headings: (1)…