Statewide annual assessments are designed to help guide educational decisions by evaluating student growth and learning so resources can be equitably distributed. They also provide valuable individual results that summarize how each student is progressing against grade-level academic standards, identify additional ways their school system can…

Over the last five years, the U.S. Department of Education (USED) is requiring states to provide more and better evidence supporting the quality and validity of their assessment and accountability systems. Notably, states are asked to explain more fully how the proposed design of their systems will provide accurate and reliable information that…

This resource describes new reporting requirements and measurement changes to Part B State Performance Plan and Annual Performance Report (SPP/APR) Indicator 3. The majority of students with disabilities participate in regular statewide assessments, and a small percentage of students with the most significant disabilities participate in alternate…

"The SEA of the Future" is an education publication series examining how state education agencies can shift from a compliance to a performance-oriented organization through strategic planning and performance management tools to meet growing demands to support education reform while improving productivity. This volume, the sixth in the…

The Tennessee Educator Survey, created in partnership with the Tennessee Education Research Alliance at Vanderbilt University (TERA), aims to take the pulse of teacher perceptions, monitor school climate and culture across the state, and include educators' voices in the policy discussion. The survey offers a snapshot of where Tennessee is--and…

This study expands our understanding of how groups influence the higher education policy process through strategic policy narratives. As the number and diversity of interest groups attempting to influence the policy making process in higher education increases, the importance of considering how those interest groups strategically construct and use…

Part I summarizes key topics of federal education policy articulating accountability requirements for state education agencies (SEAs) and local education agencies (LEAs, or school districts). In that section we describe major goals of the legislation and which components are the same or changed in the federal law. The findings are grouped into…

In this report, we present three of the most critical challenges facing our public schools--areas where greater investments, strategic expansion of effective practices, and thoughtful collaboration can bring us closer to achieving our statewide vision of excellence for every child. Indeed, the purpose of this report is not to generate new policy…

Each state education agency (SEA) must address all required elements of the consolidated State plan. Although the information an SEA provides for each requirement will reflect that particular requirement, an SEA is encouraged to consider whether particular descriptions or strategies meet multiple requirements or goals. In developing its…

This brief provides an overview of the Instructional Improvement System (IIS) models for State education agencies in Hawaii, Kentucky, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Ohio and Rhode Island, along IIS goals in the following areas: (1) Standards and Curriculum; (2) Instructional Practices; (3) Assessment and Growth; (4) Learner Profiles; (5) Data…

This paper describes a major initiative in the Commonwealth of Kentucky to develop a statewide, standards-based, student report card for reporting the learning progress of individual students at all grade levels (K-12). Led by a team of researchers with expertise in grading and reporting, 36 educators from three diverse school districts created…

Achieve has put together a set of materials--"Taking Root: Strategies for Sustaining the College- and Career-Ready Agenda"--that seeks to help states develop and implement strategies to support the sustainability of the college- and career-ready agenda. This sustainability audit was created for states to use to evaluate their own…

An Indiana project was designed to secure information necessary for defining and integrating components of an exemplary system for vocational education student recruitment and selection. The exploratory phase of the study involved an investigation of the definitions and processes of vocational education student recruitment and selection. It…

This report provides direction for assessment policy and practice in employability and work force education and training programs serving youth and adult learners in Iowa. It provides a research base for the consideration of common assessment instruments for youth and adult learners in these programs. The report first identifies existing…

This report is a comprehensive needs assessment study that provides the foundation for a statewide adult basic education (ABE) accountability system in Iowa. Data from this study, conducted in 1993-94 by the Iowa Department of Education, were collected through a survey mailed to a total of 9,700 ABE program staff, community agency contact persons,…