The new Every Student Succeeds Act returns to the states much of the authority for directing school improvement that the federal government had assumed in the past 15 years. Some states are ready to roll, but plenty are searching for potential role models. Fortunately, at least two such candidates are easy to find. Earlier this Read more about A Tale of 2 States: Lessons to Be Learned[…]
Under the newly enacted Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), states now face the challenge of creating school accountability systems that can vastly improve upon the model required by No Child Left Behind. To help spur creative thinking about how they might do so, and also to inform the Department of Education as it develops its Read more about ESSA Accountability Design Competition Submissions[…]
Policy implementation is perhaps the most difficult element of education reform. But what if policy development and implementation were flipped? What if policy design began with an implementation perspective? In a blog post in Education Week, Jal Mehta explores this concept: The idea of Human-Centered Systems Design is that if we want to design policies Read more about The Case for Human-Centered Systems Design[…]
Now that Congress has reauthorized the Elementary and Secondary Education Act and given states control over their own accountability systems, what will states do with the new flexibility? Pretty much the same thing they have been doing for the past four years, says a report released by the Council of Chief State School Officers. More Read more about States’ Continued Commitment to Next-Generation Accountability Systems[…]
A recent article by Kaylan Connally from EdCentral examines the implications for states’ evaluation systems moving forward and how ESSA may influence other state teacher quality efforts. ESSA will affect the way teacher preparation, teacher equity, teacher growth and advancement are handled by states. Teacher Preparation – Through ESSA Title II formula funds, states can Read more about How Will ESSA Influence States’ Teacher Quality Efforts?[…]
With the authorization of the Every Student Succeeds Act, all eyes are on State Education Agencies (SEAs) for direction and leadership related to education reform. There is no doubt that SEAs will serve an essential role in the future of our country’s educational system, but the scope of that role will be largely determined by Read more about January Issue Brief: Effective State Education Agencies[…]
The 2016 edition of Education Week’s Quality Counts report—Called to Account: New Directions in School Accountability—examines how new state and federal strategies are transforming the assessment of school performance and reshaping the consequences for poor results. In addition to the special focus on accountability, Quality Counts 2016 features the report’s hallmark report card on the Read more about Education Week Releases Quality Counts 2016[…]
A new working paper from Transforming Education highlights important findings regarding non-cognitive skills, specifically self-control and social competence in students. The paper is organized around nine “headlines;” these are conclusions that the authors suggest are justified by the research literature. These headlines concern the relationship of non-cognitive skills to academics, careers, and general well-being. The Read more about Recent Paper highlights Non-Cognitive Skills[…]
In the last several years, state policymakers have enacted a dizzying array of new policies on education issues ranging from assessment and accountability to cursive-handwriting and citizenship exams. Within states, education policy-making isn’t led by one person or entity, but many — state legislatures, state education agencies, state and local boards of education, the governor, Read more about Aspen Institute Releases Checklist for Education Policymakers[…]
The National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) recently released the 2015 report on State Teacher Policy. The report summarizes how the states are doing in developing policies that improve the teaching profession. The 2015 State Teacher Policy Yearbook provides a 360-degree analysis of every state law, rule, and regulation that shapes the teaching profession—from teacher Read more about NCTQ releases the 2015 State Teacher Policy Yearbook[…]
A new resource, from the Aspen Institute’s Education & Society Program, challenges state chiefs and their leadership teams to consider their local context and capacity in determining essential, possible, and unsuitable roles for their agency and to make staffing and funding decisions that reflect this context. This discussion guide helps state leaders consider what roles Read more about Setting Roles and Responsibilities of the State Education Agency[…]
A new report from the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) examines the policy landscape of teacher and principal evaluations, as well as various states’ successes in using evaluations to inform teacher practice and administrative decisions. As of 2015, twenty-seven states require annual evaluations for all teachers, and forty-five require annual evaluations for all new, Read more about State of the States 2015: Evaluating Teaching, Leading, Learning[…]
As this blog reported, the reauthorized Elementary and Secondary Education Act was signed into law on December 10, 2015. The new law, deemed the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) is good for the next four years. SY2016-17 is a transition year, and the law will be in full effect in SY2017-18. We have previously provided Read more about What ESSA Means for Teacher Effectiveness[…]
A recent report released by the National Network of State Teachers of the Year (NNSTOY) states that among those educators who have be awarded Teacher of the Year, there is a consensus that new consortia assessments, PARCC and Smarter Balance, are on the right trajectory and are an improvement on previous state assessments. Related findings Read more about State Teacher of the Year Recipients Weigh in on New Consortia Assessments[…]
A recent report released by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) shows that the U.S. is sending a smaller percentage of students to college than at least 46 different nations. Additionally, enrollment in preschool has fallen in the U.S. and has exploded internationally. In fact: The more than 500-page report analyzed the education systems Read more about The U.S. Falls Behind in Global Education Economy[…]
The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), first created under President Lyndon Johnson in 1965, was the first major federal effort to provide funding and policy guidance to states to address the education needs of low-income and minority children and support the intent of Brown v. Board of Education. Today, The Every Child Succeeds Act, the Read more about ESEA Reauthorized – FINALLY![…]