U.S. Department of Education

Strategic Plan for 

Fiscal Years 2011–2014
Strategic Plan, FY 2011–2014 

U.S. Department of Education 

Strategic Plan: Fiscal Years 2011–2014 

TABLE OF CONTENTS 

Message from the Secretary ......................................................................................................................................1

Department’s Mission Statement ..............................................................................................................................4

National Outcome Goals ............................................................................................................................................4

Most Recent Data for National Outcome Goals..................................................................................................5

Linking Department Performance to National Outcomes..........................................................................................7

National Outcome Goals.....................................................................................................................................7

Agency FY 2012–13 Priority Goals.......................................................................................................................7

Agency Strategic Goals........................................................................................................................................8

Department Strategic Goals For 2011–2014 ..............................................................................................................9

Goal 1: Postsecondary Education, Career and Technical Education, and Adult Education. Increase college 

access, quality, and completion by improving higher education and lifelong learning opportunities for youth 

and adults. ........................................................................................................................................................ 11

Goal 2: Elementary and Secondary. Prepare all elementary and secondary students for college and career 

by improving the education system’s ability to consistently deliver excellent classroom instruction with 

rigorous academic standards while providing effective support services....................................................... 19

Goal 3: Early Learning. Improve the health, social-emotional, and cognitive outcomes for all children from 

birth through 3rd grade, so that all children, particularly those with high needs, are on track for graduating 

from high school college- and career-ready. ................................................................................................... 31

Goal 4: Equity. Ensure and promote effective educational opportunities and safe and healthy learning 

environments for all students regardless of race, ethnicity, national origin, age, sex, sexual orientation, 

gender identity, disability, language, and socioeconomic status. ................................................................... 39

Goal 5: Continuous Improvement of the U.S. Education System. Enhance the education system’s ability to 

continuously improve through better and more widespread use of data, research and evaluation, 

transparency, innovation, and technology. ..................................................................................................... 47

Goal 6: U.S. Department of Education Capacity. Improve the organizational capacities of the Department 

to implement this Strategic Plan...................................................................................................................... 57
Strategic Plan, FY 2011–2014 

Page 1

MESSAGE FROM THE SECRETARY 

In President Obama’s first address to Congress, he challenged America to meet an ambitious goal for education: 

By 2020, we will once again have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world. Meeting this goal is 

vital for securing our long-term economic security, because the country that out-educates us today will 

out-compete us tomorrow. We must work to ensure that all children and adults in America receive a 

world-class education that will prepare them to succeed in college and careers for rich and fulfilling lives in a 

vibrant and prosperous democracy. 

We often refer to the President’s goal as the “North Star” for the work of the U.S. Department of Education as 

described in this fiscal year (FY) 2011–2014 Strategic Plan. A generation ago, we ranked first in the world in the 

rate of college degree attainment for 25- to 34-year-olds; now we rank 16th, and the global achievement gap is 

growing.1 Reaching the President’s goal will require comprehensive education reforms from cradle to career, 

beginning with children at birth, supporting them through postsecondary education, and helping them succeed 

as lifelong learners who can adapt to the constant changes in the diverse and technology-driven workplaces of 

the global economy. Our youngest children must be in early learning environments that prepare them for 

success in kindergarten and beyond. We must continue to close the achievement gap and ensure that 

elementary and secondary school students are on track to graduate from high school ready for college and 

careers. Once students enroll in a postsecondary education institution—whether at a trade or technical school, 

community college, a liberal arts college, a state university, or a research university—we must provide support 

and assistance to help them complete their certificates and degrees, with grants, loans, tax credits, and workstudy assistance. Doing this will equip them with the knowledge and skills to participate and engage in the 

nation’s future. Finally, at every level of the education system, we must promote competency in the arts and 

sciences to promote our competitiveness in a 21st century economy. Our Strategic Plan sets specific objectives 

for each of these goals and explains what the Department will do to support youth, adults, families, and 

education professionals in meeting them. 

We are bringing a new emphasis to the importance of early learning in the Department, recognizing that the 

path to college completion and a productive career begins at birth. Our goal is to increase access to improve the 

health, social-emotional, and cognitive outcomes for all children from birth through 3rd grade, so that all 

children, particularly those with high needs, are on track for graduating from high school ready for college and 

careers. Specifically, through the Race to the Top—Early Learning Challenge (RTT-ELC), we are helping states to 

build strong early learning systems that provide increased access to high-quality programs for the children who 

need it most. We intend to support the development of comprehensive assessment systems that provide 

teachers, administrators, and families with information on how young children are learning and how early 

learning programs can be strengthened, especially through family literacy programs. In addition, we will work 

with states to ensure that early learning professionals have the necessary knowledge and skills to support young 

children’s health, social-emotional, and educational development. To support states and communities in their 

work, the Department is working closely with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to 

dramatically improve coordination among early childhood programs and services and to create a stronger focus 

on health, social-emotional, and cognitive outcomes of children from birth through 3rd grade. 

In elementary and secondary education, our primary goal is to ensure that all students graduate from high 

school prepared to succeed in college and careers. Today, our dropout rate is unacceptably high: only 

 

1

 Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, “Education at a Glance 2011: OECD Indicators,” p. 40.
Strategic Plan, FY 2011–2014 

Page 2

75 percent of high school students earn a diploma with their class.2 We need to reduce the dropout rate and 

make sure that our high schools deliver the world-class education that all of our children deserve. Furthermore, 

in too many places, a high school diploma does not fully prepare students for success in college. Every year, four 

out of 10 students going from high school to college take at least one remedial course, making up for content 

they should have mastered in high school and spending tuition dollars on courses that will not count toward a 

postsecondary credential.3

 To help eliminate the need for such remediation and ensure that all high school 

graduates are ready for college-level work the first day they arrive on campus, we will support state-led efforts 

to set standards aligned to readiness for college and careers. We also will promote rigorous and fair 

accountability for states, districts, and schools based on the collection and use of comprehensive performance 

data, including student academic growth, that inform educational improvements to drive higher student 

achievement and improved educational outcomes for all students. All educators—especially principals and 

teachers—will need new tools and resources, including time for professional collaboration and development, to 

create positive learning cultures and climates, engage families and communities, and implement rigorous 

interventions, especially in our lowest-performing schools, and we will support education stakeholders to ensure 

the development of these tools. 

Once students graduate high school prepared for college-level work, they must have the financial support 

necessary to attend postsecondary education and earn a certificate, degree, or other credential. Even with the 

Department’s contribution of over $175 billion in aid to 15 million postsecondary students in fiscal year 2011, far 

too many students have significant financial worries.4

 We are committed to strengthening our student aid 

programs and administering them both efficiently and in a manner that is responsive to customer needs. The 

Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 (HCERA) ended student loan subsidies to banks, saving 

billions of dollars now used for funding financial aid in Pell Grants for low-income students and reducing 

borrowers’ payments for more than one million student loan borrowers. 

The law also provided $2 billion in higher education grants to strengthen community colleges and $2.55 billion 

to increase the capacity of minority-serving institutions to educate their growing number of students. Beyond a 

commitment to financial aid and helping to expand access to higher education, the Department will work with 

postsecondary institutions to introduce a new era of transparency to provide students with accurate and useful 

information. It will also support programs to increase college completion, workforce preparation, and civic 

participation with associated improvements in instructional design, productivity, and delivery of services. 

The Department has already made significant progress in implementing this cradle-to-career agenda through 

the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (the Recovery Act). Not only has the Recovery Act saved 

or created approximately 300,000 education jobs,5

 it also helped states balance budgets, helped young people 

and adults pay for college, and helped drive the change we need in our classrooms to prepare our students for 

the jobs of the future. The historic Race to the Top program, among other programs originally funded through 

the Recovery Act, has been a catalyst for education reform across this country, prompting states and school 

districts to make changes that will improve the way we prepare students in preschool through 12th grade (P-12)

for success in a competitive, 21st century economy and workplace. Last year, forty-four states and the District 

of Columbia changed their laws to put in place conditions for reform and continued progress, including laws 

relating to teacher and principal evaluation systems and charter schools. And the School Improvement Grants 

 

2 U.S. Department of Education, NCES, “NCES Common Core of Data (CCD) State Dropout and Completion Data File,” 2008–09 School 

Year. 

3

 U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Condition of Education, 2011, p. 225. 

4

 U.S. Department of Education, Federal Student Aid, previously unpublished, 2011. 

5

 http://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/california-receive-12-billion-support-education-jobs 
Strategic Plan, FY 2011–2014 

Page 3

program (SIG) is using approximately $4 billion to provide the substantial and extended support needed to turn 

around hundreds of our nation’s persistently lowest-achieving schools. 

President Obama has indicated that working together to put an outstanding education within reach of every 

child is central to America’s ability to out-compete countries around the world. This Strategic Plan is designed to 

support that vision by establishing a framework for an “all-hands-on-deck” approach in communities across 

America—involving local leaders, educators, families, and the students themselves—to build the best-educated 

workforce and citizenry in the world. 

Sincerely, 

Arne Duncan 

Secretary of Education 
Strategic Plan, FY 2011–2014 

Page 4

DEPARTMENT’S MISSION STATEMENT 

The Department of Education's mission is to promote student achievement and 

preparation for global competitiveness by fostering educational excellence and 

ensuring equal access. 

NATIONAL OUTCOME GOALS 









“By 2020, America will once again have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world.”

– President Barack Obama to a joint session of Congress, 

February 2009 

This FY 2011–2014 Strategic Plan (this Plan) addresses the key outcome-oriented goals below, focusing on 

reaching the President’s 2020 goal. These goals focus on improving student achievement to increase high 

school graduation, college completion, and educational attainment—all measures of how the country is 

performing and how far it has to go. This Plan sets forth a strategy that focuses on improving these “national 

outcomes” for all groups of students. Because these outcome measures will not change overnight, the 

Department has also outlined a set of performance measures, closely linked to the Department’s own activities, 

that can serve as indicators of the country’s progress. The specific years referenced in the measures vary 

because they reflect the most recently available data and comparison years that are available and appropriate 

for each measure. 

National Outcome Goals for Postsecondary Education, Career and Technical Education, and Adult Education: 

To increase the number and percentage of 25- to 34-year-olds who attain an associate’s degree or 

higher 

To increase the number and percentage of students who complete a bachelor’s degree within six years 

To increase the number and percentage of students who complete an associate’s degree or certificate 

within three years 

To increase the number and percentage of adult education students obtaining a high school credential 

National Outcome Goals for Elementary and Secondary: 





To increase the percentage of students who graduate from high school 

To increase the percentage of 4th and 8th grade students at or above Proficient on the National 

Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in reading, mathematics, and science 

National Outcome Goals for Early Learning: 

 To increase the number of states improving overall and disaggregated health, social-emotional, and 

cognitive outcomes for all children from birth through 3rd grade, especially those with high needs 

National Outcome Goals for Equity: 

 To significantly reduce the achievement gap for all students, regardless of race, ethnicity, national origin, 

age, gender, disability, language, sex, and socioeconomic status 
Strategic Plan, FY 2011–2014 

Page 5

MOST RECENT DATA FOR NATIONAL OUTCOME GOALS 

POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION, CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION, AND ADULT EDUCATION: 

To increase the number and percentage of 25- to 34-year-olds who attain an associate’s degree or higher 

Measure 2000 2010

25- to 34-year-olds attaining an associate’s or higher degree638% 42%

To increase the number and percentage of students who complete a bachelor’s degree within 6 years 

Measure

Entry Cohort

1998 2003

Students completing a bachelor’s degree within 6 years from their 

initial institution7 56% 57%

To increase the number and percentage of students who complete an associate’s degree or certificate within 

3 years 

Measure

Entry Cohort

2001 2006

Students completing an associate’s degree or certificate within 3 

years from their initial institution8 30% 29%

To increase the number and percentage of adult education students obtaining a high school credential 

Measure

Entry Cohort

2006–07 2008–09

Adult education students obtaining a high school credential960% 64%

ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY: 

To increase the percentage of students who graduate from high school within 4 years 

Measure

Graduating Class 

Entry Cohort

2006–07 2008–09

Freshmen graduating high school within 4 years10 74% 75%

To increase the percentage of 4th and 8th grade public school students at or above Proficient on the NAEP in 

reading, mathematics, and science11

Measure 2009 2011

4th graders Proficient in reading 32% 32%

8th graders Proficient in reading 30% 32%

4th graders Proficient in mathematics 38% 40%

8th graders Proficient in mathematics 33% 34%

4th graders Proficient in science 32% 12

8th graders Proficient in science 29%

 

6

 U.S. Department of Commerce, Census Bureau, Current Population Survey (CPS). 

7

 U.S. Department of Education, NCES, 2008–09 IPEDS. 

8

 Ibid. 

9

 U.S. Department of Education, Office of Vocational and Adult Education, National Reporting System, various school years. 

10 U.S. Department of Education, NCES, “NCES CCD State Dropout and Completion Data File,” various school years.

11 U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, NCES, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). Note: 

Data reflect public school students only. 

12 Note: NAEP Science not administered in 2011. 
Strategic Plan, FY 2011–2014 

Page 6

EQUITY: 

Eliminate the achievement gap 

Differences in Proficiency among Racial/Ethnic Groups (2009 and 2011)

13

4th Grade ( 2009 and 2011) 8th Grade ( 2009 and 2011)

NAEP Reading NAEP Mathematics

NAEP Proficiency rates for English 

Learners and all non-English Learners

( 2009 and 2011) 

NAEP Proficiency rates for Students with Disabilities 

and all Students without Disabilities

( 2009 and 2011) 

College Attainment Rates

( 2005–07 and 2007–09)

14

 

13 U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics, NAEP. Note: Data reflect 

public school students only. 

14 U.S. Department of Commerce, Census Bureau, 2005–07 and 2006–08 American Community Survey (ACS) 3-year Public Use 

Microdata Sample data. Note: ACS data used to provide greater accuracy for smaller populations. 
Strategic Plan, FY 2011–2014 

Page 7

LINKING DEPARTMENT PERFORMANCE TO NATIONAL OUTCOMES 

This Plan lays out a strategy that ties the day-to-day work of the Department to accomplishing the President’s 

2020 Goal. Specifically, this Plan includes: 

NATIONAL OUTCOME GOALS 

The National Outcome Goals are the improvements in student achievement needed at every level of education 

to achieve the President’s 2020 goal. Improving these outcomes will require a concerted effort from all 

stakeholders in the education system. 

AGENCY FY 2012–13 PRIORITY GOALS 

The Department of Education has identified a limited number of priority goals that will be a particular focus over 

the next two years. These goals, which will help measure the success of the Department’s cradle-to-career 

education strategy, reflect the importance of teaching and learning at all levels of the education system. These 

goals are consistent with the Department’s four-year strategic plan, which will be used to regularly monitor and 

report progress. To view information on all Department programs, please visit www.ed.gov. 

The effective implementation of the Department’s priority and strategic goals will depend, in part, on the 

effective use of high-quality and timely data, including evaluations and performance measures, throughout the 

lifecycle of policies and programs. The Department is committed to increasing the number of programs and 

initiatives that are evaluated using methods that include those consistent with the What Works Clearinghouse 

Evidence Standards and to incorporating cost-effectiveness measures into evaluations and program 

improvement systems. 

For more information, go to http://www.Performance.gov. 

Agency Priority Goals

Improve outcomes for all children from birth through third grade.

By September 30, 2013, at least nine states will implement a high-quality plan to collect and report 

disaggregated data on the status of children at kindergarten entry.

Improve learning by ensuring that more students have an effective teacher. 

By September 30, 2013, at least 500 school districts will have comprehensive teacher and principal 

evaluation and support systems and the majority of states will have statewide requirements for 

comprehensive teacher and principal evaluation and support systems.

Demonstrate progress in turning around the nation’s lowest-performing schools.

By September 30, 2013, 500 of the nation’s persistently lowest-achieving schools will have demonstrated 

significant improvement and will have served as potential models for future turnaround efforts.

Make informed decisions and improve instruction through the use of data. 

By September 30, 2013, all states will implement comprehensive statewide longitudinal data systems. 

Improve the quality of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education

Over the next 10 years, increase the number of well-prepared graduates with STEM degrees by onethird, resulting in an additional 1 million graduates with degrees in STEM subjects.

Prepare all students for college and career.

By September 30, 2013, all states will adopt internationally-benchmarked college- and career-ready 

standards.
Strategic Plan, FY 2011–2014 

Page 8

Agency Priority Goals 

Improve students’ ability to afford and complete college.

By September 30, 2013, the Department will develop college scorecards designed to improve consumer

decision-making and transparency about affordability for students and borrowers by streamlining 

information on all degree-granting institutions into a single, comparable, and simplified format, while 

also helping all states and institutions develop college completion plans.

AGENCY STRATEGIC GOALS 

To meet the National Outcome Goals, the country needs to modernize education delivery. The six Department 

Strategic Goals will guide the day-to-day work of the Department’s staff.

1. Postsecondary Education, Career and Technical Education, and Adult Education. Increase college 

access, quality, and completion by improving higher education and lifelong learning opportunities for 

youth and adults. 

2. Elementary and Secondary. Prepare all elementary and secondary students for college and career by 

improving the education system’s ability to consistently deliver excellent classroom instruction with 

rigorous academic standards while providing effective support services. 

3. Early Learning. Improve the health, social-emotional, and cognitive outcomes for all children from birth 

through 3rd grade, so that all children, particularly those with high needs, are on track for graduating 

from high school college- and career-ready. 

4. Equity. Ensure and promote effective educational opportunities and safe and healthy learning 

environments for all students regardless of race, ethnicity, national origin, age, sex, sexual orientation, 

gender identity, disability, language, and socioeconomic status. 

5. Continuous Improvement of the U.S. Education System. Enhance the education system’s ability to 

continuously improve through better and more widespread use of data, research and evaluation, 

transparency, innovation, and technology. 

6. U.S. Department of Education Capacity. Improve the organizational capacities of the Department to 

implement this Strategic Plan. 

Note: Per the GPRA Modernization Act, P.L. 111-352, regarding the requirement to address federal priority 

goals in the agency’s Strategic Plan and Annual Performance Plan, please refer to www.Performance.gov for 

information on federal priority goals and the agency’s contributions to those goals, where applicable.
Strategic Plan, FY 2011–2014 

Page 9

DEPARTMENT STRATEGIC GOALS FOR 2011–2014 

As mentioned in the previous section, this Plan links the Department’s day-to-day work to the Department’s

goals and to the National Outcomes necessary for achieving the President’s 2020 college attainment goal. The 

day-to-day work is organized into six goals related to the organization of the Department. Priorities are not 

intended to signify their relative importance; success on each will be necessary to ensure that the Department is 

maximizing its impact on the education system. 

This Plan will help to align the Administration’s yearly budget requests and the Department’s legislative agenda. 

For example, the Administration will leverage the opportunity to participate in the reauthorization of the 

Workforce Investment Act (WIA) to ensure that adult students and individuals with disabilities are college- and 

career-ready, and have the knowledge and skills necessary to pursue a successful career pathway. Continuous 

improvement rests in large part on an ongoing cycle of assessing performance, examining data, modifying 

instruction, and improving practices. Creating a culture of continuous improvement is at the heart of our efforts 

to work with and support elementary, secondary, and postsecondary educators and policy makers at the 

federal, state, and local levels. 

Accomplishing all of this Plan’s priorities will require tireless efforts from Department staff working with 

Congress and the White House, partners at the state and local levels, and all other stakeholders. This includes 

meeting numerous legislative challenges, such as the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary 

Education Act (ESEA), WIA, the Carl D. Perkins Career & Technical Education Act (CTEA), the Higher Education Act

(HEA), and others. Additionally, state and federal fiscal constraints may impact the Department’s ability to 

provide the necessary incentives and resources to increase quality, transparency, and accountability. 

Goal 1: Postsecondary Education, Career and Technical Education, and Adult Education. Increase college 

access, quality, and completion by improving higher education and lifelong learning opportunities for youth and 

adults. 

Sub-goal 1.1: Access. Close the opportunity gap by improving the affordability of and access to college and 

workforce training, especially for low-income students, first-generation college students, individuals with 

disabilities, and other chronically underrepresented populations. 

Sub-Goal 1.2: Quality. Foster institutional quality, accountability, and transparency to ensure that 

postsecondary education credentials represent effective preparation for students to excel in a global society 

and a changing economy. 

Sub-Goal 1.3: Completion. Increase degree and certificate completion and job placement in high-need and 

high-skilled areas (especially STEM), particularly among underrepresented and economically disadvantaged 

populations. 

Goal 2: Elementary and Secondary. Prepare all elementary and secondary students for college and career by 

improving the education system’s ability to consistently deliver excellent classroom instruction with rigorous 

academic standards while providing effective support services. 

Sub-Goal 2.1: Standards and Assessments. Support state-led efforts to develop and adopt college- and 

career-ready, internationally benchmarked standards, with aligned, valid, and reliable assessments. 

Sub-Goal 2.2: Great Teachers and Great Leaders. Improve the preparation, recruitment, development, 

support, evaluation, and recognition of effective teachers, principals, and administrators. 

Sub-Goal 2.3: School Climate and Community. Increase the success, safety, and health of students, 

particularly in high-need schools and communities. 
Strategic Plan, FY 2011–2014 

Page 10

Sub-Goal 2.4: Struggling Schools. Support states and districts in turning around the nation’s persistently 

lowest-achieving schools. 

Sub-Goal 2.5: Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. Increase access to and excellence in 

STEM for all students and prepare the next generation for careers in STEM-related fields. 

Goal 3: Early Learning. Improve the health, social-emotional, and cognitive outcomes for all children from birth 

through 3rd grade, so that all children, particularly those with high needs, are on track for graduating from high 

school college- and career-ready. 

Sub-Goal 3.1: Access. Increase access to high-quality early learning programs and comprehensive services, 

especially for children with high needs. 

Sub-Goal 3.2: Workforce. Improve the quality and effectiveness of the early learning workforce so that 

early childhood educators have the skills and abilities necessary to improve young children’s health, 

social-emotional, and cognitive outcomes. 

Sub-Goal 3.3: Assessment and Accountability. Improve the capacity of states and early learning programs 

to develop and implement comprehensive early learning assessment systems. 

Goal 4: Equity. Ensure and promote effective educational opportunities and safe and healthy learning 

environments for all students regardless of race, ethnicity, national origin, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender 

identity, disability, language, and socioeconomic status. 

Sub-Goal 4.1: Continue to Increase the Infusion of Equity Throughout the Department’s Programs and 

Activities. Promote and coordinate equity- focused efforts in Departmental programs.

Sub-Goal 4.2: Civil Rights Enforcement. Ensure equal access to education and promote educational 

excellence throughout the nation through the vigorous enforcement of civil rights laws. 

Goal 5: Continuous Improvement of the U.S. Education System. Enhance the education system’s ability to

continuously improve through better and more widespread use of data, research and evaluation, transparency, 

innovation, and technology. 

Sub-Goal 5.1: Data Systems. Facilitate the development of interoperable longitudinal data systems from 

early learning through the workforce to enable data-driven decision-making by increasing access to timely, 

reliable, and high-value data. 

Sub-Goal 5.2: Research and Evaluation. Support multiple approaches to research and evaluation to 

support educational improvement and Department decision-making. 

Sub-Goal 5.3: Transparency. Present relevant and reliable information that increases demand for 

educational attainment and improves educational performance, while maintaining student privacy. 

Sub-Goal 5.4: Technology and Innovation. Accelerate the development and broad adoption of new, 

effective programs, processes, and strategies, including education technology. 

Goal 6: U.S. Department of Education Capacity. Improve the organizational capacities of the Department to 

implement this Strategic Plan. 

Sub-Goal 6.1: Effective Workforce. Continue to build a high-performing, skilled workforce within the 

Department. 

Sub-Goal 6.2: Programmatic Risk Management. Improve the Department’s program efficacy through 

comprehensive risk management and grant monitoring. 

Sub-Goal 6.3: Implementation and Support. Build Department capacity to support states’ and other 

grantees’ implementation of reforms that result in improved outcomes for students.

Sub-Goal 6.4: Productivity and Performance Management. Improve workforce productivity through 

information technology and performance management systems. 
Strategic Plan, FY 2011–2014 

Page 11

GOAL 1: POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION, CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION, AND ADULT 

EDUCATION. INCREASE COLLEGE ACCESS, QUALITY, AND COMPLETION BY IMPROVING HIGHER 

EDUCATION AND LIFELONG LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES FOR YOUTH AND ADULTS. 

Dramatically boosting completion rates for bachelor’s and associate’s degrees is essential for Americans to 

compete in a global economy. Meeting the President’s 2020 Goal will require millions of additional Americans 

to earn a bachelor’s or associate’s degree or certificate. To meet his goal, the President has also challenged 

every American to commit to at least one year of higher education or career training—at a community college, 

four-year postsecondary institution, vocational-training school or program, or through an apprenticeship. 

Over 40 percent of students who enroll as first time, full-time students in four-year colleges fail to graduate 

within six years from the same institution, and over 70 percent who enroll in two-year colleges fail to graduate 

within three years from the same institution.15 In order to achieve the President’s goal, institutions of higher 

education will need to do more than enroll students in college; they will need to ensure that students 

successfully complete degrees and certificates. In addition, as part of the Department’s career and technical 

education (CTE) transformation strategy, the Department must work to provide support to state- and 

industry-led efforts to promote career skills for all students. Furthermore, to ensure a sustainable national 

economy, once they get to college, sufficient numbers of students must then enroll in and graduate with 

degrees in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM)-related fields. 

Whether for recent high school graduates or adult learners, the Department must ensure that all students are 

well prepared for college and career, help more students enroll in postsecondary education, and increase the 

number who complete programs of study with a degree or certificate. 

Prior to entering postsecondary education, prospective students need easily accessible information on cost, 

career placement and graduation rates, college loan default rates, and other information crucial to 

understanding the quality of their institutions or programs. Students deserve to know that, whether they enter 

a college, university, postsecondary career training program, or adult education program, the credential they 

earn will be affordable and its value will be recognized as an indication that they possess the necessary 

knowledge and skills for success in the workplace and in life. 

Providing federal student aid in a simple, reliable, and efficient manner is the main way that the Department 

supports college access and completion. In FY 2011, the Department expects to deliver nearly $175 billion in 

grants, work-study, and loan assistance to almost 15 million postsecondary students16 and their families. These 

students attend approximately 6,300 institutions of postsecondary education accredited by dozens of 

agencies.17 In addition, the Department administers $2 billion annually in grants to strengthen postsecondary 

institutions and promote college readiness, and an additional $2 billion in grant funds for CTE, adult education 

and literacy, and correctional education to help adults build skills and prepare adults for work, citizenship, and 

lifelong learning. 

The Department has already taken significant steps to increase college access, quality, and completion. Through 

HCERA, Congress ended student loan subsidies to banks, saving billions of dollars that are now used for financial 

aid through the Pell Grant program and by reducing borrowers’ repayments. In two years, enrollment of Pell 

Grant recipients in postsecondary education increased more than 50 percent, from 6 million to 9.6 million 

 

15 U.S. Department of Education, NCES, 2003–04 and 2008–09 IPEDS. 

16 Of the approximately 21 million total postsecondary education students 

17 Of the approximately 7,000 total postsecondary education institutions 
Strategic Plan, FY 2011–2014 

Page 12

students.18 The law also appropriates $2.6 billion over the next 10 years for grants to Historically Black Colleges 

and Universities and minority-serving institutions, and provides $750 million over the next five years to states, 

institutions, and organizations that are creating partnerships to ease the pathway to college for our 

disadvantaged populations while increasing the quality of a postsecondary education and supporting workforce 

readiness for success in career. In addition, the Department has simplified the application for federal student 

aid so it is easier and faster for students to apply for aid. 

Building on these accomplishments, the Department will continue to collaborate with stakeholders and provide 

leadership to accomplish four key sub-goals: 

1.1. Access. Close the opportunity gap by improving the affordability of and access to college and 

workforce training, especially for low-income students, first-generation college students, individuals 

with disabilities, and other chronically underrepresented populations. 

1.2. Quality. Foster institutional quality, accountability, and transparency to ensure that postsecondary 

education credentials represent effective preparation for students to excel in a global society and a 

changing economy. 

1.3. Completion. Increase degree and certificate completion and job placement in high-need and highskilled areas (especially science, technology, engineering, mathematics - STEM), particularly among 

underrepresented and economically disadvantaged populations. 

How will we measure success? 

The Department will use the following indicators to measure its success in improving student access, college 

completion, and academic quality. 

Postsecondary Education, Career and Technical Education, and Adult Education Indicators of Success 









Increase in the percentage of individuals completing and filing the Free Application for Federal Student 

Aid form (FAFSA) who come from low-income households 

Increase in the percentage of individuals completing and filing the FAFSA who are non-traditional 

students (25 years and above with no college degree) 

Increase in the number of states that have published a plan for improving postsecondary access, quality, 

and completion leading to careers and positive civic engagement 

Increase in the number of undergraduate credentials/degrees 

 

18

 U.S. Department of Education, Federal Student Aid, previously unpublished. 2011. 
Strategic Plan, FY 2011–2014 

Page 13

SUB-GOAL 1.1: ACCESS. CLOSE THE OPPORTUNITY GAP BY IMPROVING THE AFFORDABILITY OF 

AND ACCESS TO COLLEGE AND WORKFORCE TRAINING, ESPECIALLY FOR LOW-INCOME STUDENTS, 

FIRST-GENERATION COLLEGE STUDENTS, INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES, AND OTHER 

CHRONICALLY UNDERREPRESENTED POPULATIONS. 

Postsecondary education access—and success—can only be achieved if students complete high school or its 

equivalent and if postsecondary education and training are relevant and affordable. Many of the nation’s 

students are currently ill prepared for the academic rigor required for success at a postsecondary institution. 

Others lack the financial resources to pay for school. Although the Department delivered nearly $175 billion in 

student financial aid in FY 2011, affordability remains a problem. During the past 10 years, published college 

prices rose more rapidly than the cost of other goods and services.19 Well over three-quarters of 

undergraduates from low-income families have unmet financial need for attending public two-year or four-year 

colleges and universities.20

The Department will take a number of steps to support efforts that complement its work in strengthening 

student financial aid. The Department will work with all stakeholders throughout the education and career 

pipelines to improve the academic readiness of students for postsecondary education and employment, support 

the adoption of internationally benchmarked college- and career-ready standards so that high school students 

graduate with the competencies necessary for postsecondary education, and ensure that information on 

obtaining financial aid and making sound choices is easily available to students. 

How will we get there? (Actions/Means) 

The Department will: 











Improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the delivery of federal student aid; 

Provide incentives to states and postsecondary institutions to contain or reduce the cost of providing 

education while ensuring and/or increasing quality; 

Ensure that all students, as consumers, have useful and accurate information about an institution’s 

baseline and rates for retention, transfers, graduation, employment outcomes, and student debt so that 

they can make sound decisions; 

Build capacity to link postsecondary institutions more closely with elementary and secondary schools, 

businesses, government, and labor to meet workforce needs, especially in STEM; and 

Promote career pathways and help all students gain the skills they need to be successful in careers. 

Specific examples of these actions include: 









Protect the maximum Pell Grant award of $5,550 for our nation’s neediest students; 

Simplify the financial aid application process and equip every high school and community with the tools 

needed for more students to complete the FAFSA; 

Continue to ensure that institutions eligible to receive federal student aid under Title IV of the HEA are 

fully implementing the Direct Loan program; 

Provide improved federal student aid service and information to students, including support for 

students for whom financial assistance can make a difference in completing a certificate or degree; 

 

19 College Board, Advocacy and Policy Center, Trends in Higher Education Series, “Trends in College Pricing 2009,” p. 6, from the 

College Board, Annual Survey of Colleges.

20 U.S. Department of Education, NCES, 1995–96, 1999–2000, 2003–04, and 2007–08 National Postsecondary Student Aid Studies 

(NPSAS:96, NPSAS:2000, NPSAS:04, and NPSAS:08). 
Strategic Plan, FY 2011–2014 

Page 14













Promote public service loan forgiveness, work-study, and other campus programs, such as internships, 

mentorships, and cooperative education, to expose students to careers in public service; 

Encourage the use and evaluation of promising and proven practices to improve student and 

institutional outcomes for participants in the Department’s college access and postsecondary programs; 

Expand career pathway systems for adults in collaboration with federal partners and the private sector; 

Scale the Rigorous Programs of Study, thereby improving career skills for all students, and strengthen 

accountability provisions in the CTEA; 

Implement regulations that address consumer needs for readily available information about 

postsecondary programs or institutions, including college price watch lists, and provide and promote 

additional high-quality data on the Department’s College Navigator website, FAFSA on the Web, and

other online resources; and

Ensure that postsecondary institutions engage in effective collaboration with state vocational 

rehabilitation and other agencies to increase access to higher education for individuals with disabilities.

What could hold us back? What’s beyond our control? (External Risk Factors) 

The rising costs of postsecondary education are making it increasingly difficult for students to enter and 

complete postsecondary education, especially on a full-time basis. The Department will encourage the adoption 

of strategies to smooth or minimize increases in tuition, books, materials, and related costs to students. 

However, success will depend, to some degree, on the extent to which states and postsecondary institutions 

(a) implement policies and programs to increase student retention and persistence to graduation, (b) accelerate 

college completion, (c) offer dual high school and postsecondary enrollments, (d) develop and use online, 

open-source materials, (e) better align high school completion and postsecondary entrance requirements, and 

(f) better align transfer requirements that lead to baccalaureate degrees. In addition, modifications to 

Statewide Longitudinal Data Systems and other data systems are necessary to better track the nation’s progress 

on improving access to postsecondary education, completion of postsecondary degrees and certificates, and 

success in the workforce and society. Finally, high-quality technical assistance is needed to address the limited 

capacity of states and school districts to advance programs in high-need areas, such as STEM. 
Strategic Plan, FY 2011–2014 











Page 15

SUB-GOAL 1.2: QUALITY. FOSTER INSTITUTIONAL QUALITY, ACCOUNTABILITY, AND 

TRANSPARENCY TO ENSURE THAT POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION CREDENTIALS REPRESENT 

EFFECTIVE PREPARATION FOR STUDENTS TO EXCEL IN A GLOBAL SOCIETY AND A CHANGING 

ECONOMY. 

For the United States to remain educationally and economically competitive, our institutions must remain of the 

highest quality and ensure that the degrees and credentials that students earn are internationally competitive. 

An important part of our goal must be to ensure the value of a postsecondary credential. Improvements in how 

data are collected and used in higher education are critical, not only to accurately gauge our progress in 

achieving a better-educated workforce, but to determine what strategies work best to drive educational 

attainment. Programs that demonstrate data-driven evidence of success have the best chance of increasing 

student, institutional, and state outcomes and productivity. The Department must help strengthen data systems 

for higher education to sustain and improve quality. 

Accordingly, the Department will continue to encourage the development and use of statewide longitudinal data 

systems that include postsecondary and workforce information, as well as to enhance the usefulness of 

Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) data so that they will better reflect changing and 

diverse student populations. We will continue to support teacher preparation initiatives that will further the 

transformation already underway in how we recruit and prepare teachers in this country to teach all students, 

including students with high needs. Under this plan, teacher preparation programs will be held to a clear 

standard of quality that includes, but is not limited to, their record of preparing and placing teachers who deliver 

results for students. Better and more transparent information, coupled with improving the Department’s role in 

ensuring the quality of postsecondary institutions, will increase the confidence of students, families, institutions, 

and states in the quality of federally funded programs, as well as a better understanding of the quality of all 

programs, regardless of funding. The Department can help promote information about successful evidencebased strategies, foster better use of data in postsecondary education, and encourage states and institutions to 

set and monitor goals to improve performance among students, institutions, and states. 

How will we get there? (Actions/Means)

The Department will: 







Improve the availability, quality, and use of data, data systems, and research to increase student and 

institutional performance and teacher preparation; 

Provide incentives for institutions and states to publish and make transparent their efforts to increase 

the quality of their educational programs, the results of their college completion goals, and the 

improvement of their pathways to college and career; and 

Strengthen consumer protection and program integrity at institutions eligible for federal student aid 

under Title IV of HEA. 

Specific examples of these actions include: 

Improving state accountability by implementing effective performance-based funding systems in current 

programs and through planned reauthorizations; 

Providing general funding for states to recruit, prepare, place, support, develop, and advance teachers, 

and promote effective teaching at every stage of the career pipeline; 

Directing states to report on teacher preparation program outcomes, including elementary and 

secondary school student achievement, employment outcomes, and customer satisfaction; 

Directing states to use outcome indicators in identifying high-quality and low-performing teacher 

preparation programs; 

Channeling HEA Title IV scholarship aid to top performing teacher preparation programs for top-tier 

students; 
Strategic Plan, FY 2011–2014 

Page 16







Establishing grant priorities that leverage evidence-based high-impact strategies for successful 

persistence and completion results, and encouraging the Department’s grantees to develop, publish, 

and share integrated postsecondary education, workforce development, and adult education plans and 

goals that include such strategies; 

Reviewing the recommendations of the National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and 

Integrity (NACIQI) to improve the effectiveness of the accrediting agency recognition review process and 

ensure that institutions participating in Title IV programs are providing high-quality postsecondary 

education and training; and 

Promoting program integrity by developing and implementing appropriate regulations or procedures 

and strengthening program compliance and risk assessment activities covering institutions participating 

in Title IV programs. 

What could hold us back? What’s beyond our control? (External Risk Factors)

More reliable information is needed to determine whether postsecondary institutions that receive Federal grant 

and loan funds are achieving performance expectations. Additionally, the establishment of performance-based 

regulations and metrics that will identify the highest to lowest performing postsecondary institutions (e.g., 

gainful employment, schools of education) is a new approach to increase transparency and improve the 

evaluation of postsecondary institutions. This will require changes to and the expansion of existing data 

collection efforts. For example, current college graduation rate formulas do not account for part-time students 

or transfer students. Given that any changes to these formulas would require significant effort from 

stakeholders, promoting changes will be challenging for states, institutions, and the Department of Education. 
Strategic Plan, FY 2011–2014 

Page 17

SUB-GOAL 1.3: COMPLETION. INCREASE DEGREE AND CERTIFICATE COMPLETION AND JOB 

PLACEMENT IN HIGH-NEED AND HIGH-SKILLED AREAS (ESPECIALLY STEM), PARTICULARLY AMONG 

UNDERREPRESENTED AND ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED POPULATIONS. 

The success of the American economy, culture, and national security depends on the talent of all Americans. To 

encourage the development of that talent throughout a lifetime, it is important to focus not only on increasing 

the number of students earning degrees and credentials through postsecondary education, but also on 

encouraging every American to complete at least one year of education or workforce training, or its equivalent, 

beyond high school. One-third of beginning postsecondary students drop out of college within three years 

without completing a degree or certificate,21 and at least 93 million adults function at low literacy levels that 

inhibit their ability to succeed in college and the workforce.22 Ensuring that all Americans have the skills and 

knowledge they need to succeed in college, the workforce, and life will require higher standards of educational 

excellence, leading to dramatically improved high school and college completion outcomes. 

Continuing the nation’s tradition of leading advances in high-demand fields (e.g., engineering, healthcare, etc.) is 

ever more important to our nation’s future. However, there is alarming evidence that we must do more to 

improve the country’s STEM workforce—as evidenced by the high rate at which college students leave STEM 

majors and the declining share of degrees awarded that are in STEM fields. 

The Department will have the greatest impact by working with stakeholders on postsecondary programs that 

educate and support those students most in need of help to persist and complete educational programs and 

that remove barriers to completion. For example, the Department will support and disseminate information on 

strategies that foster successful transitions, including transitions between secondary and postsecondary 

education, community colleges and four-year colleges and universities, postsecondary education and 

employment, and/or postsecondary pathways within or across career fields. Success will require strong 

communication strategies, along with better research and data analysis about effective persistence and 

completion strategies in postsecondary settings. 

How will we get there? (Actions/Means)

The Department will: 













Support programs that focus on first-year success and progression from the first to the second year of 

college through graduation, especially at community colleges and for low-income students; 

Fund programs and services that meet the educational needs of adult learners (including those with the 

lowest reading, writing, and math skills, and lowest levels of English literacy), transitioning workers, and 

career changers, including immigrant professionals and previously incarcerated individuals; 

Work with other agencies to develop a comprehensive and coherent federal STEM strategy; 

Maximize opportunities to identify career pathways for adults interested in education programs, 

especially in high-need fields (e.g., STEM, teaching); 

Modify current data systems to better identify and track program completion outcomes; and 

Collaborate with other federal agencies to improve the quality of STEM education at all levels to help 

increase the number of well-prepared graduates with STEM degrees by one-third over the next 10 years, 

resulting in an additional 1 million graduates with degrees in STEM subjects. 

 

21 U.S. Department of Education, NCES, 2003–04 Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study, First Follow-up (BPS:04/06). 

22 U.S. Department of Education, NCES, National Assessment of Adult Literacy Study, “Number of Adults in Each Literacy Level,” 2009. 

Refers to the population that was less than proficient in literacy. 
Strategic Plan, FY 2011–2014 

Page 18

Specific examples of these actions include: 















Fund promising practices and evidence-based programs that provide support to students at risk of not 

completing their degree or certificate program of study; 

Align education and workforce development systems through the WIA reauthorization, creating multiple 

pathways for youths and adults, including low-skilled individuals and those with significant disabilities, 

to re-engage in learning and obtain credentials that result in further education and career success; 

Provide incentive funding for students to graduate in high-demand disciplines such as STEM or teaching; 

Encourage partnerships in high-need fields (e.g., STEM) between community colleges, four-year 

colleges, universities, and elementary and secondary schools; 

Fund innovative, evidence-based, high-impact practices and implement career pathways and programs 

of study to increase access to and completion of degrees, certificates, and/or other industry-recognized 

credentials;

Support White House initiatives to improve educational quality and student access and completion at 

minority-serving institutions and for students underrepresented in postsecondary education; and 

Work with institutions receiving support under Titles III and V of the Higher Education Act (HEA) to set 

goals for college completion and implement effective practices to increase college completion. 

What could hold us back? What’s beyond our control? (External Risk Factors) 

Reauthorizations of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), the Workforce Investment Act (WIA), 

the Higher Education Act (HEA), and the Career and Technical Education Act (CTEA) are needed to support the 

implementation of more rigorous high school standards and postsecondary and adult education reforms to 

increase student achievement and success in the workforce and in life. Moreover, postsecondary institutions 

will need to increase their capacity to serve the growing number of Americans who will require education 

and/or training beyond high school to be successful in the workplace, particularly the tens of millions of 

Americans who have basic literacy and workforce training needs. In an economy where state funding for higher 

education is threatened, institutions are increasingly required to serve more students with fewer resources. 

Reducing the need for postsecondary remediation offers postsecondary institutions and programs a way to 

redirect resources to focus on persistence and completion. Even so, postsecondary institutions and programs 

must continue to find ways to be innovative and productive, while serving students more effectively. 

In order to track progress on these reforms and to be accountable, certain data elements and reporting features 

need to be added to many of the state-owned and managed longitudinal data systems and to the Integrated 

Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), from which comparative data can be drawn. Funding required 

for technology infrastructure changes intended to add, delete, or revise data elements, ensuring 

interoperability, and integrating education and employment data, could present challenges. 
Strategic Plan, FY 2011–2014 

Page 19

GOAL 2: ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY. PREPARE ALL ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY 

STUDENTS FOR COLLEGE AND CAREER BY IMPROVING THE EDUCATION SYSTEM’S ABILITY TO 

CONSISTENTLY DELIVER EXCELLENT CLASSROOM INSTRUCTION WITH RIGOROUS ACADEMIC 

STANDARDS WHILE PROVIDING EFFECTIVE SUPPORT SERVICES. 

There is a clear national consensus that our elementary and secondary education system should prepare every 

student for college and a career. However, there is also broad agreement that our education system fails to 

consistently provide students with the excellent education necessary to achieve that goal. The result is that too 

many U.S. students are failing to reach their full potential. For example, 4th grade proficiency rates on the 2009 

NAEP math exam were unchanged from the previous NAEP assessment for the first time ever, while the 8th

grade proficiency rates in recent assessments increased by only small amounts.23 Even worse, over half a million 

U.S. teenagers leave school without a diploma each year.24 Dropout rates are much higher for minority 

students, English Learners, and students with disabilities—over one out of three black and Hispanic students are

not graduating on time, and too often they are not completing their high school educations.25 And, two out of 

three students with disabilities leave high school without diplomas.26

We simply must do a better job of ensuring not only that all students graduate on time, but also that they 

graduate prepared for college and a career. The Department’s elementary and secondary education reforms 

focus on the building blocks needed for schools, school districts, and states to more consistently deliver 

excellent classroom instruction for all students. The foundation of these reforms is a system for improving 

learning and teaching that aligns internationally benchmarked college- and career-ready standards, high-quality 

formative and summative assessments, and engaging and effective instructional content. Ensuring that our 

students have the critical-thinking skills and other tools to be effective in the 21st century economy means 

improving teaching and learning in all content areas—from literacy to science, technology, engineering, and 

mathematics to history, civics and government, geography, foreign languages, the arts, economics and financial 

literacy, environmental education, health education, and other subjects. 

Because nothing is more important to student learning in the classroom than a great teacher supported by a 

school principal who is a strong leader, the Department will work to ensure that every student has an effective 

teacher, every school has an effective leader, and every teacher and leader has access to the preparation, 

ongoing support, feedback from a meaningful evaluation system, recognition, and collaboration opportunities 

he or she needs to be effective. School environments also must be conducive to teaching and learning and be 

safe places that provide the necessary instructional time and resources to help all students achieve. 

Communities—families, extended family members, community-based organizations, and others—must work 

together to ensure that children know they are the highest priority and receive the support they need to 

succeed. Moreover, the nation must focus on dramatically improving our persistently lowest-achieving schools. 

With the upcoming reauthorization of Elementary and Secondary Education Act, the Department has a critical 

opportunity to reinforce and extend the progress already being made to strengthen the quality of elementary 

and secondary education through Race to the Top and other Recovery Act programs. 

 

23 U.S. Department of Education, NCES, Digest of Education Statistics: 2009, Table 138. 

24 U.S. Department of Education, NCES, “NCES CCD State Dropout and Completion Data File,” 2008–09 School Year (NCES 2011-312), 

table 1. 

25 U.S. Department of Education, NCES, Public School Graduates and Dropouts. Common Core of Data: School Year 2007–08 (NCES 

2010-341), tables 2 and 3. Data from “NCES CCD State Dropout and Completion Data File,” School Year 2007–08, Version 1a. 

26 U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs, Data Analysis System (DANS), OMB #1820-0521: “Children 

with Disabilities Exiting Special Education, 2006-07.” 
Strategic Plan, FY 2011–2014 

Page 20

The Department will continue to collaborate with states, districts, school leaders, teachers, and families and 

provide leadership to accomplish the following key Elementary and Secondary sub-goals: 

2.1. Standards and Assessments: Support state-led efforts to develop and adopt college- and career-ready, 

internationally benchmarked standards, with aligned, valid, and reliable assessments. 

2.2. Great Teachers and Great Leaders: Improve the preparation, recruitment, development, support, 

evaluation, and recognition of effective teachers, principals, and administrators. 

2.3. School Climate and Community: Increase the success, safety, and health of students, particularly in 

high-need schools and communities. 

2.4. Struggling Schools: Support states and districts in turning around the nation’s persistently 

lowest-achieving schools. 

2.5. Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics: Increase access to and excellence in STEM for all 

students and prepare the next generation for careers in STEM-related fields. 

How will we measure success? 

The Department will use the following indicators to measure its success in helping states and school districts 

prepare students for college and a career. 

Elementary and Secondary Indicators of Success 























Increase in the number of states with internationally benchmarked college- and career-ready standards 

Increase in the number of states collaborating to develop and adopt high-quality assessments aligned to 

college- and career-ready standards 

Increase in the number of states in which postsecondary institutions accept proficiency on state 

assessment as evidence that students do not need to enroll in remedial courses 

Increase in the number of school districts with comprehensive teacher evaluation and support systems 

Increase in the number of states with statewide requirements for comprehensive teacher evaluation 

and support systems 

Increase in the number of states with statewide requirements for comprehensive principal evaluation 

and support systems 

Increase in the percentage of schools implementing initiatives that increase time for learning during or 

outside the school day 

Identify, as potential models, persistently lowest-achieving schools demonstrating improvement on 

indicators that schools are required to report through the School Improvement Grant program 

Increase in the percentage of Race to the Top grantees that achieve their targets for their performance 

measures 

Increase in the percentage of middle/high school math teachers who major in mathematics or 

mathematics education 

Increase in the percentage of middle/high school science teachers who major in science or science 

education 
Strategic Plan, FY 2011–2014 

Page 21

SUB-GOAL 2.1: STANDARDS AND ASSESSMENTS. SUPPORT STATE-LED EFFORTS TO DEVELOP 

AND ADOPT COLLEGE- AND CAREER-READY, INTERNATIONALLY BENCHMARKED STANDARDS, WITH 

ALIGNED, VALID, AND RELIABLE ASSESSMENTS. 

World-class standards are essential for meaningful education reform. Clear, high expectations for what students 

need to know and be able to do and high-quality assessments that accurately measure student performance 

against those expectations are essential for the nation to ensure student achievement and prepare a skilled 

workforce. 

Since the 1990s, federal legislation has required states to develop their own standards as well as student 

assessments that are aligned with those standards. Today, every state has in place a set of elementary and 

secondary education standards for core subjects as well as an assessment system that measures student 

progress toward mathematics and reading/language arts standards in grades 3–8 and once in high school. 

However, existing federal accountability requirements, including a requirement to reach 100 percent proficiency 

by 2014, effectively create perverse incentives for states to lower rather than raise their academic standards. 

The result is that few states have standards that are sufficiently challenging to prepare students for the 

demands of college and today’s workforce. Students, families, and teachers do not have the information they 

need to determine whether a student is on track to be college- and career-ready by the time he or she graduates 

from high school, and four of every 10 new college students take remedial courses.27

States have recognized the need to improve the rigor and quality of their standards and assessments. Since 

2009, 45 states and the District of Columbia partnered in a state-led effort to develop common college- and 

career-ready internationally benchmarked standards in English language arts and mathematics. With such 

standards in place, educators can create the curricular frameworks, curriculum materials, professional 

development materials, and other supports that they need to effectively implement a coherent system of 

teaching and learning that meets the needs of all students and that truly prepares our nation’s young people to 

be college- and career- ready. The standards must be coupled with high-quality formative, interim, and 

summative assessments that can measure the extent to which students are mastering these standards and 

provide students, families, and teachers with timely, relevant, and actionable information on student knowledge 

and skills, including growth in knowledge and skills over time in order to improve teaching and learning. 

How will we get there? (Actions/Means)

The Department will: 









Require all states to demonstrate that their standards lead to college- and career-readiness and 

encourage state-led efforts to develop and adopt internationally benchmarked college- and careerready standards; 

Support states in the development and implementation of high-quality assessment systems aligned to 

college- and career-ready standards; 

Support continuing validation, benchmarking, and research on standards and assessments to ensure 

that they capture what students need to know to be ready for college and career, are evidence based, 

and appropriately address the needs of all students, including English Learners and students with 

disabilities; 

Support effective implementation of these standards and assessments to improve teaching and learning 

in the nation’s classrooms; and

 

27 U.S. Department of Education, NCES, 2003–04 and 2007–08 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS:04 and NPSAS:08).
Strategic Plan, FY 2011–2014 

Page 22

 Eliminate incentives created by current law for states to set low standards that do not ensure that 

students are prepared for success. 

Specific examples of these actions include: 













Fund consortia of states to develop high-quality, valid, and reliable “next generation” assessment 

systems in mathematics and English language arts and other academic and career and technical 

subjects, as appropriate, that require students to demonstrate or apply their knowledge and skills and 

appropriately address the needs, including accessibility needs, of all students; 

Help fund ongoing costs for states administering higher-quality assessment systems; 

Fund development and effective use of valid and reliable interim and formative assessments aligned 

with college- and career-ready standards and assessments; 

Provide strong evidence-based guidance that states can use in establishing policies related to standards, 

assessments, and evaluation systems; 

Fund state and district efforts to transition to new standards and assessments, such as preparation and 

professional development for teachers and development of new instructional materials; and 

Propose, through the ESEA reauthorization blueprint, that Congress replace the current ESEA 

accountability framework with an accountability system that rewards, rather than penalizes, states that 

implement internationally benchmarked college- and career-ready standards and assessments, while 

also recognizing success in meeting the standards. 

What could hold us back? What’s beyond our control? (External Risk Factors)

Although 45 states and the District of Columbia are leading the current effort to implement college- and careerready standards and appear eager to develop and implement new, aligned assessments and higher-quality 

instructional materials, this transition will take several years and the costs and complexity of developing and 

administering assessments across the states are significant. Developing appropriate assessment instruments 

and approaches for very young children poses significant challenges, especially for children from low-income 

families, children who are English Learners, and children with disabilities. Developing and administering the 

next generation of assessments and supporting teachers through training related to the new standards will 

require continuing financial support. 
Strategic Plan, FY 2011–2014 

Page 23

SUB-GOAL 2.2: GREAT TEACHERS AND GREAT LEADERS. IMPROVE THE PREPARATION, 

RECRUITMENT, DEVELOPMENT, SUPPORT, EVALUATION, AND RECOGNITION OF EFFECTIVE 

TEACHERS, PRINCIPALS, AND ADMINISTRATORS. 

It is well established that teacher effectiveness contributes more to improving student academic outcomes than 

any other in-school characteristic and that a strong school leader can help teachers succeed as part of a 

supported instructional team. The Department intends to improve the quality of teaching and learning in 

America’s schools by supporting efforts to increase the number of districts with comprehensive teacher and 

principal evaluation and support systems based on student growth in significant part, as well as other measures, 

that may be used to inform personnel decisions such as professional development, retention, tenure, 

promotion, and compensation decisions. 

In light of the importance of teachers and school leadership for student success, the nation has to do more to 

ensure that every student has an effective teacher in every classroom, every school has effective leaders, and 

every teacher and leader has access to the preparation, ongoing support, recognition, and collaboration 

opportunities he or she needs to succeed. The Department will help strengthen the profession by supporting 

efforts that focus on actionable feedback, support, and incentives at every stage of a career, based on fair 

evaluation systems that look at multiple measures, including student growth. The Department will support state 

and district efforts that provide time for teacher collaboration, on-the-job learning opportunities, and 

professional advancement. As states transition to new college- and career-ready standards, the Department will 

support opportunities for teachers to enhance their instructional expertise related to the new standards. 

The Department will also focus on ensuring that students in high-poverty and high-minority schools, students 

with disabilities, and English Learners are taught by highly qualified and effective teachers and have effective 

leaders. While public schools will hire more than one million teachers from 2012 through 2014,28 approximately 

three in 10 new teachers leave the profession in their first three years of teaching.29

 For this reason, the 

Department will pay special attention to teacher recruitment, preparation, and induction as critical levers to 

improve the overall effectiveness of the teaching workforce, especially in high-need schools. When effective 

teachers and leaders work together in collaborative learning environments, they can make a dramatic difference 

in closing the achievement gap. This is why the Department will increase efforts to strengthen school 

leadership, especially in high-need schools, and will place a special emphasis on creating conditions for collective 

success, especially in low-achieving and high-need schools. 

 

28 U.S. Department of Education, NCES, CCD, “State Nonfiscal Survey of Public Elementary/Secondary Education”; Private School 

Universe Survey (PSS); Elementary and Secondary Teacher Model; and New Teacher Hires Model. 

29 Note: Based on the number of teachers with one to three years of experience that left teaching after the 2007–08 school year [source: 

U.S. Department of Education, NCES, Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS), “Public School Teacher Data Files”; Teacher Follow-up 

Survey (TFS), “Current and Former Teacher Data Files.”]
Strategic Plan, FY 2011–2014 

Page 24

How will we get there? (Actions/Means)

The Department will: 











Focus on enhancing teacher and leader effectiveness as a means to improve student outcomes; 

Elevate and strengthen the education profession through support for recruiting, preparing, developing, 

evaluating, rewarding, and retaining effective teachers and leaders; 

Help ensure the equitable distribution of effective teachers and leaders, especially in low-performing, 

high-poverty, high-minority schools; 

Strengthen pathways into teaching and school leadership positions in high-need schools; and 

Provide a structured program of technical assistance to states to improve teacher and leader quality and 

effectiveness. 

Specific examples of these actions include: 











Promote the development of fair evaluation systems for teachers and leaders based on student growth 

in significant part, as well as other measures, that may be used for professional development, retention, 

tenure, promotion, and compensation decisions; 

Fund high-quality preparation programs that prepare educators to teach and lead in high-need schools 

and in shortage areas, such as special education and teaching of English Learners, and require these 

programs to track and report on the effectiveness of their graduates; 

Fund and support the design and implementation of high-quality, ongoing, job-embedded professional 

development and improved professional working conditions, including opportunities for collaboration 

among instructional teams and methodologies linked to improved teacher performance; 

Support states and districts in ensuring that students in high-poverty and high-need schools are taught 

by effective teachers led by effective principals; and 

Fund and encourage districts and states to rethink and improve how they identify, recruit, hire, develop, 

retain, reward, and advance effective teachers and leaders. 

What could hold us back? What’s beyond our control? (External Risk Factors)

Because teacher and school leader evaluation systems and compensation decisions are governed by state and 

local policies, reforms of existing evaluation and compensation systems are unlikely to be successful without 

revisions in state policies and new partnerships with teacher organizations. Also, some of these reforms will 

depend, in part, on reauthorization of ESEA and on Congressional appropriations. 
Strategic Plan, FY 2011–2014 

Page 25

SUB-GOAL 2.3: SCHOOL CLIMATE AND COMMUNITY. INCREASE THE SUCCESS, SAFETY, AND 

HEALTH OF STUDENTS, PARTICULARLY IN HIGH-NEED SCHOOLS AND COMMUNITIES. 

Students can succeed despite being born into the most difficult of circumstances, and a school with 

dedicated teachers and leaders focused on teaching to high standards can be effective even when other 

services are lacking. Tackling a challenge as great as the academic achievement gap requires deploying 

every tool at our disposal and providing students with the support they need to succeed. Preparing 

students for success is made easier when students come to school well fed, healthy, and ready to learn, 

with families who are actively engaged in their children’s academic life. It is also made easier by a 

positive school climate where students feel safe and supported in their classrooms and where adults 

and students can engage in meaningful ways. Unfortunately, too many schools continue to suffer from 

troubling rates of school violence and substance abuse, and too many students face poverty-related 

barriers to learning. 

Particularly for students at risk for academic failure, success demands a comprehensive approach to 

meet a wide range of student needs. Developing these approaches and implementing appropriate 

interventions requires understanding the extent to which students are safe, healthy, and engaged in 

school and understanding the views of students, families, and teachers. Equipped with good 

information on school climate, states and school districts can employ strategies with demonstrated 

success for improving learning conditions, such as rethinking the length and structure of the school day, 

providing time for teachers to collaborate to meet academic challenges, and adopting evidence-based 

programs, such as positive behavior intervention and supports (PBIS), that improve students’ behavior 

while also reducing substance abuse and school violence. 

In high-poverty neighborhoods, the Department will support community-wide approaches that address 

interrelated barriers to learning and provide comprehensive supports for students and their families

that include, as appropriate, the services provided by specialized instructional support personnel. This 

can be achieved by building a continuum of academic programs and family and community supports, 

from the cradle through college to career, with strong schools at the center. A successful communitywide model also includes the capacity to use data to evaluate the success of the efforts, a leader and an 

organization that can engage the community and are accountable for results, and a “place-based”

approach that focuses resources in targeted areas. This type of comprehensive approach can improve 

the educational and developmental outcomes of children in the most distressed communities. 

How will we get there? (Actions/Means) 

The Department will: 









Support community-wide approaches and increase the capacity of community-based and other 

organizations to increase success for children from the cradle through college to career; 

Encourage opportunities for families to engage actively and meaningfully in their children’s education; 

Build state, district, and school capacity to collect and use school-level climate data and other metrics to 

tailor approaches that effectively address local needs, facilitating partnerships where appropriate to 

focus on common metrics across sites; and 

Promote high-quality programs offered through an expanded school day and/or year. 
Strategic Plan, FY 2011–2014 

Page 26

Specific examples of these actions include: 











 

Fund communities to provide comprehensive supports through full-service school models and to 

comprehensively redesign and expand the school day or year to increase time for academics and 

enrichment activities, which may include opportunities for experiential learning, as well as time for 

teachers to collaborate and to develop and enhance their skills; 

Fund states to implement effective interventions based on high-quality data about local needs to 

improve school engagement, environment, safety, and other conditions for enhanced learning; 

Fund community-wide approaches to significantly improve the educational and developmental 

outcomes of children in our most distressed communities from the cradle through college to career; 

Provide incentives for programs to establish partnerships with families and parent organizations, 

faith- and community-based organizations, institutions of higher education, or other federal, state, and 

local entities; and 

Work as a partner with the Strong Cities, Strong Communities (SC2) and the White House Neighborhood 

Revitalization Initiative to foster collaboration between federal agencies and local stakeholders to 

support comprehensive approaches to community-wide and place-based efforts that achieve results for 

children. 

What could hold us back? What’s beyond our control? (External Risk Factors)

In the current economic climate, student and family needs often are growing while school budgets are 

contracting. Expanding services and supports to meet these needs will be a challenge. There are only a few 

examples of effective programs, such as the Harlem Children’s Zone, that support community transformation to 

improve educational, developmental, and health outcomes of children in distressed communities. Cross-agency 

collaboration helps to connect agency programs, leverage community assets, and improve productivity of 

existing programs, but without additional resources, the impact of these innovative models will not be felt on a 

wide scale. 

In the area of expanded learning time, the cost for expanding the school day or year can be significant and may 

be viewed as too difficult in the current budget climate. Finally, advancing these reforms to increase the 

success, safety, and health of students depends in part on the reauthorization of ESEA and on Congressional 

appropriations. 
Strategic Plan, FY 2011–2014 

Page 27

SUB-GOAL 2.4: STRUGGLING SCHOOLS. SUPPORT STATES AND DISTRICTS IN TURNING AROUND 

THE NATION’S PERSISTENTLY LOWEST-ACHIEVING SCHOOLS. 

Far too many of the nation’s children attend schools that year after year fail to provide students with a quality 

education. National attention and support focused on these persistently lowest-achieving schools in each 

state—the bottom five percent of all schools or approximately 5,000 schools nationwide—can help ensure that 

all students in these schools are receiving the education they deserve. These schools, which are in urban, rural, 

and suburban communities, have extremely low achievement rates, have shown no improvement over multiple 

years, and have unacceptably low graduation rates. For example, at the high school level, there are over 

1,600 “dropout factories” where fewer than 60 percent of entering freshmen actually graduate.30

Incremental reforms have failed to turn around the nation’s lowest-achieving schools. Among schools that were 

in restructuring status in 2004–05, over 80 percent were still in restructuring status in 2006–07.31 The paucity of 

successful school turnarounds is due, in significant measure, to the fact that few states and districts have 

undertaken the fundamental reforms necessary to improve the persistently lowest-achieving schools. Indeed, 

State and Local Implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act, a 2007 study funded by the Department, found 

that among low-performing schools in their second year of restructuring, there was limited implementation of 

the No Child Left Behind Act’s more aggressive interventions, such as replacement of all or most of the school 

staff (17 percent), state takeover of the school (3 percent), or reopening the school as a public charter school 

(1 percent). Instead, the study found that most states implemented other improvement strategies in their most 

challenging schools.32 

Examples of successes in turnaround suggest that low-achieving schools that dramatically improve student 

outcomes rely on common strategies, including building a positive culture of high expectations; ensuring strong 

leadership and staff who have the commitment and skills to increase student achievement; supporting effective 

instructional teams through focused and intensive professional development; strengthening the instructional 

program; extending learning time and engaging families and communities; and changing governance to provide 

flexibility for needed reforms. Through SIG and other Department programs, states and school districts now 

have significant resources to dramatically improve these schools by implementing intensive intervention 

models. The Department will work with the SIG grantees to identify schools demonstrating improvement on 

leading indicators in order that they may help inform school improvement efforts in other persistently 

low-achieving schools. 

How will we get there? (Actions/Means)

The Department will: 







Target significant funding toward the persistently lowest-achieving schools in return for commitments to 

implement an intensive intervention model that the school district and community identify as 

appropriate for the school; 

Encourage state and local policies that support effective school turnaround efforts; and 

Increase the capacity of states, districts, and partner organizations, including teacher organizations and 

school management organizations, to turn around these schools. 

 

30 Balfanz, Robert; Bridgeland, John M.; Hornig Fox, Joanna; Moore, Laura. Building a Grad Nation: Progress and Challenge in Ending 

the High School Dropout Epidemic, 2010–2011 Annual Update. 

31 Stullich, Stephanie; Abrams, Andrew; Eisner, Elizabeth; Lee, Erica. Title I Implementation: Update on Recent Evaluation Findings. 

U.S. Department of Education, Office of Planning, Evaluation, and Policy Development, Policy and Program Studies Service, 2009. 

32 U.S. Department of Education, Office of Planning, Evaluation and Development, Policy and Program Studies Service, State and Local 

Implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act, 2007. 
Strategic Plan, FY 2011–2014 

Page 28

Specific examples of these actions include: 









Fund state and district-level efforts to turn around their persistently lowest-achieving schools using 

rigorous intervention models; 

Fund and encourage states and districts to increase their capacity, including through partnerships with 

local employers and industry groups, faith-based and community-based organizations, postsecondary 

institutions, and other state and local entities, to turn around their persistently lowest-achieving 

schools; 

Fund organizations with a record of implementing successful turnaround strategies, including charter 

management organizations, in order to support rigorous intervention models in additional 

low-performing schools in urban and rural areas; and 

Encourage states and school districts to adopt policies and practices to attract, develop, and retain 

effective teachers and leaders in these schools; promote comprehensive instructional programs based 

on use of data; extend learning time, parent engagement, and community-oriented supports; and 

ensure operating flexibility and intensive support. 

What could hold us back? What’s beyond our control? (External Risk Factors)

Because the nation has never before marshaled the resources and the commitment to take on the challenge of 

turning around a large number of our lowest-performing schools, states, school districts, partner organizations, 

and school staffs will need to effectively partner in doing this difficult work. The Department will also need to 

work proactively to garner strong community and family support for these far-reaching changes. In addition, 

turnover in state and local leadership may impede the sustained support for rigorous interventions required to 

turn around the lowest-performing schools. Finally, the pace of reforms may be dictated in part by future 

Congressional appropriations and the extent to which the reauthorization of ESEA requires rigorous 

interventions in the nation’s lowest-achieving schools. 
Strategic Plan, FY 2011–2014 

Page 29

SUB-GOAL 2.5: SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING, AND MATHEMATICS. INCREASE ACCESS 

TO AND EXCELLENCE IN STEM FOR ALL STUDENTS AND PREPARE THE NEXT GENERATION FOR 

CAREERS IN STEM-RELATED FIELDS. 

Few issues matter more to America’s vitality than continuing this nation’s tradition of leading advances in STEM 

fields. Yet, the 2009 Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) ranked American students ahead of 

just nine out of 34 developed nations in science literacy and ahead of only five in math literacy.33 Our students 

need to do better in order to thrive as informed citizens and consumers and to contribute as workers, 

employers, and innovators. Over the long term, the nation’s ability to address key challenges, such as launching 

clean energy and other green industries and spurring advancements in health, medicine, and other areas that 

can revitalize the American economy, will depend on more students entering—and greater numbers persisting 

in—STEM fields. 

Addressing these challenges means focusing on increasing traditionally underrepresented students’ access to 

high-quality STEM courses and teachers, improving student knowledge of STEM topics, and preparing students 

for careers as scientists, engineers, and in other STEM-related fields. The Department will work to restore and 

sustain America’s lead in the modern knowledge economy by seeking to improve the participation and 

performance of America’s students in STEM subjects and fields. This effort will include partnering with other 

federal agencies, as well as company and industry leaders, foundations, nonprofit organizations, science and 

engineering societies, and education institutions, with the goal of developing more effective STEM teachers and 

helping students to excel in these high-skilled, high-demand areas. 

How will we get there? (Actions/Means)

The Department will: 









Increase the capacity of teachers, leaders, and schools by developing and deploying tools, training, and 

other resources that increase access to and advance STEM teaching, learning, and leading; 

Inspire and motivate all students and adults to focus on STEM activities, disciplines, and careers; 

Recruit more highly effective STEM teachers, especially in the highest-need schools; and 

Build capacity to better link states, districts, and schools with STEM-focused businesses and 

postsecondary institutions. 

Specific examples of these actions include: 









Work with other agencies to develop a comprehensive and coherent federal STEM strategy to facilitate 

coordination of STEM education activities, resources, and/or efforts and provide transparent and 

coordinated support for these efforts; 

Strengthen the pipeline and reduce barriers to hiring teachers with mathematics and/or science content 

backgrounds; 

Fund and support coherent models of instructional supports for STEM and encourage third parties, 

including other federal agencies, to develop robust, content-rich professional development offerings for 

teachers and schools; 

Support state consortia in developing high-quality science assessments aligned with college- and careerready standards; 

 

33 U.S. Department of Education, NCES, “Highlights from PISA 2009: Performance of U.S. 15-year-old Students in Reading, 

Mathematics, and Science Literacy in an International Context Program.”




Strategic Plan, FY 2011–2014 

Page 30

Fund efforts to increase the capacity of district- and state-level leaders to design and implement strong 

STEM networks to lead STEM education reforms; and 

Encourage STEM partnerships between postsecondary institutions and elementary and secondary 

schools. 

What could hold us back? What’s beyond our control? (External Risk Factors) 

To achieve the STEM goals, there needs to be improved coordination between federal agencies. In addition, 

high quality, STEM-specific technical assistance is needed to address the limited capacity of states and school 

districts to lead STEM-related programs. Finally, states and districts must adopt more rigorous STEM standards 

that will prepare students to succeed in these fields when they get to higher education. 
Strategic Plan, FY 2011–2014 

Page 31

 

GOAL 3: EARLY LEARNING. IMPROVE THE HEALTH, SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL, AND COGNITIVE 

OUTCOMES FOR ALL CHILDREN FROM BIRTH THROUGH 3RD GRADE, SO THAT ALL CHILDREN, 

PARTICULARLY THOSE WITH HIGH NEEDS, ARE ON TRACK FOR GRADUATING FROM HIGH SCHOOL 

COLLEGE- AND CAREER-READY. 

The Department’s strategy for sustaining the President’s 2020 college attainment goal depends on improving 

learning in the earliest years. The years from birth through age eight are the most critical for brain 

development,34,35 and significant evidence from research and evaluation demonstrate that participation in highquality early learning programs will lead to both short- and long-term positive outcomes for all children, 

especially those with high needs,36 including increased school readiness and success and improved high school 

graduation and college attendance and completion.37,38

Developing our nation’s educational pipeline requires increasing both access to and the quality of early learning 

programs and services. This is particularly important for children with high needs since these children have less 

access to high-quality early learning programs and often enter kindergarten behind their peers. In 2006–07, 

only 41 percent of three- to five-year-olds from low-income families were enrolled in center-based early 

childhood care and education programs, compared to 60 percent from non-poor families.39 Early learning 

programs must meet the needs of all children, including children with disabilities and English Learners. And, to 

achieve successful outcomes for young children it is critical to gain the support of families and ensure that family 

engagement and education activities are of high quality and integrated into early learning programs. 

Further, there is tremendous variation in levels of quality across center-based programs. As President Obama 

has made clear, some programs are excellent, some are mediocre, and some waste the most formative years of 

a child’s life. These realities mean that the Department must focus resources and efforts on both increasing 

access to and improving the quality of early learning programs, particularly center- and school-based programs 

for children with high needs across the birth through 3rd grade continuum. 

The challenge of increasing access to high-quality early learning programs is significant. Currently, no coherent 

system of early care and education exists within states. Rather, early learning programs and services are linked 

together through a patchwork of federal, state, and local funding mechanisms and vary in terms of program 

standards and quality. Only by coordinating the patchwork of early learning programs and services, and better 

integrating them with the elementary and secondary education system, can an integrated early learning system 

be built that improves health, social-emotional, and cognitive outcomes for children from birth through 3rd 

grade. A high-quality, coordinated early learning system includes program standards, comprehensive 

assessment systems, workforce and professional development, family and community engagement, health 

promotion, and data systems. 

34 Bowman, B. T., Donovan, M. S., & Burns, S. (Eds.). Eager to Learn: Educating Our Preschoolers. Washington, DC: National 

Academy Press, 2001. 

35 Shonkoff, J. P., & Phillips, D. A. (Eds.). From Neurons to Neighborhoods: The Science of Early Childhood Development. Washington, 

DC: National Academy Press, 2001. 

36 For the purpose of this document, “high need” is defined as “children and students at risk of educational failure, and [specifically 

referring] to English Learners and children and students with disabilities as examples of high-need children” (U.S. Department of 

Education, Supplemental Priorities for Discretionary Grant Programs, 2011.) 

37 Heckman, James J. (2006). Skill Formation and the Economics of Investing in Disadvantaged Children. Science, 312, 1900-1902. 

38 Pianta, R., Barnett, S., Burchinal, M., & Thornberg, K. The Effects of Preschool Education: What We Know, How Public Policy Is or Is 

Not Aligned With the Evidence Base, and What We Need to Know. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 10, 49-88, 2009. 

39 U.S. Department of Education, NCES, “School Readiness Survey of the National Household Education Survey (NHES), 2007. 
Strategic Plan, FY 2011–2014 

Page 32

In aligning these systems, the Department will focus its efforts on improving outcomes for children with high 

needs by ensuring that such children have access to high-quality early learning programs with demonstrated 

success in closing achievement gaps early and reducing grade retention rates in later years.40

 









To enhance the quality of these programs and services and improve outcomes for children from birth through 

3rd grade, including children with disabilities and those who are English Learners, the Department will promote 

initiatives that increase access to high-quality programs, improve the early learning workforce, build the capacity 

of states and programs to develop and implement comprehensive early learning assessment systems, and 

ensure program effectiveness and accountability. 

3.1. Access: Increase access to high-quality early learning programs and comprehensive services, especially 

for children with high needs. 

3.2. Workforce: Improve the quality and effectiveness of the early learning workforce so that early 

childhood educators have the skills and abilities necessary to improve young children’s health, 

social-emotional, and cognitive outcomes. 

3.3. Assessment and Accountability: Improve the capacity of states and early learning programs to develop 

and implement comprehensive early learning assessment systems. 

How will we measure success? 

The Department will use the following indicators to measure its success in improving the health, 

social-emotional, and cognitive outcomes for all children from birth through 3rd grade. 

Early Learning Indicators of Success 

Increase in the number of states implementing a high-quality plan to collect and report disaggregated 

data on the status of children at kindergarten entry across a broad range of domains 

Increase in the number of states that have developed and adopted common, statewide Tiered Quality 

Rating and Improvement Systems that reflect high expectations of program excellence and lead to 

improved learning outcomes for children 

Increase in the number of states that have statewide coordinated systems of professional development 

for early childhood educators serving children from birth through 3rd grade 

Increase in the number of states implementing a Comprehensive Assessment System that includes 

screening and referral processes, formative measures, kindergarten entry assessments, measures of 

classroom quality and adult-child interactions, measures of child outcomes, and program evaluation 

 

40 Frede, E., Jung, K., Barnett, W.S., & Figueras, A. (2009). The APPLES Blossom: Abbott Preschool Program Longitudinal Effects 

Study (APPLES), Preliminary Results through 2nd Grade, Interim Report. New Brunswick, NJ: National Institute for Early Education 

Research. 
Strategic Plan, FY 2011–2014 

Page 33

SUB-GOAL 3.1: ACCESS. INCREASE ACCESS TO HIGH-QUALITY EARLY LEARNING PROGRAMS AND 

COMPREHENSIVE SERVICES, ESPECIALLY FOR CHILDREN WITH HIGH NEEDS. 

 

A major obstacle facing families with young children is the lack of access to high-quality early learning programs 

and services. Children who attend high-quality early learning programs and receive high-quality interventions 

across all domains of learning do measurably better in school than their peers who do not attend high-quality 

early learning programs. However, there is a large gap in access to high-quality, center-based early learning 

programs between children from low-income households and those from middle- and high-income homes, with 

a disproportionately high gap for children with disabilities and Hispanic children. For example, only 30 percent 

of three- to five-year-old Hispanic children from low-income families attended a center-based early childcare or 

education program in 2006–07, compared to 59 percent of white children from low-income families and 

65 percent of black children from low-income families.41

 In addition, in the 2009–10 school year, only 

14 percent of three-year-olds and 40 percent of four-year-olds attended state-funded preschool, Head Start, or 

preschool special education programs.42 Moreover, state standards continue to vary widely, and only a limited 

number of state-funded preschool programs meet the 10 benchmarks for high quality, as defined by the 

National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER).43

 

The Department can address these barriers to accessing high-quality early learning programs by helping to 

increase the number of high-quality center-based programs and by promoting the transparency of information 

around enrollment opportunities and the quality of programs. Many families—especially those in rural and 

urban communities and those with children with disabilities—often have difficulty identifying and enrolling in a 

high-quality early learning program. Families commonly do not have the information necessary to distinguish 

high-quality programs from those that are not. Moreover, the importance of early learning to a child’s 

development is not widely understood. For example, while most Americans believe that early literacy is 

important,44 there is limited awareness of the severity of the literacy gap that disproportionately affects children 

from low-income households. The common misperception is that these children will just “catch up” with their 

peers in the elementary years.45 It is likely that they will not. By increasing access to high-quality early learning 

programs and services for children with high needs, the country can work to close, or even prevent, the 

achievement gap. 

How will we get there? (Actions/Means) 

The Department will: 







Encourage and create incentives for states and local education agencies (LEAs) to offer high-quality early 

learning programs, especially for children with high needs; 

Raise awareness about the importance of high-quality early learning programs and services in 

underrepresented communities; and 

Work with HHS to increase access to high-quality early learning programs for young children and ensure 

their inclusiveness for children with disabilities and English Learners. 

 

41 U.S. Department of Education, NCES, “School Readiness Survey of the National Household Education Survey (NHES), 2007.” 

42 Barnett, W. S., et al. (2010). The State of Preschool: 2010 State Preschool Yearbook. The National Institute for Early Education 

Research, Rutgers University. 

43 Barnett, W. S., et al. (2011). The State of Preschool: 2010 State Preschool Yearbook. The National Institute for Early Education 

Research, Rutgers University. 

44 Pearson Foundation: Always Learning, Annual Polls and Reports, “Early Childhood Education Perception Poll Summary of Results 

2009,” p 1.

45 Pearson Foundation: Always Learning, Annual Polls and Reports, “Early Childhood Education Perception Poll Summary of Results 

2009,” p 1.
Strategic Plan, FY 2011–2014 

Page 34

Specific examples of these actions include: 











Increase the number and percentage of children with high needs who have access to early learning 

programs and comprehensive services, especially those from low-income families in each age group of 

infants, toddlers, and preschoolers in high-quality early learning programs through the RTT-ELC 

competition; 

Support Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) programs to increase access to high-quality, 

inclusive early learning programs for children with disabilities; 

Support statewide coordination of local, state, and federal funding for early learning programs to 

increase the number of children with high needs from birth through kindergarten entry in high-quality 

programs; 

Fund access to high-quality inclusive early learning programs by encouraging state and LEA expansion 

and enhancement of early learning programs through Title I and Department competitive grant 

programs; and 

Launch, in communities with underrepresented early learning populations, a national communications 

campaign to promote participation in high-quality early learning programs and identify successful 

models. 

What could hold us back? What’s beyond our control? (External Risk Factors) 

Expanding access to high-quality programs and communicating broadly to families and other stakeholders 

requires significant resources and coordination. Because of limited resources in this economic climate, new 

efforts to encourage the expansion of state- and locally funded early learning opportunities may be difficult for 

states and districts to implement. Additional federal investments to increase access to high-quality programs 

may be difficult to obtain in the current climate of budget constraints. 
Strategic Plan, FY 2011–2014 

Page 35

SUB-GOAL 3.2: WORKFORCE. IMPROVE THE QUALITY AND EFFECTIVENESS OF THE EARLY 

LEARNING WORKFORCE SO THAT EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATORS HAVE THE SKILLS AND ABILITIES 

NECESSARY TO IMPROVE YOUNG CHILDREN’S HEALTH, SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL, AND COGNITIVE 

OUTCOMES. 













Creating high-quality early learning programs depends in large part on having a high-quality workforce. 

Unfortunately, far too often, early learning professionals are not sufficiently prepared, supported, or 

compensated. Qualifications and education level required for the workforce vary greatly by state and program. 

Only 27 states with publicly funded preschool programs require a bachelor’s degree for preschool teachers, and 

just 16 states require assistant teachers to have a Child Development Associate certificate (CDA).46 In many 

preschool settings, the only educational requirement to enter the field is a high school diploma and a few hours 

of professional development. And, the professional development that does exist may be hampered by a lack of 

common professional competencies. The result is that most of the early learning workforce are not adequately 

trained on the full range of developmentally appropriate, evidence-based practices that improve the health, 

social-emotional, and cognitive outcomes of all young children. 

The federal government can address these workforce challenges by supporting more robust teacher preparation 

and professional development efforts and promoting common, statewide workforce knowledge and 

competency frameworks designed to support children’s learning and development and improve outcomes. 

Developing and advancing common statewide workforce knowledge and competency frameworks will help 

states build unified professional development systems and concentrate their training efforts around what 

matters most. Building statewide early learning workforce data systems that include information on education, 

credentials, and professional development experiences could help states and districts more effectively tailor 

early learning professional development. The Department can play an important role in encouraging states and 

school districts to focus components of K–3 professional development on evidence-based, developmentally 

appropriate approaches not always emphasized in teacher preparation programs and in providing joint 

professional development opportunities for K–3 and preschool teachers, including professionals from 

community-based early learning programs. Strategies like these improve the quality and effectiveness of the 

workforce and thus will have a significant impact on the outcomes for young children. 

How will we get there? (Actions/Means) 

The Department will: 

Improve the preparation of the early learning workforce by supporting the development of common 

workforce knowledge and competency frameworks; 

Promote the use of federal funds for improving early learning professional development; and 

Coordinate with adult education programs to create early learning career pathways. 

Specific examples of these actions include: 

Promote the development and implementation of statewide early learning workforce systems 

through the RTT-ELC competition; 

With the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), develop a coordinated, evidence-based 

plan for current and future technical assistance and professional development investments; 

Support the development of common statewide workforce knowledge and competency frameworks 

for early childhood educators through collaboration with postsecondary institutions and 

accreditation agencies; 

 

46 Barnett, W. S., et al. op. cit. 






Strategic Plan, FY 2011–2014 

Page 36

Promote the effective use of federal funds for joint professional development for preschool and K–3 

teachers and administrators by clarifying, expanding, and promoting the use of Title I and other 

funds for that purpose; 

With HHS, develop a coordinated research agenda to better understand the status and needs of the 

early learning workforce and to identify the most effective pre-service and professional 

development approaches for improving practices; and 

Fund high-quality professional development for elementary teachers and leaders with demonstrated 

effectiveness in improving student outcomes and building their knowledge base about child 

development, standards, instruction, and assessment strategies appropriate for young children from 

preschool through 3rd grade. 

What could hold us back? What’s beyond our control? (External Risk Factors) 

While the Department can identify flexibilities in existing formula programs that permit early learning 

professional development in some contexts, many of the strategies would require additional authorization and 

appropriations to implement. Additionally, significant coordination with HHS, state and local authorities, service 

providers, postsecondary institutions, and other professional development providers will be required. 
Strategic Plan, FY 2011–2014 

Page 37

SUB-GOAL 3.3: ASSESSMENT AND ACCOUNTABILITY. IMPROVE THE CAPACITY OF STATES AND 

EARLY LEARNING PROGRAMS TO DEVELOP AND IMPLEMENT COMPREHENSIVE EARLY LEARNING 

ASSESMENT SYSTEMS. 

Early childhood professionals, like all other education professionals, need evidence of positive learning 

outcomes in order to plan and implement appropriate instructional strategies. They can benefit from 

comprehensive early learning assessment systems that collect information about the process and context of 

young children’s learning and development. The major components of a comprehensive assessment system 

include a coordinated screening and referral system, ongoing formative assessments, kindergarten entry 

assessments, measures of environmental quality and adult-child interactions, descriptive data on program 

resources, and a system of continuous program evaluation. The Department will work with HHS to promote the 

development of these systems and ensure that they include the appropriate screening, diagnostic, formative, 

and observational measures, as well as relevant descriptive data. 

Any discussion of the effectiveness of an early learning program must include some indication of how children 

are progressing across multiple domains of learning, as reflected in the state’s early learning standards. 

High-quality information on program effectiveness must, in turn, be based on multiple assessments that are 

both valid and reliable for their specified purpose and for the population with which they will be used. 

Twenty-three states have begun to develop and implement Quality Rating and Improvement Systems (QRISs)—a 

systemic approach to assessing, improving, and communicating the level of quality in early learning programs. 

Many of the remaining states are in the process of designing and piloting their own QRIS. 47 However, the 

quality of states’ QRISs systems vary widely, and the remaining states lack robust tools for monitoring quality 

and providing feedback to teachers and families. The Department will work with HHS and states to develop and 

adopt benchmarks for statewide tiered quality rating and improvement systems that, among other things, are 

based on a set of program standards, define levels of quality, monitor program outcomes through continuous 

feedback with data (including child outcome data), and link to state professional development systems. These 

systems will give administrators the information they need to make informed programmatic decisions and will 

inform families and the public about the quality of early learning programs.

How will we get there? (Actions/Means) 

The Department will: 





Encourage states’ use of quality rating and improvement systems across all early learning programs that 

continuously monitor program effectiveness for accountability; and 

Promote the development and implementation of comprehensive early learning assessment systems 

whose data are used to improve quality and support program improvement. 

 

47 Kauerz, K. & Thorman, A. (March 2011), QRIS and P-3: Creating Synergy Across Systems to Close Achievement Gaps and Improve 

Opportunities for Young Children, Build Initiative 
Strategic Plan, FY 2011–2014 

Page 38

Specific examples of these actions include: 









 

Promote statewide development and use of program quality standards that are the basis of statewide 

tiered quality rating and improvement systems that evaluate program effectiveness through the RTT-ELC 

competition; 

Fund consortia of states to develop or improve comprehensive early learning assessment systems that 

reflect the domains of early learning and will assist early learning professionals in monitoring the 

learning and development of children prior to 3rd grade; 

Develop a joint policy statement on appropriate comprehensive early learning assessment systems from 

birth through 3rd grade; and 

Develop and fund coordinated research and technical assistance plans and programs that include a 

focus on identifying and scaling up evidenced-based comprehensive early learning assessment 

approaches and systems. 

What could hold us back? What’s beyond our control? (External Risk Factors) 

One of the difficulties with promoting statewide comprehensive assessment systems is ensuring the appropriate 

design and use of assessments. The comprehensive assessment systems envisioned here would focus instead 

on the full range of assessment strategies that are both meaningful and consistent with developmentally 

appropriate practices, but this approach will take additional resources and efforts. The patchwork of early 

learning programs and services also makes it difficult to implement assessments in a uniform way, and agreeing 

upon a framework for comprehensive assessment systems will require significant collaboration with HHS and 

states. Furthermore, the Department’s role in advancing many of these reforms depends in part on new 

authorizations and appropriations from Congress. 
Strategic Plan, FY 2011–2014 

Page 39

GOAL 4: EQUITY. ENSURE AND PROMOTE EFFECTIVE EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES AND SAFE 

AND HEALTHY LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS FOR ALL STUDENTS REGARDLESS OF RACE, ETHNICITY, 

NATIONAL ORIGIN, AGE, SEX, SEXUAL ORIENTATION, GENDER IDENTITY, DISABILITY, LANGUAGE, 

AND SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS. 

















All students—regardless of circumstance—deserve a world-class education. To ensure that America regains its 

status as the best-educated, most competitive workforce in the world with the highest proportion of college 

graduates of any country, we must close the pervasive achievement and attainment gaps that exist throughout 

the nation. Yet, far too often, the quality of a child’s education and learning environment, and opportunities to 

succeed are determined by his or her race, ethnicity, national origin, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender 

identity, disability, language, socioeconomic status, and/or ZIP code. For example, data collected by the 

Department shows: 

In 2006–07, only 41 percent of three- to five-year-olds from low-income families were enrolled in 

center-based early childhood care and education programs, compared to 60 percent from non-poor 

families.48 

Sixty-seven percent of black high school students enrolled in schools surveyed by the Civil Rights Data 

Collection (CRDC) have access to calculus, a STEM class that contributes to college and career readiness, 

compared to 80 percent of white high school students.49 

English Learners enrolled in schools surveyed by the CRDC represent six percent of high school 

enrollment, but only one percent of the calculus enrollment.50

Twelve percent of our high schools, or 1,600 high schools, produce half of the country’s dropouts; those 

same schools produce two-thirds of dropouts among black and Hispanic students.51 

Two out of three students with disabilities leave high school without degrees.52

These inequalities extend to higher education, where the gaps in college participation between White 

students and Hispanic and black students are growing wider.53

In 2007, the postsecondary completion rate (i.e., receipt of postsecondary diploma, certificate, or 

license) for students with disabilities was 29 percent.54 By contrast, by 2009, approximately 57 percent 

of all full-time, first-time students that began seeking a bachelor’s degree in 2003 had completed their 

degree or equivalent.55

 

In 2008-2009, women earned less than one in five bachelor's degrees in engineering, and less than one 

in eight bachelor's degrees in computer science.56

Moreover, too many students feel unsafe or unwelcome at school because they are (or are perceived as) 

different from other students. All students should have an equal opportunity to learn and excel in a safe and 

 

48 U.S. Department of Education, NCES, “School Readiness Survey of the National Household Education Survey (NHES),” 2007.

49 U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights, Civil Rights Data Collection, School Year 2009–10. 

50 Ibid.

51 U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, “Locating the Dropout Crisis,” Center for Research on the Education of 

Students Placed at Risk 2004, p. 5. 

52 U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs, Data Analysis System (DANS), OMB # 1820-0521: “Children 

with Disabilities Exiting Special Education, 2006-07.”

53 U.S. Department of Education, NCES, “The Condition of Education 2011, Student Effort and Educational Progress,” Indicator 21,

Immediate Transition to College, Figure 21-2.

54 U.S. Department of Education, NCSER, “National Longitudinal Transition Study-2, Wave 4 Parent/Youth Survey Data,” 2007 (NLTS-2 

2007), Table 240, Postsecondary Education at Any Institution. 

55 U.S. Department of Education, NCES, “The Condition of Education 2011, Student Effort and Educational Progress,” Indicator 23, 

Postsecondary Graduation Rates, Figure 23-1.

56 U.S. Department of Education, NCES, 2008–09 IPEDS. 
Strategic Plan, FY 2011–2014 

Page 40

supportive environment. Because inequities at all levels of education still exist, educational equity is the civil 

rights issue of our generation. 

In additi

The Department will systematically track the progress made within key priorities and initiatives across the 

agency toward fostering greater educational equity among students. Many of these activities are well under 

way. For example, the Department is working to provide a greater focus on equity throughout its 

comprehensive reform initiatives, incorporating the concept of shared responsibility and accountability to meet 

the needs of students, families, and educators. Equity is addressed in priorities that include awarding 

competitive grants; reauthorizing statutes designed to increase equity, including ESEA; improving the 

affordability of postsecondary education; ensuring a safe learning environment where students are free from 

bullying and harassment; ensuring the equitable distribution of effective teachers and resources in lowperforming, high-poverty, and high-minority schools; increasing traditionally underrepresented students’ access 

to college- and career-ready curricula such as STEM classes, advanced placement, and other high-level courses; 

and increasing access to high-quality early learning programs for high-needs children. 

on, the Department has committed to making more effective use of its Office for Civil Rights (OCR) by 

reinvigorating its law enforcement responsibilities, including complaint investigation and resolution, proactive 

compliance reviews and technical assistance activities, and policy guidance. OCR’s activities support progress on 

the Department’s work to ensure that the nation’s struggling schools are transformed, and that all students are 

free from bullying or harassment and have equitable access to great teachers and leaders, resources, collegeand career-ready coursework, and the promise of a high-quality education. 

The Department will continue its equity-focused initiatives as follows: 

4.1. Continue to Increase the Infusion of Equity Throughout the Department’s Programs and Activities. 

Promote and coordinate equity-focused efforts in Departmental programs. 

4.2. Civil Rights Enforcement. Ensure equal access to education and promote educational excellence 

throughout the nation through the vigorous enforcement of civil rights laws. 

How will we measure success? 

The Department will use the following indicators to measure its success in ensuring access to effective 

educational opportunities for all students. The Department’s work related to equity is pervasive and, as a result, 

measures related to equity are in both this section and in every other section. 

Equity Indicators of Success

Indicator Also Referenced in Goal 

Related to:

Increase in the combined annual number of significant proactive 

and outreach activities related to civil rights enforcement (new 

policy documents, compliance reviews, and technical assistance 

activities)

Equity

Establish Departmental priorities to address equity-related issues 

in the Department’s grants and awards

Continuous Improvement of 

the U.S. Education System

Increase in the availability of data related to student access to 

resources and opportunities to succeed, such as disaggregated 

student access to college- and career-ready math and science 

courses; disparate discipline rates, school-based arrests, and 

referrals to law enforcement; and school-level expenditures

U.S. Department of Education 

Capacity
Strategic Plan, FY 2011–2014 

Page 41

Equity Indicators of Success 

Indicator Also Referenced in Goal 

Related to: 

Increase in the percentage of state report cards that include 

school climate, college enrollment, and teacher and school leader 

measures, in addition to student achievement

Continuous Improvement of 

the U.S. Education System

Increase in the percentage of individuals completing and filing the 

FAFSA who come from low-income households and/or nontraditional students.

Postsecondary Education, 

Career and Technical 

Education, and Adult 

Education

Identify, as potential models, persistently lowest-achieving 

schools demonstrating improvement on indicators that schools 

are required to report through the School Improvement Grants 

program

Elementary and Secondary

Increase in the number of states implementing a high-quality plan 

to improve child outcomes at kindergarten entry 

Early Learning
Strategic Plan, FY 2011–2014 

Page 42

SUB-GOAL 4.1: CONTINUE TO INCREASE THE INFUSION OF EQUITY THROUGHOUT THE 

DEPARTMENT’S PROGRAMS AND ACTIVITIES. PROMOTE AND COORDINATE EQUITY-FOCUSED 

EFFORTS IN DEPARTMENTAL PROGRAMS. 









 





The United States is becoming increasingly diverse, in terms of both its workforce and its students. By 2030, a 

majority of the nation’s school-age population is estimated to be of color, while in 2050, the nation’s population 

as a whole will be majority minority.57 This demographic change gives increased urgency to closing the 

achievement gap and drives the Department’s efforts to ensure educational equity.58

The Department’s work can make significant advancement in closing opportunity and achievement gaps by: 

Increasing access to high-quality early learning programs at the earliest stages of life; 

Working to ensure students are safe in school, free from bullying and harassment, and not subject to 

disparate discipline; 

Preparing students to leave high school ready to enter college or a career; and 

Increasing the means by which students from chronically underrepresented populations can attend 

college and workforce training and complete programs of study with a degree or certificate and job 

placement. 

Leveraging its most powerful assets for addressing the serious disparities that undermine equal access to a 

quality education, the Department will work with Congress to ensure that new or updated legislation furthers 

educational equity and will seek to enhance its ability to set priorities for federal Departmental funding. 

The Department’s strategy for reauthorizing the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) is to 

strengthen an important part of the cradle-to-career pipeline that aims to bring significantly more, betterprepared students to the doors of higher education, ready to excel. It seeks to promote a culture of college 

readiness and success by ensuring that students experience a challenging high school curriculum drawn from 

high academic standards and increased access to college-level, dual credit, and other accelerated courses in 

high-need schools. Further, it seeks to ensure that teachers and leaders are better prepared to meet the needs 

of diverse learners by encouraging more districts and schools to implement high-quality, state- and locally 

determined curricula and instructional supports that incorporate the principles of universal design for learning 

to meet all students’ needs.

At the postsecondary level, the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 provided for, and offset 

the cost of, increases in the amount of the maximum Pell Grant award to account for the costs of inflation over 

the next decade. It also provides funding to support Historically Black Colleges and Universities, HispanicServing Institutions, Tribal Colleges and Universities, and other minority-Serving Institutions. 

Equity is also infused in the priorities for funding the Department’s discretionary grants, including: 

Promoting STEM education for traditionally underrepresented groups; 

Improving the effectiveness of teachers and principals and ensuring their distribution in low-achieving, 

high-poverty, and high-minority schools; 

 

57 Source: http://www.census.gov/newsroom/releases/archives/population/cb08-123.html, accessed September 23, 2011. 

58 See supra p. 6. NAEP data on the difference in 4th and 8th grade 2007–2009 reading and math proficiency between White students and 

other racial/ethnic groups, English Learner and non-English Learners, students with disabilities and all students without disabilities, as 

well as the 2005–07 and 2006–08 difference in college attainment between White students and other racial/ethnic groups. 








Strategic Plan, FY 2011–2014 

Page 43

Supporting college- and career-ready standards and high-quality assessments that appropriately address 

the needs of all students, including English Learners and students with disabilities; 

Improving access to early learning, student performance in all grade levels, high school graduation rates, 

and college enrollment rates for high-need students and students in high-poverty schools, students with 

disabilities, and English Learners; 

Increasing the number and proportion of high-needs students who are academically prepared for, enroll 

in, and complete postsecondary education or training; and 

Encouraging diversity initiatives to promote cross-racial understanding, break down racial stereotypes, 

and prepare students for an increasingly diverse workforce and society. 

How will we get there? (Actions/Means)

The Department will: 

























Encourage a focus on equity and high-need students in the Department’s competitive and formula grant 

programs; 

Close the “comparability loophole” in ESEA so that state and local funding levels for high-poverty 

schools are comparable to what low-poverty schools receive; 

Collaborate with federal, state, and local government agencies as well as parents and community 

organizations to maximize impact on underserved populations; 

Increase access to and the quality of early learning programs and services, particularly for high-poverty 

and underserved populations, including children with disabilities and English Learners; 

Support and enhance the pipeline of effective teachers and leaders, and ensure their equitable 

distribution in low performing, high-poverty, and high-minority schools; 

Promote the development of comprehensive teacher and leader evaluation systems based in part on 

student achievement and growth; 

Increase access to and the affordability of postsecondary institutions, particularly for underserved 

populations; 

Support White House Initiatives to improve educational quality and student access and completion at 

minority-serving institutions; 

Systemically track the progress made within key priorities and initiatives across the agency toward 

fostering greater educational equity among students; 

Ensure that postsecondary institutions are working to provide the best opportunity for students to be 

prepared for and have pathways into careers and that affordability is increased; 

Aid programs at postsecondary institutions that support the advancement of adult learners; and 

Fund programs and services that meet the educational needs of transitioning workers and career 

changers, including immigrants and previously incarcerated individuals. 

Specific examples of these actions will include: 











Include priorities related to equity, need, and diversity in various Department competitive grant 

programs; 

Evaluate the success of grantees and systems based on their impact on improving outcomes for all 

groups of students; 

Promote continued disaggregation of data and accountability for student subgroup performance in K–12 

schools; 

Promote statewide and district-wide resource comparability through the collection and analysis of 

information on state and local resource disparities and provide guidance; 

Use available options to foster equitable distribution of resources and effective teachers and leaders; 
Strategic Plan, FY 2011–2014 

Page 44



















Monitor and ensure equity and access of girls and women to critical programs and career pathways 

through the Civil Rights Data Collection and other data disaggregated by sex that is already required by 

other specific education- and workforce-related programs; 

Use incentive based models, such as Race to the Top—Early Learning Challenge, in collaboration with 

HHS to increase access to high-quality early learning programs for young children and ensure their 

inclusiveness for children with disabilities, English Learners, and other underrepresented communities; 

Use strategically targeted funding to the lowest-performing schools to successfully implement 

turnaround models that local school districts deem appropriate; 

Ensure appropriate assessments for English Learners and students with disabilities that correspond to 

rigorous college- and career-ready standards in academic content areas;

Support Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) programs to increase access to high-quality, 

inclusive programs and services for students with disabilities;

Provide funding support to state education agencies (SEAs) and local education agencies (LEAs) to 

attract and retain highly qualified teachers; 

Provide funding support to programs that increase the capacity for teachers’ professional development; 

Ensure that Pell Grants remain intact for the students who are most in need; and 

Provide improved federal student aid service, information, and supports to students and parents in 

underserved communities. 

What could hold us back? What’s beyond our control? (External Risk Factors) 

Equity-focused efforts could be held back because of differences in availability of funding at the state and local 

level, preexisting contractual obligations, the fact that state and local resources are often not targeted at the 

highest-need students, and the lack of necessary capacity among schools and districts to close achievement 

gaps. Inefficiency in the disparate alignment of federal, state, and local management and spending structures is 

a current and potentially ongoing obstacle. In addition, advancing educational reform depends, in part, on the 

reauthorization of the ESEA and other important equity-focused statutes—e.g., Perkins, IDEA, and HEA. 
Strategic Plan, FY 2011–2014 

Page 45

SUB-GOAL 4.2: CIVIL RIGHTS ENFORCEMENT. ENSURE EQUAL ACCESS TO EDUCATION AND PROMOTE 

EDUCATIONAL EXCELLENCE THROUGHOUT THE NATION THROUGH THE VIGOROUS ENFORCEMENT OF CIVIL 

RIGHTS LAWS. 

 

To transform levels of achievement in an increasingly diverse nation, students must be free from discrimination 

and have equal access to a high-quality education. The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) is charged with the vitally 

important task of ensuring that recipients of federal funds comply with the federal civil rights laws and that 

beneficiaries, including students participating in education programs offered by federally funded schools and 

colleges, are free from discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex (including gender-based 

harassment and sex-stereotyping), disability, or age. This mandate embodies the nation’s commitment to equity 

and is central to its long-term prosperity. 

The Department has revitalized its use of civil rights enforcement to advance educational equity and aligned its 

compliance and enforcement activities for maximum impact. Through complementary activities that include 

proactive technical assistance, targeted compliance reviews, strong systemic remedies, aggressive monitoring of 

resolution agreements, policy guidance, intra-agency sharing of best practices, and inter-agency work groups, 

the Department is using an integrated approach to civil rights enforcement to address priority issues including: 





















Equal access to rigorous courses and curricula; 

Equal access to resources; 

Equal access to a free and appropriate public education; 

Racial disparities in school discipline; 

Equal opportunity for English Learners; 

Sexual, racial, and disability harassment to improve school climates; 

Sexual violence; 

Equal athletic opportunity; 

Equal access to new technologies for students with disabilities; and 

Disproportionate numbers of minority students in special education. 

These issues amplify and complement those found in approximately 7,000 discrimination complaints filed with 

the Department annually. During investigations, the Department uses its legal authority to investigate policies 

and procedures that may be discriminatory. When discrimination is found, the Department works 

collaboratively with recipients to craft strong, systemic resolution agreements and actively monitors the 

agreements to ensure that their terms are fully implemented. 

The Department’s proactive civil rights activities and policy guidance make the law clear and identify tangible 

enforcement standards so students, parents, and others can understand their rights and recipients can 

proactively comply with civil rights laws. The Department’s Civil Rights Data Collection has been expanded and 

made more accessible to strengthen transparency and accountability. The data can be used not only by the 

Department, but by school districts to make improvements and by parents to make informed choices about 

their children’s education. As another means to increase transparency, the Department posts selected OCR 

compliance review resolution letters and agreements, along with letters and agreements from selected 

complaints, on the Department’s website. Sharing this information widely not only increases the Department’s 

ability to effect systemic change in educational opportunity, but it also advances the Secretary of Education’s 

vision of the Department as not just a compliance-driven organization, but one that supports schools and 

colleges to do the right thing for students. 
Strategic Plan, FY 2011–2014 

Page 46

How will we get there? (Actions/Means) 

The Department will:













Increase students’ and their families’ awareness of their rights and strengthen their capacity to resolve 

civil rights and equity issues in their communities; 

Increase understanding among schools, colleges, and universities of their obligations under the civil 

rights laws and strengthen their capacity for voluntary compliance; 

Protect individual complainants’ civil rights and ensure due process;

Identify and eliminate systemic violations of the civil rights laws; 

Focus technical assistance, data collection, and enforcement activities on critical issues including: school 

culture, by working to ensure students are free from harassment and sexual violence; issues of access, 

by ensuring equitable distribution of resources; ensuring English Learners get the services they need; 

ensuring schools, including charter schools, do not engage in discriminatory recruitment practices or 

segregate students; and working to remedy disparate discipline rates; and 

Collect and make available civil rights data. 

Specific examples of these actions include: 

















Implement strategic outreach campaigns around high-priority civil rights issues to educate students and 

their families about their civil rights; 

Build a strong proactive docket of compliance reviews and directed inquiries targeting the highest need 

areas of civil rights enforcement for systemic change; 

Implement strategic and proactive technical assistance activities around high-priority civil rights issues 

to assist affected schools, colleges, and universities; 

Update and disseminate policy guidance; 

Continuously improve the complaint resolution process; 

Continue to improve the quality and accessibility of the Civil Rights Data Collection; 

Use the Equity and Excellence Commission to recommend ways school finance can be improved to 

increase equity and achievement; and 

Share promising practices implemented by school districts across the country. 

What would hold us back? What is beyond our control? (External risk factors) 

Because of limited resources in this austere economic climate, efforts to target programs for poor and minority 

students might not be widely supported. With an ongoing and significant rise in complaint workload, the 

majority of staff will be needed for case processing and investigations. As a result, the ability to perform 

labor-intensive proactive activities—i.e., compliance reviews, technical assistance and outreach, and issuing 

important policy guidance, which help produce the most systemic change for students—could be compromised. 
Strategic Plan, FY 2011–2014 

Page 47

GOAL 5: CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT OF THE U.S. EDUCATION SYSTEM. ENHANCE THE 

EDUCATION SYSTEM’S ABILITY TO CONTINUOUSLY IMPROVE THROUGH BETTER AND MORE 

WIDESPREAD USE OF DATA, RESEARCH AND EVALUATION, TRANSPARENCY, INNOVATION, AND 

TECHNOLOGY. 

Achieving the President’s 2020 college attainment goal will require better and stronger systems, powered by 

information and innovation. Through this Strategic Plan, the Department aims to foster a culture of continuous 

systems improvement at the national, state, and local levels. To achieve this goal, the Department will support 

robust and comprehensive data systems, a strategic use of research and evaluation, transparency in sharing 

results, increased flexibility and innovation, and effective and systemic use of technology. 

The main priority for improving systemic capacity is to provide educators with access to data and the skills to 

better understand and use the data. With relevant and actionable data, policymakers will be able to appraise 

how states, districts, schools, and students are currently performing, measure progress, pinpoint gaps, improve 

practice, and make sound decisions. States are working collaboratively and progressing steadily to develop 

systems that will yield the valid, reliable data that are essential to achieving these purposes. However, most 

states, and the nation as a whole, have more work to do. The Department will continue helping states develop 

effective statewide longitudinal data systems, design voluntary common data standards, and develop the 

capacity of institutions and staff to utilize data to improve teaching and learning. These activities will help to 

generate an accurate picture of student performance and other critical elements, from early learning programs 

through postsecondary institutions and the workforce, while ensuring the privacy of individuals and the security 

of their data. 

Similarly, at the national, state, and local levels, the field of education will greatly benefit from research and 

evaluation that is planned, conducted, and shared with the primary goals of informing policy and improving 

practice. The Department aims to support research that will make a difference by giving states, districts, and 

schools the information they need to identify and adopt effective practices, focus scarce resources on 

investments most likely to have the greatest impact, and become more dynamic learning organizations. The 

Department will encourage stakeholders at all levels to work together to identify research priorities and design 

strategic plans to guide their investments in research and evaluation, test innovative ideas, evaluate and 

replicate promising approaches, and scale up those programs that have the strongest evidence of effectiveness. 

Committing to continuous improvement of the nation’s schools and students also requires transparency in 

providing timely and accurate information to the education community and the public. School reform will be 

successful when all partners and parties with a stake in the success of our education system work together and 

use information to identify strengths and weaknesses, hold each other accountable, demand the changes that 

are needed, select the best approaches, and carry out improvements. 

The goals and actions in this Strategic Plan sharpen the focus on generating bold and creative solutions and aim 

to support innovation in partnership with other federal partners and private organizations with related missions. 

The Department is placing a clear priority on stimulating innovations in education and on providing the funds 

needed to accelerate their design and adoption. At the same time, the Department’s vision for 21st-century 

learning calls for making effective use of technology and for providing states, districts, and schools with the tools 

and resources they need to incorporate cutting-edge methods for strengthening curriculum quality and delivery, 

improving student access and engagement, developing comprehensive formative and summative assessment 

systems, and enhancing data management systems. 
Strategic Plan, FY 2011–2014 

Page 48

5.1. Data Systems: Facilitate the development of interoperable longitudinal data systems from early 

learning through the workforce to enable data-driven decision-making by increasing access to timely, 

reliable, and high-value data.

5.2. Research and Evaluation: Support multiple approaches to research and evaluation to support 

educational improvement and Department decision-making.

5.3. Transparency: Present relevant and reliable information that increases demand for educational 

attainment and improves educational performance while maintaining student privacy.

5.4. Technology and Innovation: Accelerate the development and broad adoption of new, effective 

programs, processes, and strategies, including education technology.

How will we measure success? 

The Department will use the following indicators to measure its success in enhancing the education system’s 

ability to continuously improve through better and more widespread data, research and evaluation, 

transparency, innovation, and technology. 

Continuous Improvement of the U.S. Education System’s Indicators of Success 















Increase in the number of states implementing comprehensive statewide longitudinal data systems that 

link student achievement with teacher data and link elementary and secondary with higher education 

data and, to the extent possible, with preschool and workforce data 

Increase in the number of high-value datasets that are published through the data.gov or ED.gov 

websites 

Increase in the percentage of state report cards that include school climate, college enrollment, and 

teacher and school leader measures, in addition to student achievement 

Increase the number of Department programs that make awards based on the strength of the evidence 

(strong or moderate) provided in grant applications 

Increase in the number of Department programs, practices, or strategies that are adopted as a result of 

Scale Up, validation, or development grants 

Increase in the percentage of teachers, administrators, and parents who believe that the effective 

implementation of technology within instruction is important to student success 

Establish Departmental priorities to address equity-related issues in the Department’s grants and 

awards 
Strategic Plan, FY 2011–2014 

Page 49

SUB-GOAL 5.1: DATA SYSTEMS. FACILITATE THE DEVELOPMENT OF INTEROPERABLE 

LONGITUDINAL DATA SYSTEMS FROM EARLY LEARNING THROUGH THE WORKFORCE TO ENABLE 

DATA-DRIVEN DECISION-MAKING BY INCREASING ACCESS TO TIMELY, RELIABLE, AND HIGH-VALUE 

DATA. 

To bring about a culture of continuous improvement, teachers, leaders, and other stakeholders in the education 

community need timely access to high-value data that will enable them to see and understand the factors that 

impact student achievement and child development. However, for many, the infrastructure for this kind of 

data-driven decision-making is not readily accessible. While states are making significant progress in developing 

data systems, too often data are maintained only in a data system particular to one sector of the education 

community or are not shared in a timely manner with the people for whom they would be meaningful and 

actionable. Time lags, data gaps, and troubles accessing the information make it difficult for schools and 

districts to identify best practices, measure growth in student performance, and improve teaching and learning. 

When data are available and widely shared, in many cases they are still not used to drive instructional practices 

or decision-making. For these reasons, the Department will continue to assist states in developing longitudinal 

data systems capable of sharing key data elements across the education continuum from early learning to the 

workforce. Through these systems, for example, secondary schools can know how many of their students are 

enrolled in a postsecondary program, how many require remediation before actual courses for credit could be 

taken, and how many students persist in postsecondary coursework and obtain a postsecondary degree or 

credential. 

Data are only valuable if they are usable and used. Thus, the Department will also provide support to the 

education community, including teachers and administrators, on how to understand data and appropriately use 

data to inform policies, instructional practices, and leadership decision-making. Currently, there is a lack of 

information on best practices for the use of data to improve instructional systems. While there is some capacity 

for using longitudinal data to improve outcomes for children and students, this capacity needs to be expanded. 

Further, the Department will continue to use the information collection clearance process to gather and respond 

to comments from the public in advance of beginning any new data collection, and to revise and refine existing 

data collections to reduce and remove redundant items. 

How will we get there? (Actions/Means) 

The Department will: 







Facilitate the development of the infrastructure necessary to collect and disseminate high-value 

education information for the improvement of child and student outcomes, especially data 

disaggregated by student subgroups; 

Support policies that encourage interoperability between data systems, both within education and 

across sectors, while also upholding the privacy, confidentiality, and security of personally identifiable 

information; and 

Encourage the use of data by promoting access to high-value, timely, and accurate data and by 

improving the quality of data. 

Specific examples of these actions include: 









Support and fund the development of statewide longitudinal data systems; 

Collaborate with states, districts, and other education data stakeholders to develop, for voluntary 

adoption, common data standards that will include common data definitions and technical 

specifications; 

Fund the development and initial adoption of high-quality end-user applications for states and districts; 

Promote and fund high-quality teacher preparation and professional development programs that build 

teacher and principal capacity to use data as a tool for instructional improvement; 
Strategic Plan, FY 2011–2014 

Page 50





Identify and disseminate school, district, and state best practices regarding data use; and 

Identify and publish Common Data Standards for essential data elements in state data systems. 

What could hold us back? What’s beyond our control? (External Risk Factors) 

Efforts to ensure the development of robust, integrated data systems will be constrained by the amount of time, 

financial resources, and support available to states to carry out this work. State and local funding for data 

systems may be reduced due to the fiscal crisis. Moreover, wide variations in state and district data systems 

present unique challenges for each state. Some district data systems, for example, far surpass their own state’s 

data system. This inequity could create hurdles for states to gain “buy in” from their more advanced districts. 

Efforts to ensure data systems lead to data-driven decision-making may also encounter unforeseen obstacles 

necessary to address privacy concerns. 
Strategic Plan, FY 2011–2014 

Page 51

SUB-GOAL 5.2: RESEARCH AND EVALUATION. SUPPORT MULTIPLE APPROACHES TO RESEARCH 

AND EVALUATION TO SUPPORT EDUCATIONAL IMPROVEMENT AND DEPARTMENT 

DECISION-MAKING. 

Over the past decade, education researchers and evaluators have significantly raised the bar in increasing the 

scientific rigor of their work. Rigor has increased in no small part because the Department has demanded 

stronger methodologies and a greater capacity to make causal inferences and has trained researchers across the 

nation in these rigorous standards. 

While the Department will continue to focus on increasing the availability of rigorous research, now is the time 

to focus further on increasing the usability and relevance of Department-supported research and evaluation 

activities by making sure that they address the questions that matter most to practitioners and policymakers 

and guide improvement in the Department’s programs and policies. One key approach in accomplishing this 

goal is the institution of a Department-wide evaluation planning process. Annually, the evaluation planning 

process will work with stakeholders throughout the Department to identify priority research, evaluation, and 

analysis needs and to implement data analyses, technical assistance, analyses, and research and/or evaluations 

of programs, policies, and practices, as appropriate, to address these needs. This process will also help ensure 

that the Department supports a mix of evaluation activities that address both the short- and long-term 

knowledge-building needs in the field. It will also be aligned with and designed to inform the Department’s 

budget requests to Congress and its spending plans. 

In addition to this internally focused process, the Department will continue to engage practitioners and 

policymakers external to the Department in its research and evaluation planning to ensure that the focus is on 

the right problems of practice. Furthermore, the Department will also work to ensure that it provides the 

education community the information that it needs to know about how interventions and programs interact 

with local conditions in schools and districts, and how to build capacity and learning among organizations. 

How will we get there? (Actions/Means) 

The Department will: 















In its research and evaluation agenda, continue to emphasize the importance of focusing not only on 

what works (and what does not), but also on questions of “why,” “for whom,” and “under what 

conditions;” 

Continue efforts to improve data analyses, evaluation, and research capacity at the state and local 

levels, including through supporting longitudinal and other data systems; 

Support research on problems of practice guided by strong theories of action; study how schools, 

districts, states, and institutions improve; and create incentives for knowledge building and long-term 

sustained research programs; 

Develop knowledge management tools and systems that foster abilities to better understand, apply, and 

replicate findings from research and evaluation studies; 

Develop strategies to make research more meaningful and accessible for teachers, principals, and 

administrators, as well as for parents, families, school board members, and community members; 

Increase the involvement of educators, policymakers, and project directors in evaluation efforts; and 

Increase the use of evidence to inform policy development and program implementation, including the 

use of performance measures, data analysis, research, and evaluation for program and policy design and 

improvement. 
Strategic Plan, FY 2011–2014 

Page 52

Specific examples of these actions include: 















Increase the use of high-quality and timely data, including evaluations and performance measures, for 

continuous improvement among the Department’s largest discretionary programs (accounting for 

80 percent of discretionary funding); 

Increase the number of the Department’s programs and initiatives that are evaluated using methods 

that include those consistent with the What Works Clearinghouse Standards for evidence and 

effectiveness; 

Support states, districts, institutions of higher education, and other entities in testing out and rigorously 

evaluating new approaches to improving student outcomes through programs like the Investing in 

Innovation (i3) program and others; 

Rely on the Department-wide evaluation planning process and the resulting evaluation agenda to 

support systematic knowledge building over time; 

Provide technical assistance, including through the regional educational laboratories, on helping states 

and districts effectively use data for continuous improvement, including data produced by states’ 

longitudinal data systems for continuous improvement; 

Develop new research priorities, research programs, and requests for applications that further connect 

research to policy and practice; and 

Improve the Department’s knowledge management functions, including expanding the content of and 

the user interfaces for the What Works Clearinghouse and Doing What Works websites. 

What could hold us back? What’s beyond our control? (External Risk Factors) 

The implementation of these strategies depends in part on the availability of additional resources for evaluation 

and research, which are typically more difficult to obtain than resources for services and program 

implementation. In addition, many of the activities supporting this goal will be carried out by contractors and 

grantees, and thus are, in part, dependent on the capacity and quality of research expertise that exists outside 

the Department. The supply of education researchers with the capability to carry out high-quality research and 

evaluation is somewhat limited, and increasing capacity takes time. Additionally, there are the perceived and 

real challenges states and districts face in implementing programs in ways that can support the strongest 

possible studies and evaluations of those programs. 
Strategic Plan, FY 2011–2014 

Page 53

SUB-GOAL 5.3: TRANSPARENCY. PRESENT RELEVANT AND RELIABLE INFORMATION THAT 

INCREASES DEMAND FOR EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT AND IMPROVES EDUCATIONAL 

PERFORMANCE WHILE MAINTAINING STUDENT PRIVACY. 

Reaching the President’s 2020 college attainment goal requires, among other things, that the education 

community has better access to more relevant, timely, and accurate information about the performance of our 

nation’s schools and students. Public information helps families and students make informed educational 

choices. As President Obama stated, “[It] is our responsibility as lawmakers and educators to make this system 

work. But it is the responsibility of every citizen to participate in it.”

59

 Effective participation depends in large 

part on access to information that empowers students, families, and community members to demand 

excellence for their children. Not only can better information foster better decisions, it can also trigger 

consumer demand for improvement. However, currently families are often ill equipped to compare the 

performance of their children and schools to a high standard of excellence because many education agencies 

lack accessible portals with meaningful information, even where that information is readily publishable. 

Better access to timely, relevant, and reliable information would also help administrators and policymakers 

determine how best to improve our educational institutions. For example, teachers can more accurately gauge 

the rigor of their own classrooms against state or national benchmarks, and college administrators can compare 

their retention rates to those of their peer institutions. This information will drive the educational system to be 

more efficient and effective. The Department can help increase transparency while protecting privacy by 

looking inward at its own policies and practices, making changes aligned with these goals, and encouraging 

other educational institutions to do the same. 

How will we get there? (Actions/Means) 

The Department will: 













Fund and promote states’, districts’, and postsecondary institutions’ appropriate access to and 

dissemination of specific and relevant education information; 

Enhance Department policies and processes for transparency, including publication of school, district, 

and state data and information on Department programs, while protecting private, personally 

identifiable information; and 

Provide more robust and proactive technical assistance and guidance to states, districts, and educational 

entities on how to ensure that privacy is protected. 

Specific examples of these actions include: 

Improve the information provided on national, state, and district report cards on key issues such as 

student achievement, teacher quality, and school climate; 

Increase technical assistance to states, postsecondary institutions, and local school districts on putting 

data to use and on making outcome and process data available while protecting personally identifiable 

information; 

Improve online access to high-value Department data and make more high-value datasets available over 

time; 

 

59 Obama, Barack. “Address to Congress,” February 2009, speech. 




Strategic Plan, FY 2011–2014 

Page 54

Review the Department’s policies and practices for publishing information regarding its grant programs 

and implement changes, where appropriate, based on information gained from the review; and 

Appoint a Chief Privacy Officer to coordinate the Department’s efforts to safeguard privacy in use of 

data and augment technical assistance to states and institutions on best practices in ensuring privacy, 

confidentiality, and data security. 

What could hold us back? What’s beyond our control? (External Risk Factors) 

One ongoing challenge is to protect privacy while increasing accessibility to relevant information. The 

Department will continue to vigilantly safeguard all personally identifiable information while also helping 

education agencies make useful information available. Another risk lies in finding the right balance of 

information; too much information could make it nearly impossible to find meaning within data. To avoid this 

problem, the Department must work with stakeholders to prioritize information and to determine what is 

mostly likely to help families make choices for their children, help teachers improve student learning, and enable 

decision makers to improve education institutions. 
Strategic Plan, FY 2011–2014 

Page 55

SUB-GOAL 5.4: TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION. ACCELERATE THE DEVELOPMENT AND BROAD 

ADOPTION OF NEW, EFFECTIVE PROGRAMS, PROCESSES, AND STRATEGIES, INCLUDING 

EDUCATION TECHNOLOGY. 

To achieve the President’s 2020 college attainment goal, the nation’s education system will need to graduate 

many more college-ready students from high school, ensure they have access to postsecondary education, and 

support them as they complete their degrees—all without significant increases in resources. When other 

sectors of the economy need to become better, faster, or more productive, they rely on technology and other 

forms of innovation. The education sector is no different, and the need for innovation—and its benefits—spans 

grade levels, curricular areas, and student needs. 

The Department will continue to focus on ways that technology can improve all students’ opportunities to learn, 

including by providing engaging and powerful learning experiences, as well as digital content, resources, and 

assessments. Technology-based learning and assessment systems will be pivotal in improving student learning 

and generating data that can be used to continuously improve the education system at all levels. Technology 

will also help districts and schools support every teacher in becoming more effective and better connected to 

the tools, resources, and expertise needed throughout the day. Innovative technology must be matched by 

innovative educational practices to maximize its potential to improve learning and instruction for all students, 

and it must be accessible to all students, including students with disabilities. Leadership is essential to ensure 

that innovative applications are disseminated and brought to scale. 

How will we get there? (Actions/Means) 

The Department will: 













Articulate a vision to states, districts, and schools of learning powered by technology; 

Use technology to connect educators to data, resources, experts, and peers; 

Support research and development of educational technology and other innovations; 

Support the development of educational technology with enhanced accessibility for students with 

disabilities; 

Fund and scale the development and adoption of technology and other innovative tools, environments, 

and resources that empower learning, improve assessments, and make educational professionals more 

effective; and 

Build the Department’s internal capacity to accelerate the adoption of technology and other innovations 

as a model of an organization focused on continuous improvement. 

Specific examples of these actions include: 













Fund and evaluate innovative programs through all funding streams to help move new solutions from 

development to validation to widespread use; 

Fund research and development, in partnership with other federal agencies, that advances technology 

and other innovations to support teaching, learning, and administration; 

Develop a common evidence framework that aligns federal funding with the demonstrated effectiveness 

and possible scalability of solutions, creating an “innovation pipeline”; 

Facilitate the creation of an organization to support the development of transformative technologies in 

the education sector; 

Collaborate with other federal agencies and the private sector to ensure that students and educators 

have adequate broadband access to the Internet and adequate wireless connectivity; 

Fund the development of technology-based content and resources, as well as promote online learning 

communities that create opportunities for educators to collaborate and for educators and students to 

access digital content; 




Strategic Plan, FY 2011–2014 

Page 56

Facilitate the implementation of the National Education Technology Plan; and 

Fund technology and other innovations that address the particular needs of rural areas. 

What could hold us back? What is beyond our control? (External Risk Factors) 

Education funding is being cut across the country, putting investment in new programs, strategies, or processes 

at risk. In this time of decreasing budgets, technology and other innovations might be seen as luxuries rather 

than as mission critical. Because the private sector currently does not find investment in education innovation 

as attractive as investment in innovation in other sectors, there is limited private funding to help bridge the 

gaps. Technology-based education innovations are also at risk because of lack of broadband and lack of capacity 

in the field to implement the innovations. 
Strategic Plan, FY 2011–2014 

Page 57

GOAL 6: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION CAPACITY. IMPROVE THE ORGANIZATIONAL 

CAPACITIES OF THE DEPARTMENT TO IMPLEMENT THIS STRATEGIC PLAN.













To successfully implement this Strategic Plan, the Department must retool its organizational capabilities and 

areas of expertise. In particular, transforming the Department means developing a new approach to grants 

management that better supports grantees in achieving their educational goals while also continuing to hold 

grantees accountable for meeting financial requirements and legal obligations. To do so, the Department will 

continue to build the skills and knowledge of its workforce, rethink how it monitors and intervenes with high-risk 

grantees, enhance workforce productivity through information technology and performance management, and 

transform the way the Department interacts with states, districts, institutions of higher education, and other 

grantees across the country. The transformation will result in improved performance results, increased 

stakeholder collaboration, and higher employee satisfaction. 

6.1. Effective Workforce: Continue to build a high-performing, skilled workforce within the Department.

6.2. Programmatic Risk Management: Improve the Department’s program efficacy through comprehensive 

risk management and grant monitoring. 

6.3. Implementation and Support: Build Department capacity to support states’ and other grantees’

implementation of reforms that result in improved outcomes for students. 

6.4. Productivity and Performance Management: Improve workforce productivity through information 

technology and performance management systems. 

How will we measure success? 

The Department will use the following indicators to measure the Department’s success in building the 

organizational capacities needed to implement this Strategic Plan. 

U.S. Department of Education Capacity Indicators of Success

Increase in the Department’s rank in the report on the Best Places to Work (BPTW) in the federal 

government 

Increase in the percentage of positive responses that the Department receives on the Talent 

Management measure in the Federal Viewpoint Survey 

Increase in the percentage of positive responses that the Department receives on the Performance 

Culture measure in the Federal Viewpoint Survey 

Increase in the percentage of Department programs that use a risk index and corresponding solutions 

for identifying and mitigating grantee risk 

Increase in the percentage of states and other grantees reporting satisfaction with support provided by 

the Department 

Increase in the availability of data related to student access to resources and opportunities to succeed, 

such as disaggregated student access to college- and career-ready mathematics and science courses; 

disparate discipline rates, school-based arrests, and referrals to law enforcement; and school-level 

expenditures
Strategic Plan, FY 2011–2014 

Page 58

SUB-GOAL 6.1: EFFECTIVE WORKFORCE. CONTINUE TO BUILD A HIGH-PERFORMING, SKILLED 

WORKFORCE WITHIN THE DEPARTMENT. 

Outstanding leaders and engaged employees are key drivers of organizational performance and results. 

Therefore, the Department’s success in implementing this Strategic Plan will rely heavily on the knowledge, 

skills, and expertise of the Department’s employees. Yet, based on its own employees’ views, the Department 

must improve its workforce capacity and leadership skills. These views are illustrated by the Department 

ranking 29th out of 33 large federal agencies on the 2011 Best Places to Work (BPTW) in the Federal Government

report, a survey of federal government employees.60

 Changes in the Department’s BPTW rank are an indicator 

of effectiveness of the Department’s leadership and the level to which staff feel engaged, both essential 

components of a highly effective organization. 

To improve employee engagement and build a higher-performing organization, the Department will implement 

programs and processes that encourage collaboration, professional development, and an improved 

performance culture. It will also invest in the leadership and management corps so that a cadre of experienced 

leaders can continue to coach other employees and drive innovation. The Department will also focus on ways to 

build skills and knowledge, improve communication, and enhance the hiring and promotion of high-performing 

employees. Finally, the Department will increase the diversity of its workforce, specifically by meeting the 

President’s directive to improve the hiring of people with disabilities. 

How will we get there? (Actions/Means)

The Department will: 











Better engage employees and promote creativity, innovation, and collaboration; 

Improve knowledge sharing and learning opportunities, including sharing of best practices; 

Develop an enhanced strategy for promoting within the Department and hiring outside the Department, 

including the hiring of individuals with disabilities, consistent with Presidential Executive Order 13548; 

Enhance the performance management system; and 

Invest in developing and supporting Department managers and leaders. 

Specific examples of these actions include: 















Develop programs and processes for sharing information and increasing collaboration across offices; 

Align this Plan closely to the Department’s Organizational Performance Review and staff performance 

evaluations; 

Leverage technology to boost collaboration across offices; 

Design an incentive and recognition process that honors and encourages capable management; 

Strengthen management through supervisor seminars, management symposia, and executive coaching; 

Streamline the hiring process to attract and hire employees with the necessary skills and knowledge; 

and 

Build a robust “on-boarding” program for newly hired employees at all levels. 

 

60 Partnership for Public Service and American University, The Best Places to Work in the Federal Government 2010 Rankings, p. 4. 
Strategic Plan, FY 2011–2014 

Page 59

What Could Hold Us Back? (External Risk Factors)

To be successful, these human capital initiatives will require support from the Department’s supervisors, 

managers, and senior leaders. It will also require updates to internal policies and a strong, productive 

collaboration with the employees’ union. In addition, the Department will need a stronger, sustained 

commitment to meaningful professional development and succession planning programs, and implementation 

of new technology to support improved collaboration among staff.
Strategic Plan, FY 2011–2014 

Page 60

SUB-GOAL 6.2: PROGRAMMATIC RISK MANAGEMENT. IMPROVE THE DEPARTMENT’S PROGRAM

EFFICACY THROUGH COMPREHENSIVE RISK MANAGEMENT AND GRANT MONITORING. 

To support the President’s 2020 college attainment goal, the Department is striving to enhance the impact of 

grants by improving flexibility for grantees and by enhancing the technical assistance and support provided by 

the Department. As part of these reforms, the Department must also enhance its approach to measuring, 

identifying, and mitigating fiscal and programmatic risk.61

Risk mitigation plays a critical role in enhancing the capacity of grantees to implement needed reforms. It helps 

assess the ability of applicants to fulfill grant requirements, and it supports effective monitoring by identifying 

performance challenges that can be addressed through measures such as enhanced technical assistance. 

How will we get there? (Actions/Means) 







Ensure sufficient and appropriate staffing at each step (pre-award, performance period, post-award) of 

each grant program to maximize risk mitigation; 

Refine management processes and structures that address financial and programmatic risk, and 

establish the appropriate balance of centralized and decentralized capabilities and staffing; and 

Expand definitions of effective risk management to include grantee performance on outcomes-based 

measures set out in grant applications. 

Specific examples of these actions include: 









Determine more effectively where risk exists (e.g., in which programs, in which individual grants, and at 

which levels—grantees versus sub-grantees) prior to making awards; 

Disseminate the lessons learned from recent high-stakes competitive grant programs to Department 

staff via trainings, updated administrative guidance, and revised statutory requirements; 

Use fiscal, programmatic performance, and student outcomes data to inform high-stakes decisions, and 

respond appropriately when risk is identified; and 

Ensure that audit information, monitoring findings, and other non-fiscal findings/data related to grantee 

financial and programmatic health are widely available and easily accessible within the Department. 

What could hold us back? What’s beyond our control? (External Risk Factors)

Risk is inherent in the grants management process; therefore, no amount of improvement will completely 

eliminate risk. Risk is greater in areas of innovation, where there are fewer precedents, proven strategies, or 

track records upon which to draw in the assessment and management of risk. Data limitations also can impede 

the Department’s efforts in managing risk.

 

61 Risk is a measure of the potential inability to achieve overall program objectives within defined requirements related to cost, schedule, 

legislative authority, and grant management practice. It has two major components: 1) the probability or likelihood of failing to achieve 

a particular outcome, and 2) the consequences or impacts of failing to achieve that outcome. Risk can be mitigated through a structured 

process that involves the identification, assessment, and development of methods to reduce or eliminate the impact of any failures. 
Strategic Plan, FY 2011–2014 









Page 61

SUB-GOAL 6.3: IMPLEMENTATION AND SUPPORT. BUILD DEPARTMENT CAPACITY TO SUPPORT 

STATES’ AND OTHER GRANTEES’ IMPLEMENTATION OF REFORMS THAT RESULT IN IMPROVED 

OUTCOMES FOR STUDENTS.

The Department has an unprecedented opportunity and responsibility to demonstrate how the investment of 

federal funds in education leads to improved outcomes for students. This is a unique moment in time to 

improve student achievement. There are ongoing, positive implications from the investment of $100 billion in 

Recovery Act and other reform-oriented funds, focused on four key reform areas. Nationally, there is 

recognition of the urgency of improving education and its importance for international competitiveness. In 

addition, there is a Presidential call to action for the United States to once again have the highest proportion of 

college graduates in the world by 2020. 

The country has responded powerfully to the President’s call to action; there is a national focus on raising the 

bar and closing achievement gaps. For example, 41 states applied for Race to the Top grants in Phase 1 and 

36 states applied in Phase 2 of the competition; 1,698 applications were received for the i3 grant competition, 

and all states submitted applications for State Fiscal Stabilization Funds and School Improvement Grant funds. 

To build on this momentum and improve student outcomes, states need strong support to effectively 

implement the programmatic reforms highlighted in their applications. The Department has an important role 

to play in providing this support and technical assistance. To do so, the Department is moving from being an 

organization more narrowly focused on compliance monitoring to an organization more adept at both 

supporting states in achieving their goals and at holding them accountable for meeting their financial and legal 

obligations under grants. The Race to the Top grantees provide an opportunity for the Department to pilot this 

work with a set of reform-focused states and to use lessons learned to expand this approach to all states. 

How will we get there? (Actions/Means) 

The Department will: 















Support states’ efforts to achieve significant improvements in student outcomes; 

Facilitate the building of sustainable learning communities and systems within and across states and 

districts; 

Identify, codify, and share effective (and ineffective) practices to accelerate learning; 

Help scale effective systemic approaches and practices within and across states and nationwide; 

Shift from a more narrow focus on compliance monitoring to a mix of grantee support and monitoring; 

Help redefine relationships between the Department and states, between states and their LEAs, across 

states, and across similar districts; and 

Encourage transparency and ensure appropriate, effective, and efficient use of funds. 

Specific examples of these actions include: 

Develop new approaches to interacting with states that make it easier for states to obtain the 

information and support that they need to implement their comprehensive reform agendas and 

improve results for all students; 

Provide access to experts who can provide the technical assistance and hands-on support that states 

identify as necessary to build capacity at the state and district levels; 

Facilitate the gathering, sharing, and use of knowledge to support continuous improvement within and 

across states; and 

Support states in effectively managing federal funds by streamlining and coordinating administrative 

requirements and refining approaches to monitoring and risk management. 
Strategic Plan, FY 2011–2014 

Page 62

What could hold us back? What’s beyond our control? (External Risk Factors)

Implementing unprecedented reform efforts will require states to develop new capacities that support effective 

teaching, school turnarounds, college- and career-ready standards, and effective use of data. In addition, states 

must develop new capacities to communicate and collaborate with each other to share effective practices. As 

with many other efforts, the development of these systems is in jeopardy given the current budget environment 

impacting states and districts. 
Strategic Plan, FY 2011–2014 

















Page 63

SUB-GOAL 6.4: PRODUCTIVITY AND PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT. IMPROVE WORKFORCE 

PRODUCTIVITY THROUGH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT 

SYSTEMS. 

Similar to states and districts, the Department must continue to focus on ways to increase productivity, 

especially in this time of limited resources. The Department is focusing on enhancing performance management 

by focusing and aligning priorities and goals at every level. The Department is also launching quarterly 

operational reviews to ensure progress toward achieving the goals in this plan and is updating these goals to 

ensure alignment with government-wide goals. To translate these broader aspirations to specific organizational 

goals, the Organizational Performance Review has been created as a tool for setting goals at the office level and 

assessing the building of critical organizational capacities. These goals are being cascaded down to the 

individual employee level through Senior Executive Service plans and through the Department’s individual 

performance management system. To support the tracking and reporting of progress against all these goals, the 

Department is also creating a set of information dashboards and data analysis tools. 

In addition to better-focused and aligned goals, better use of information technology is essential to improving 

productivity. The Department is focused on improving technology in areas critical to productivity, including 

collaboration, transparency, and document management. To improve employee collaboration, for example, the 

Department launched engagED, which is an internal tool that allows employees to suggest innovations, 

collaborate to develop those ideas, and elevate them to leaders for decisions and implementation. Similarly, 

key programs have launched the use of Collaboration Engine, which is an online knowledge management and 

collaboration tool that helps develop and support communities of practice among state and district grantees. In 

the area of transparency, the Department launched data.ed.gov, which provides unprecedented online 

information regarding applicants, proposals, and grantees that can be accessed to share innovative and 

successful approaches to common challenges faced in education. Finally, in the area of document management 

the Department is adopting systems such as Grant Electronic Monitoring System (GEMS) and the Grantee 

Records and Assistance Database System (GRADS 360°) to automate the processing, review, and storage of grant 

applications and supporting documents in a way that substantially enhances productivity. 

How will we get there? (Actions/Means) 

The Department will: 





Undergo a process of continuous improvement to ensure alignment of priorities from the 

government-wide level to the individual employee level; and 

Continue developing and scaling up innovative technologies that improve productivity. 

Specific examples of these actions include: 

Update the Strategic Plan to reflect newly developed government-wide goals; 

Provide quarterly reports on progress; 

Align office-level and individual goals to the Department’s goals; 

Streamline and refocus programmatic performance measures to increase relevance and decrease the 

burden on grantees; 

Develop dashboard and data analysis tools to track and manage performance on goals; 

Promote internal tools, like engagED, to encourage the sharing of ideas across the Department; 

Adopt new document management systems to automate processing, review, and storage of grant 

applications and supporting documents; 

Develop an inventory of Departmental datasets and distribution mechanisms to improve transparency 

and public accessibility; 
Strategic Plan, FY 2011–2014 

Page 64





Scale up the use of Collaboration Engine to include more grantees and programs; and 

Develop tools to better analyze customer satisfaction for services provided, both internal to the 

Department and to grantees and other stakeholders, leveraging the results to drive continuous 

improvement among programs and services. 

What could hold us back? What’s beyond our control? (External Risk Factors)

Maximizing the impact of the Department’s human capital and funding resources is limited by several factors, 

including the lack of timely data for analysis. Additionally, the use of technology to improve productivity is 

limited in part by both the Department’s and its grantees’ varying levels of preparation to use technology 

effectively. These limitations can create challenges for the pace at which new innovations, both technological 

and others, can be developed and deployed. 
OUR MISSION IS TO PROMOTE STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT AND PREPARATION FOR GLOBAL 

COMPETITIVENESS BY FOSTERING EDUCATIONAL EXCELLENCE AND ENSURING EQUAL 

ACCESS. 

WWW.ED.GOV