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U.S. Department of Education

U.S. Department of Education

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# Raise the Bar: Lead the World

# Raise the Bar: Lead the World

                                    -         Overview
At the U.S. Department of Education, we believe that  high-quality public education—from prekindergarten through postsecondary  learning and beyond—lifts up communities, unites people around student success,  strengthens our democracy, grows our economy, and empowers people everywhere to  realize their dreams. That is why we are committed to ensuring that all  students receive an education that enables them to thrive in school and in  life.

"Raise the Bar: Lead the World" is the U.S. Department  of Education's call to action to transform education and unite around what  truly works—based on decades of experience and research—to advance educational  equity and excellence.

Raising the bar means recognizing that our nation already has  what it takes to continue leading the world—if we deliver a comprehensive,  rigorous education for every student; boldly improve conditions for learning;  ensure every student has a pathway to multilingualism and to college and  careers; and increase college affordability and completion so more Americans  can reach their dreams.

When the bar is raised in education, all our nation's students  will build the skills to succeed inside and outside of school. Our students  will reach new heights in the classroom, in their careers, and in their  enriched lives and communities, making a positive difference in the  world, for generations to come.
Featured Resources**Webpage for Parents/Families****One-Pager for Parents/Families**Español**Overview Booklet**
The Biden-Harris Administration is focused on proven strategies for academic success for every child in school. The U.S. Department of Education will use all its tools—including accountability, grants, and technical assistance–to drive three evidence-based strategies core to the Administration’s agenda since Day One: (1) increasing student attendance; (2) high-dosage tutoring; and (3) summer learning and expanded/afterschool learning time. To support these action items and state and district planning, the Department has released a resource around these three strategies that provides information on the evidence for these strategies, components necessary for effective implementation, specific next steps that State and district leaders can take, and examples of States and districts already doing this work.
Key Focus Areas 
The Department is focused  on providing tools, resources, and assistance to states, districts, and schools  to advance the four focus areas below, which are connected to strategies aimed  at promoting academic excellence and wellness for every learner and better  preparing our nation for global competitiveness.
**Achieve  Academic Excellence**
**Assist states and  districts in achieving academic recovery and excellence by supporting the  conditions to accelerate learning and offer a comprehensive and rigorous  education for every student.** This includes efforts such as supporting innovative  teaching and learning models; promoting more and better individual and  small-group support for students, such as through high-intensity tutoring;  increasing access to strong science, technology, engineering, math (STEM) and  arts education; improving funding for education; promoting more equitable  student disciplinary practices; and expanding access to summer learning and  enrichment and afterschool programs.
- **Goal:       Attain student achievement levels that exceed pre-pandemic performance and       close underlying achievement and opportunity gaps.**
- **Goal: Ensure       all students have access to a comprehensive and rigorous education with       high-quality instruction that prepares them to be active, engaged, and       lifelong learners.**
**Boldly  Improve Learning Conditions**
**Boldly support improved  learning conditions by working to eliminate the teacher shortage and investing  in every student's mental health and well-being.** This includes efforts such as promoting  better pay, working conditions, retention strategies, and professional  development for teachers and specialized instructional support personnel, and  increasing access to school-based mental health professionals and other staff  and community schools for our students.
- **Goal: Eliminate the educator       shortage for every school by ensuring that schools are appropriately       staffed, paying educators competitively, and strengthening pathways into       the profession.**
- **Goal:       Invest in every student's mental health and well-being by increasing       school-based health services for students and building schools that support       students' overall well-being.**
**Create  Pathways for Global Engagement**
**Create pathways for  global competitiveness and engagement by reimagining college and career  pathways and providing better opportunities for our students to become  multilingual.** This includes  efforts to establish and scale career and college pathways that lead to  students earning industry-recognized credentials and securing in-demand jobs;  and providing more and better opportunities for our students to become  multilingual.
- **Goal:       Ensure every student has a path to postsecondary education and training,       including by establishing and scaling innovative systems of college and       career pathways that integrate high schools, colleges, employers, and       communities and lead to students earning industry-recognized credentials       and securing in-demand jobs.**
Learn more about the Unlocking Career Success Initiative.

- **Goal:       Provide every student with a pathway to multilingualism.**
**Increase  College Affordability and Completion**
**Increase college  affordability, completion, excellence, and equity.** This includes efforts to invest in our nation’s most inclusive  and accessible colleges and universities, increase financial aid for students  from low-income families, help colleges adopt data-driven strategies for  improving degree completion rates, fix our broken student loan system, make repayment  more affordable than ever, deliver historic debt relief to borrowers, and  protect students from abusive college conduct and unaffordable debt. 
- **Learn more about the Department’s Raise the Bar: College  Excellence and Equity Initiative.**

For an overview of the Department's Raise the Bar effort please  see this one-pager [**PDF,** 332KB]. En  Español [**PDF,** 338KB]  For additional details about the Department's focus and work  please see Raise  the Bar Executive Summary. **PDF,** 400KB]
   -  Posted in: Academic AchievementEducational ImprovementEducational OpportunitiesRaise the Bar
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