ethanporcaro/eric-fulltext-meta huggingface dataset:
A Call to Action to Improve Math Placement Policies and Processes: Six Policy Recommendations to Increase STEM Student Aspirations and Success While Decreasing Racial and Income Gaps
Author: Couturier, Lara K.
Date: 2015-05-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Educational Policy,Educational Improvement,STEM Education,Academic Aspiration,Success,Achievement Gap,Racial Differences,Low Income Groups,Student Placement,Mathematics Achievement,Educational Attainment,Educational Change,Change Strategies,College Preparation,College Readiness,Developmental Programs,Developmentally Appropriate Practices,Alignment (Education),Testing Programs,Student Personnel Services,Academic Advising,Student Educational Objectives,Articulation (Education),Algebra

This call to action is based on a simple but important premise: The nation cannot allow college placement policies, processes, and instruments to undermine promising efforts to increase student success in mathematics and increase attainment of STEM credentials. Efforts to redesign math pathways hold great promise for improving the teaching and learning experiences of students who need college algebra--many of whom are STEM students--and helping those students persist toward and maintain STEM aspirations. But placement policies, processes, and instruments have not kept pace with math redesign efforts. This call to action, co-authored by Lara Couturier of Jobs for the Future (JFF) and Jenna Cullinane of the The Charles A. Dana Center at The University of Texas at Austin in collaboration with Achieving the Dream, offers six recommendations for how states and their colleges should revise math placement policies, processes, and supports to ensure that STEM-interested students are properly placed into an on-ramp leading to well-taught math courses that maintain--and even increase--their STEM aspirations. [The experiences and expertise of the Postsecondary State Policy Network's Cross-State STEM Workgroup--run by JFF in collaboration with the Achieving the Dream National Reform Network with support from The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust--in collaboration with experts from The Charles A. Dana Center, Jobs for the Future, and Achieving the Dream, inform the policy recommendations provided in this report.]
Empowering Parents and Communities through Quality Public Reporting: A Brief for State Policymakers
Author: Data Quality Campaign
Date: 2014-10-00
Type: Reports - Descriptive
Subjects: State Policy,Parents,Empowerment,Accountability,Information Dissemination,Compliance (Legal),School Statistics,Community Information Services,Parent Attitudes,Advocacy,State Action,Administrator Role,Best Practices,Case Studies,Disclosure,Change Strategies,Reliability,Alignment (Education),Information Needs,Access to Information,Usability,Enrollment,Academic Achievement,Teacher Effectiveness,School Safety,Organizational Climate,Discipline,Institutional Characteristics,Elementary Secondary Education

Publicly reporting timely, actionable, and comprehensible data is one of the most powerful ways states can promote transparency, strengthen accountability, and ensure that everyone with a stake in education--parents, educators, policymakers, researchers, and members of the public and press-- has access to the information they need to make good decisions. It is also one of the most visible ways states can demonstrate the tremendous value of their data systems. Currently, however, public reporting efforts in most states are geared toward compliance with state and federal laws, rather than being intentionally designed to meet people's needs. Consequently, most publicly reported data go unseen or unused, limiting their ability to promote and support improvements in student achievement and system performance. Data are powerful tools for informing stakeholder decisions, but they are not likely to be used if they are not presented in actionable formats tailored to specific stakeholder needs. State policymakers must take a leadership role in promoting high-quality public reporting. They can support public reporting as a strategy for improving student performance by taking the following actions: (1) ensuring that publicly reported data are accurate, trustworthy, and safeguarded; (2) maintaining coordination across P-20/workforce entities; (3) ensuring that publicly reported data meet the information needs of all stakeholders; and (4) ensuring that information is easy to find, access, and understand. This brief discusses the following: (1) the effects of transparent data on the actions of parents, administrators, and policymakers; (2) the current landscape of public reporting efforts; (3) examples of high-quality public reporting in Washington, DC, Ohio, Illinois, Michigan, and Maryland; and (4) recommendations for state policymakers. The following are appended: (1) Stakeholder Questions; and (2) Related Organizational Work.
Rebalancing Teacher Tenure: A Post-&quot;Vergara&quot; Guide for Policymakers
Author: TNTP
Date: 2014-00-00
Type: Reports - Descriptive
Subjects: Tenure,Guidelines,Educational Policy,Personnel Policy,Personnel Management,Teachers,Teacher Effectiveness,Alignment (Education),Teacher Rights,Job Performance,Hearings,Student Interests,Arbitration,Educational Malpractice,Professional Identity,Change Strategies,Court Litigation

Education policy often requires balancing the professional interests of adult employees with the educational needs and rights of students. Nearly everyone agrees, for example, that children deserve an education that prepares them for success in college and life, and that teachers should be afforded reasonable job protections. Yet these values and interests sometimes conflict. The recent verdict in the &quot;Vergara v. California&quot; case, which found California's teacher tenure laws unconstitutional, affirmed what many education leaders and policymakers have known for years: The balance of laws and regulations has swung so far toward job protection for teachers that students are suffering. Consistently ineffective teachers remain in the classroom year after year because laws make it virtually impossible to replace them. In most states, the due process protections afforded to teachers facing dismissal far exceed the protections extended to other employees. Tenured teachers have the right to a lengthy and legalistic hearing process that can drag on for months--including pre-hearing discovery of evidence, pre- and post-hearing legal briefs, and a requirement for districts to demonstrate exceptional efforts to remediate the teacher's low performance, before dismissal is even a possibility. In order for policymakers, education leaders, and school principals to put the focus back on helping hard working teachers improve and keep high performers in the classroom, difficult issues need to be addressed, and that begins with more balanced teacher tenure policies. Finding the correct balance would help millions of students across the country to succeed, and it would strengthen the teaching profession by putting to rest the legitimate concerns that poor performance is tolerated. TNPT is a national non-profit organization working to end educational inequality by ensuring that all students get excellent teachers. Eight specific changes to laws and regulations (and collective bargaining agreements, where applicable) have been proposed by TNPT and are detailed here. A list of current tenure policies is shown beside a list of more balanced tenure policies for comparison. The hope is that they will create a more balanced system and help districts retain teachers who have demonstrated the ability to improve student achievement.
Empowering Parents with Data: Ensuring Parents Have Data to Make Informed Choices. Data for Action
Author: Data Quality Campaign
Date: 2015-04-03
Type: Reports - Descriptive
Subjects: Parents,Empowerment,Data,Decision Making,Public Schools,Parent School Relationship,Access to Information,Academic Achievement,College Readiness,Career Readiness,Elementary Secondary Education

States can use their resources, including technical expertise and financial support, to provide vital data to help parents make informed decisions about their children's education. Accessible, tailored, and easy-to-understand data can help parents answer questions about their children's education such as, &quot;Is my child on track to graduate college and career ready?&quot; and &quot;How does my child's school compare to other schools so that I can make the best choice about my child's education?&quot; Information about their own children's progress in school over time helps parents establish expectations, have meaningful conversations with their children's teachers, and take action to support their children's success. &quot;Empowering Parents with Data: Ensuring Parents Have Data to Make Informed Choices&quot; provides information on steps states have taken to provide parents with vital information as well as highlights Metro Nashville Public Schools, a district with a strong parents engagement strategy, exemplifying the kinds of district practices states can support.
Empowering Parents and Communities through Quality Public Reporting: A Federal Policy Guide
Author: Data Quality Campaign
Date: 2014-10-00
Type: Reports - Descriptive
Subjects: Parents,Empowerment,School Community Relationship,Federal Regulation,Educational Policy,Disclosure,Accountability,Information Dissemination,Federal Legislation,Educational Legislation,Elementary Secondary Education

Publicly reporting timely, actionable, and comprehensible education data is one of the most powerful ways states can promote transparency, strengthen accountability, and ensure that everyone with a stake in education--parents, educators, policymakers, and members of the public and press--has access to the information they need to make good decisions. Data can be made available in a variety of ways, including through federally mandated school report cards, through public-facing data portals, or as raw data sets. Regardless of their format, publicly reported data never include personally identifiable information (i.e., information that could be used to identify an individual). &quot;Empowering Parents and Communities Through Quality Public Reporting: Federal Policy Guide&quot; is part of the Data Quality Campaign's series on public reporting of education data.
A New Era for Educational Assessment. Students at the Center: Deeper Learning Research Series
Author: Conley, David T.
Date: 2014-10-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Educational Assessment,Public Officials,Educational Policy,College Readiness,Career Readiness,Standardized Tests,Learning Strategies,Knowledge Level,Student Attitudes,Cognitive Science,Brain,State Standards,Academic Standards,Metacognition,High Stakes Tests,Educational Legislation,Federal Legislation

Among education researchers, there is a growing consensus that college and career readiness depends on not just academic knowledge and skills but on a wide range of social and developmental competencies, as well--such as the ability to monitor one's own learning, persist at challenging tasks, solve complex problems, set realistic goals, and communicate effectively in many kinds of settings. Yet, most U.S. schools continue to use standardized achievement tests, focusing exclusively on reading and math, as their primary means of gauging student progress. In this paper--the first in Students at the Center's new Deeper Learning Research Series--David T. Conley, well-known for his influential research on college readiness, argues that the time is ripe for a major shift in educational assessment. State and federal policymakers should reconsider their overreliance on standardized tests, he argues, and they should embrace the use of multiple measures that, in combination, provide much deeper and more useful information about students' readiness to succeed after high school.
What It Costs: Financing Back on Track through College Designs
Author: Almeida, Cheryl
Date: 2013-05-00
Type: Reports - Descriptive
Subjects: Continuation Students,High School Equivalency Programs,Transitional Programs,Cost Effectiveness,Access to Education,Youth Opportunities,Credentials,College Readiness,Career Readiness,Models,Input Output Analysis,Efficiency,Economic Impact,Innovation,Investment,Outcomes of Education,Sustainability,Financial Support,Program Costs,Resource Allocation,Student Costs,Partnerships in Education,College Preparation

Almost 7 million young Americans (age 16-24) are insufficiently attached to school or work. Based on conservative estimates, we can generate over $1 billion just by helping a mere 0.1 percent earn a high school credential and complete their first year of college through Back on Track Designs. This brief lays out the cost of setting up these GED- and diploma-granting schools and programs, and how districts, colleges, and community-based organizations can partner to sustain them. Appended are: (1) Programs Consulted; and (2) Methodology.
State Education Agency Communications Process: Benchmark and Best Practices Project. Benchmark and Best Practices Project. Issue No. 01
Author: Zavadsky, Heather
Date: 2014-10-00
Type: Reports - Descriptive
Subjects: State Departments of Education,Stakeholders,State Standards,Government Role,Organizational Communication,Public Relations,Academic Standards,Benchmarking

The role of state education agencies (SEAs) has shifted significantly from low-profile, compliance activities like managing federal grants to engaging in more complex and politically charged tasks like setting curriculum standards, developing accountability systems, and creating new teacher evaluation systems. The move from compliance-monitoring to leading large-scale education change is not only more complex, it also has shined a brighter spotlight on SEAs and their ability to improve student outcomes. Communication is a critical component to help SEAs create system-wide clarity and coherence, and to proactively manage messages to gain stakeholder support. This report explains the major processes associated with strategic communication and details the communication approaches employed by five SEAs to support the adoption of new state standards, a reform that has recently become politically charged by the suggestion that the Common Core state standards represent government overreach. Because the debate has little to do with the actual content or purpose of the standards--to set a common bar that will better prepare students for college and careers--and more about political perspectives, SEAs find they must take extreme care with their communications and approach to developing, adopting, and implementing new standards. The following are appended: (1) Kansas' Positive Communication Sample; (2) Idaho Myths and Factors for External Stakeholders; (3) Kansas Myths and Facts External Communication; (4) Kentucky's Commissioner's Blog; (5) Arkansas SEA Video Using Teacher Voice; and (6) Arkansas SEA Using Student Voice in Common Core Video.
Building a Successful Postsecondary Preparatory Program at a Back on Track School. A Jobs for the Future Case Study
Author: Seidel, Sam
Date: 2013-07-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Postsecondary Education,Success,College Readiness,College Preparation,Class Size,Small Classes,Student Personnel Services,Academic Support Services,Credits,High School Equivalency Programs,Program Development,Program Descriptions,Educational Development,Occupational Information,Profiles,Student Characteristics,Graduation Requirements,Scheduling,Career Planning,Parent School Relationship,Letters (Correspondence),Outcome Measures,Outcome Based Education,Grading,Annual Reports,School Statistics,Effective Schools Research,Student Leadership,Continuation Students,Developmental Studies Programs,Case Studies

North Queens Community High School serves approximately 200 students, 16-20 years old, as they strive to reach their personal and academic goals. All students at North Queens have previously been enrolled in high school elsewhere and are over-age and undercredited. Small class sizes, student-centered support, and an accelerated credit acquisition program help North Queens' students get back on track toward earning a high school diploma. This case study tells the story of how North Queens' postsecondary preparation program developed over the past four years. It offers nine related tools and resources and presents five design elements that distill several essential aspects of the school's postsecondary preparation program. The paper includes an introduction and endnotes. [This paper &quot;Building a Successful Postsecondary Preparatory Program at a Back on Track School&quot; was prepared with Jean Thomases.]
The National Higher Education and Workforce Initiative: Forging Strategic Partnerships for Undergraduate Innovation and Workforce Development
Author: Business-Higher Education Forum
Date: 2013-00-00
Type: Reports - Descriptive
Subjects: Higher Education,Labor Force Development,Partnerships in Education,Academic Persistence,Undergraduate Students,School Business Relationship,Females,Minority Group Students,Education Work Relationship,Information Security,Water,Science Education,Energy,Best Practices,Needs Assessment,Networks,Scaling,Program Development,Strategic Planning,Engineering Education,Information Science

This is the first in a series of Business-Higher Education Forum (BHEF) playbooks intended to assist companies, higher education institutions, private philanthropies, membership associations, professional societies, government agencies, and other stakeholders seeking to understand the potential value of investing in coordinated strategic, long-term partnerships to increase the persistence of undergraduate students, particularly women and minorities, toward degree attainment and entering the 21st century workplace. BHEF has compiled a set of tools and materials that enables business and higher education to move from transactional engagement--that is, limited to low-touch, piecemeal activities such as on-campus recruiting or research related to business products and services that are often disconnected from undergraduate education--to strategic and long-term partnerships to align undergraduate education with workforce needs. From project launch through implementation, BHEF has developed metrics and processes for planning, launching, and assessing the projects, partnerships, and scaling strategies. This playbook details current regional projects underway in areas such as data science and analytics, cybersecurity, water and energy sciences, materials sciences, and engineering, and it offers best practices for creating and launching other successful collaborative projects. The following are appended: (1) Examples of Business Needs Assessments and Supply Analyses; and (2) Regional Project Summaries.
Early College Expansion: Propelling Students to Postsecondary Success, at a School near You
Author: Webb, Michael
Date: 2014-03-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Postsecondary Education,Access to Education,College Preparation,College Readiness,Acceleration (Education),Articulation (Education),High School Graduates,Developmental Studies Programs,Minority Group Students,Disadvantaged,Graduation Rate,Credentials,College Credits,Advanced Placement Programs,Enrollment Rate,Academic Persistence,Grants,Federal Programs,STEM Education,Public Schools,Case Studies,Federal Aid,Transitional Programs

Early college schools are succeeding at our nation's most daunting educational challenge--propelling students from underserved backgrounds to graduate high school and earn postsecondary degrees. These schools combine high school and college in rigorous, yet supportive environments that embrace acceleration over remediation. Their &quot;college for all&quot; culture helps to motivate students from backgrounds underrepresented in higher education to earn an Associate's degree or significant college credit by high school graduation--at no cost to their families. Over the past decade, early colleges have produced dramatic results, beating typical outcomes for the low-income youth, first-generation college goers, and students of color they were designed to serve. Jobs for the Future and our partners have created or redesigned 280 early colleges, currently serving more than 80,000 students. Today, we are building on a decade of success to spread Early College Designs to 56 additional schools--and more than 50,000 additional young people--through local, state, federal, and corporate initiatives. [This report was written with Carol Gerwin.]
Contextualized Literacy in Green Jobs Training
Author: Waugh, Alexandra
Date: 2013-04-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Context Effect,Teaching Methods,Literacy,Numeracy,Adult Education,Adult Students,Job Training,Curriculum Development,Basic Skills,Emerging Occupations,Case Studies

Millions of adult Americans lack the basic literacy skills necessary to perform everyday tasks requiring basic reading and math. This stifles our economy, given that employers are increasingly likely to require education or training beyond high school. Organizations that provide job training to lower-skilled adults through Jobs for the Future's GreenWays initiative have found they can better prepare workers for advanced occupational training and skill development by integrating the teaching of literacy and numeracy skills into basic occupational training programs. Drawing on our experiences in the GreenWays initiative, JFF prepared this brief to assist program designers and literacy instructors at job training programs that serve lower-skilled adults. It explores the interrelationship of the nation's literacy rates, the growth of middle-skill jobs, and the importance of integrating literacy skills into workforce training. This brief focuses on the model of contextualized instruction, illustrating it by case studies drawn from GreenWays programs in Philadelphia and Detroit that have integrated contextualized basic skills education into their occupational training programs.
Driving the Direction of Transfer Pathways Reform: Helping More Students Achieve Their Baccalaureate Goals by Creating Structured Transfer Pathways &quot;With the End in Mind&quot;
Author: Altstadt, David
Date: 2014-04-00
Type: Reports - Descriptive
Subjects: Transfer Programs,Educational Change,Community Colleges,Transfer Policy,Two Year College Students,Incentives,Intercollegiate Cooperation,State Policy,Educational Policy,Articulation (Education),Academic Persistence,Associate Degrees,Bachelors Degrees,Remedial Instruction,School Guidance

Despite widely shared aspirations, the vast majority of community college students do not continue their studies at four-year colleges. In November 2013, &quot;Jobs for the Future&quot; convened higher education leaders and researchers to explore state-level policy strategies for restructuring community college in ways that enhance student progression through Associate's degree programs and into upper-tier university coursework. Building upon the convening, this policy brief sets out principles for how to approach transfer policy, advocating a three-legged stool approach that balances incentives, cross-institution convenings, and state-level activities and policies. The brief then describes four policy steps to design pathways that streamline entry and encourage progress toward completion of a two-year program of study, while also strengthening transitions to the university level with considerable academic credits toward a Bachelor's degree. [This brief was written with Gretchen Schmidt and Lara K. Couturier.]