To prepare Washington students for success in their home state, we must improve outcomes at low-performing schools and for struggling students. That is the premise of a new report, “Creating Great Schools for Washington Students,” from the Washington Roundtable and...
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The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) gives all states the chance to dramatically change the way they approach and think about public education. “Making the Most of ESSA” is a reference guide designed to help policymakers and other stakeholders leverage...
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Since its founding in 2008, Education First has helped numerous partners – from funders, to nonprofits, to the Federal Government – establish and facilitate networks of grantees, districts and educators. Effective collaboratives, communities of practice and grantee networks are a...
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With its emphasis on content aligned to the actual expectations of colleges and employers, the Common Core State Standards can provide a foundational strategy for boosting student success. But success with the standards also requires that school, district and state...
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In this brief we describe and illustrate three elements that our research shows to be the backbone of any serious approach to engage and prepare teachers for success with the Common Core: (1)Ongoing and active adult learning; (2) A focus...
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In this brief we offer three examples of efforts to provide teachers with strong training and development around the Common Core. While these efforts aren’t flawless, we believe they showcase the sort of constant, intentional learning opportunities that educators need...
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In this report we offer specific recommendations to state and district leaders in five significant areas that we have found to achieve high-quality professional learning at scale. These recommendations are: 1) Use dollars more effectively; 2) Find or create time...
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In this tool we provide a set of questions legislators can ask to know if their state is on track with both implementation of the Common Core and the transition to common assessments. We group the questions into the most...
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In 2010 Massachusetts received a $250 million award through the federal government’s Race to the Top education grant competition. The following year we collaborated with the Massachusetts Business Alliance for Education to report on the state’s progress towards implementing key...
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In this report we synthesize promising practices in state accountability systems and identify states making progress by implementing these practices effectively. We compare those identified promising practices to Oregon’s accountability system and suggest strengths and areas for improvement. We conclude...
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