Education First’s resource library offers curated resources, toolkits, policy memos and templates that have served our clients around the country and are now available to support you. Use these resources to guide your strategic planning, to stay fresh on hot-topic reform areas, to improve your planning and implementation at the state or local levels and to inform grantmaking strategies and investments in areas that will improve student outcomes. Don’t see something you need? Contact us and we’ll be happy to help.
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Implementing Differentiated Compensation Systems for Educators
In April 2015 we worked with the Reform Support Network to bring together leaders from Delaware, Mississippi, South Carolina and Tennessee to discuss strategies for...
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Promoting More Equitable Access to Effective Teachers: Strategic Options for States to Improve Placement and Movement
In 2015 the U.S. Department of Education announced that all 50 states would be required to develop equity plans to ensure that all students have...
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Promoting More Equitable Access to Effective Teachers: Problems and Root Causes
In 2015 the U.S. Department of Education announced that all 50 states would bel required to develop equity plans to ensure that all students have...
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State Plans to Ensure Equitable Access to Excellent Educators: Guidance and Examples for States
In 2015 the U.S. Department of Education announced that it would require all 50 states to develop equity plans to ensure that all students have...
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What We Know (and Don’t Know) About Testing Time—and What States Can Do
Legislative- and executive-created commissions in three states—Colorado, New Jersey and Ohio—have recently studied their schools’ use of assessments and the time students spend taking tests...
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Communications and Engagement Assessment Rubric
We created this rubric to help State education leaders reflect on their current communications and engagement efforts and take tangible steps forward to improve their...
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State Facilitator’s Guide for the Reform Support Network Communications and Engagement Assessment Rubric
The RSN’s “Communications and Engagement Assessment Rubric” helps State education leaders reflect on their current communications and engagement efforts and take tangible steps forward to...
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Common Core State Standards & the Transformation of Professional Development Series Overview
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...
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The New Essential Elements of Professional Learning
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...
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Three Vignettes that Showcase the Professional Learning that Teachers Need
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...
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What Policymakers Can Do to Advance High-Quality Professional Development at Scale
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...
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A Toolkit for Implementing High-Quality Student Learning Objectives 2.0
Student Learning Objectives (SLOs) are content- and grade/course-specific learning goals that educators can use to measure what students learn over a period of time. In...
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Educators Rising Overview
In 2014 we worked with Phi Delta Kappa International to create a strategic plan for the launch of Educators Rising, a new teacher pipeline initiative....
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Reform Integration Framework and Resource Guide
In the Reform Integration Framework and Resource Guide, we offer state and local education leaders a framework to identify priorities for integrating new reforms around college-...
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Support for Growth: How States Can Improve the Quality of Post-Observation Feedback
The primary purpose of any teacher evaluation and support system is to increase student learning by improving classroom instruction. Essential to improved instruction is targeted...
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Assessment Mythbusters for PARCC and Smarter Balanced
As states transition to new college- and career-ready standards and assessments, there is lots of misinformation about what these new assessments are and how they...
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What Does a High-Quality Assessment Look Like?
As states transition to new college- and career-ready standards, leaders need to be sure that the assessments they choose not only reflect those standards, but...
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Common Core in the Districts: An Early Look at Early Implementers
This report, written in partnership with the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, provides a close look at how four pioneering districts are striving to put the...
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Targeting Growth: Using Student Learning Objectives as a Measure of Educator Effectiveness
Student learning objectives (SLOs) are specific learning goals for a group of students that teachers in non-tested grades and subjects can use to measure student...
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Student Learning Objective (SLO) Library
Student Learning Objectives (SLOs) are content- and grade/course-specific learning goals that educators can use to measure what students learn over a period of time. In...
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Engaging Educators: A Reform Support Network Guide for States and Districts
States and districts need to engage educators as they develop, implement and improve reforms. Unfortunately too often educators are engaged too late, once the reforms...
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Implementation of the Common Core State Standards: A Transition Guide for School-level Leaders
In this guide we outline a set of indicators for school-level success in implementing the Common Core State Standards. We found that high-quality transition plans...
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Educator Evaluation Communications Toolkit
We developed this toolkit to provide state leaders with tools and resources on how to better communicate about educator evaluation systems with key audiences, with...
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