ERIC Number: ED512098
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2009-Sep
Pages: 20
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Taking Root: Indiana's Lessons for Sustaining the College- and Career-Ready Agenda
Achieve, Inc.
To give states the information they need to sustain hard-fought education reform effectively, Achieve conducted research on state education reforms that have been sustained successfully for over a decade or more. Funded by the GE Foundation, Achieve hopes this work will help other state leaders, wherever they may be on their road to reform, replicate successful strategies and accelerate systemic reform in their own states, particularly around the college- and career-ready agenda. The project includes: (1) Four case studies that examine both governmental and non-governmental strategies that were effective in making reform last in Indiana, Massachusetts, South Carolina and Texas; and (2) A paper that draws on and synthesizes the case studies' overarching lessons and states' strategies for sustainability; and (3) A tool that states can use in their own planning. The four states were chosen because they were able to pass and sustain significant education reforms over time, for at least a decade. The focus of the case studies is not on the specific policies passed, but rather the process and strategies the states employed to make significant change last. In Indiana, a focus on a rigorous, college- and career-ready curricula and increased access to postsecondary opportunities has resulted in phenomenal progress. What accounts for its remarkable gains and sustained focus? Who was involved? How did they make it happen? What kept it going, especially in the face of important changes in state political leadership? This case study about Indiana's reform efforts will illuminate a few of the most salient and replicable lessons the state has learned over the course of its 15 years of education reform.
Descriptors: Access to Education, Curriculum Implementation, Educational Change, Case Studies, Sustainability, Educational Strategies, Policy Analysis, Program Effectiveness, Program Implementation, Program Development, Leadership, Educational History, Achievement Gains, Educational Assessment, Accountability, Data, Educational Finance, Partnerships in Education, Business, Government Role, State Legislation, Graduation Requirements, Readiness, College Preparation, Careers, Education Work Relationship, Alignment (Education), Educational Policy, Academic Standards, College Admission, Enrollment Rate
Achieve, Inc. 1775 Eye Street NW Suite 410, Washington, DC 20006. Tel: 202-419-1540; Fax: 202-828-0911; Web site: http://www.achieve.org
Publication Type: Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Secondary Education; High Schools; Secondary Education
Audience: Policymakers
Language: English
Sponsor: GE Foundation
Authoring Institution: Achieve, Inc.
Identifiers - Location: Indiana
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A