Recent increases in high school graduation rates have been linked anecdotally to online course-taking for credit recovery. Online course-taking that supports high school completion could open opportunities for postsecondary education pursuits. Alternatively, poorer quality online instruction could diminish student learning and discourage…

As part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, the School Improvement Grants (SIG) program received more than $3 billion with the goal of substantially improving student achievement. The SIG program's funding was to help states turn around the nation's persistently lowest-achieving schools using one of four school intervention…

Legislation leading to the mandating of accountability testing in schools was chronicled between the publication of "A Nation at Risk" (1983) to the conclusion of No Child Left Behind (2016). Involvement in education by the federal government increased throughout the educational legislation during this time period. The Omnibus Trade and…

This report examines state and school district implementation of the Education for Homeless Children and Youth (EHCY) program, based on surveys of state EHCY coordinators and district homeless liaisons and analysis of extant data. The study included state and school district surveys to examine program implementation during the 2010-11 school year;…

"Straight A's: Public Education Policy and Progress" is a biweekly newsletter that focuses on education news and events both in Washington, DC and around the country. The following articles are included in this issue: (1) Congress Delays Education Funding Decisions: Short-Term Measure Funds Government Into March, Ensures Greater Role for…

Since the onset of the Great Recession, the U.S. labor market has been reeling. Public concern has largely focused on the unemployment rate, which rose to double digits and has since been stalled at just over 9 percent. This rate is unacceptably high, and macroeconomic policy efforts have been unsuccessful in bringing it down. The overall…

This paper describes Rhode Island's progress in implementing a comprehensive and coherent approach to education reform from the time of application through June 30, 2011. In particular, this report highlights key accomplishments over the reporting period in the four reform areas: standards and assessments, data systems to support instruction,…

On February 17, 2009, President Obama signed into law the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), historic legislation designed to stimulate the economy, support job creation, and invest in critical sectors, including education. The ARRA lays the foundation for education reform by supporting investments in innovative strategies that…

This State-specific summary report serves as an assessment of North Carolina's annual Race to the Top implementation. The Year 3 report for Phase 1 and 2 grantees highlights successes and accomplishments, identifies challenges, and provides lessons learned from implementation from approximately September 2012 through September 2013. In Year 3,…

The School Improvement Grants (SIG) program, which was created in 2002, funds reforms in the country's lowest-performing schools with the goal of improving student outcomes, such as standardized test scores and graduation rates. Congress greatly increased SIG program funding from $125 million available in fiscal year 2007--the first year the…

Ambitious student-achievement targets turn up the heat, as winners of the $4 billion federal grant effort push to deliver. Winners of the $4 billion Race to the Top jackpot committed to grand goals in using the federal grants to raise student achievement, as measured by higher test scores, narrowed achievement gaps, and increased graduation and…

This Fiscal Year 2011-2014 Strategic Plan (this Plan) addresses the key outcome-oriented goals below, focusing on reaching the President's 2020 goal. These goals focus on improving student achievement to increase high school graduation, college completion, and educational attainment--all measures of how the country is performing and how far it has…

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA or the Recovery Act) of 2009 provided an unprecedented level of funding designed to "stimulate the economy in the short-term and invest wisely, using these funds to improve schools, raise achievement, drive reforms and produce better results for children and young people for the long-term…

In response to mounting concerns about the cost of college, lawmakers have proposed major new partnerships between the federal government and states to tackle college affordability. The Education Trust maintains that any new federal-state proposal aimed at making college more affordable must also simultaneously address completion problems by…

This report summarizes 2009-2010 projects funded by Austin Independent School District's (AISD) $17 million federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, Individuals with Disabilities Education Act grant.