For more than 30 years, Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) has partnered with states, districts and schools to identify and implement strategies that empower young people to connect what they learn in the classroom with the world of work. Their efforts began in 1987 with High Schools That Work, SREB's premier school improvement process. This…

To improve the effectiveness of new teachers, the SREB Teacher Preparation Commission called on states to: (1) Hold all new teachers in a state to the same high standards, and require practice-based licensure tests; (2) Require high-quality clinical teaching experiences; (3) Develop statewide data systems for continuous improvement; and (4)…

For decades, classroom instruction was dominated by lectures, textbooks and note-taking. And for decades, students have often been bored and unengaged. They took notes and did what they had to do to memorize lessons just long enough to pass an exam. But short-term memorization does not help much in preparing students for college, advanced training…

Superintendents and principals can have a positive and decisive impact on student achievement and higher graduation rates. Their essential leadership can illuminate the path to excellence for faculty and students. In upgrading curriculum and instruction, school leaders need to keep abreast of practices proven effective in other districts and…

All of the states in this study have recently been involved in school accountability system reform. Since 2011, the states have taken advantage of a federal program to give them flexibility around certain requirements of the "No Child Left Behind Act" of 2001 (NCLB), the most recent reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary…

Reform efforts in America's public high schools over the last decade have focused on graduating all students and ensuring they are ready for college and careers. One way policy-makers have increased the rigor of the high school curriculum and bridged the readiness gap between high school and college is through accelerated learning…

Great leaders make great schools. The most successful school leaders create a school climate of high achievement and continuous improvement, give teachers a voice in decision-making, use data to drive curriculum and instruction, and assure students and parents that everyone at the school is focusing on student success. They know what is going on…

Recent studies make one reality clear: While multiple factors can cause a low-performing high school to be in a turnaround situation, every high school that makes dramatic academic improvement has strong, effective school leadership. Turning a school around is no work for novices. It takes a skilled, visionary and proactive principal to pull apart…

The recent wave of new legislation affecting public school teachers has its roots, in part, in the budget shortfalls that have challenged states for the past several years. The first signs of fiscal troubles for many states became evident in 2008, and most instituted midyear budget reductions in 2009. In response, the U.S. Congress passed the…

The Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that works with 16 member states to improve public pre-K-12 and higher education. Founded by the region's governors and legislators in 1948, SREB was America's first interstate compact for education. Today it is the only regional education compact that works…

In recent years, lean economic conditions have led to state and local agency budget cuts, including reductions to elementary and secondary education. To compensate for less state funding and decreasing local revenues, many state legislatures have passed policy and funding bills that give school systems more latitude in making finance and program…

The Texas Education Agency (TEA) and the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) joined hands in 2005 to enhance dramatically implementation of the "High Schools That Work" ("HSTW") improvement design in the state. Between 2005 and 2010, nearly 50 high schools in five cohorts joined the Texas Enhanced "HSTW" Network…

For nearly a decade, states have had flexibility in collecting and reporting graduation rate data for state and federal accountability purposes. But in 2008, the U.S. Department of Education issued new guidelines that require all states to report a new rate--the four-year adjusted cohort graduation rate--beginning in the 2011-2012 school year.…

In a time of reduced funding, schools are meeting the challenge to continue improving classroom practices, student achievement and graduation rates. Many schools and teachers are forming networks to exchange information via the Internet as they tap into free electronic resources. Career/technical (CT) instructors are teaching students about…

More schools are designing intellectually demanding career/technical (CT) courses--aligned with 21st-century requirements--to prepare students for further study, advanced training and work. They are using effective leadership, embedding essential college-readiness standards into CT courses, making CT courses more intellectually challenging, using…