Education Commission of the States--Helping State Leaders Shape Education Policy

	Transition and Alignment: Two Keys to Assuring Student Success The Obama administration is calling for more continuity across the education spectrum and providing funding opportunities for states, districts and schools to implement new policy and practice that builds linkages between levels of learning from preschool through higher education and workforce development. This policy brief looks at Transition and Alignment — two key components for creating continuity across early learning and the early grades and provides examples of successful state efforts.
	Teacher Certification States Rethink Policies on National-Board Teachers The economic turmoil has prompted some states to scale back pay bonuses and subsidies for teachers who earn certification through the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. But officials in Georgia, for instance, contend that the state wants to turn its focus toward output-based measures of teacher effectiveness, rather than credentials. Both phenomena are leading some experts to urge districts, teacher associations and the NBPTS to restructure incentives so that board-certified teachers' expertise is used effectively in schools. (Education Week, premium article access compliments of edweek.org, 02/09/10) See all of today's e-Clips stories
	Jackson St. Community College wins Bellwether Award Jackson St. Community College, was awarded the Futures Assembly Bellwether Award for excellence in community college instructional services and programs for its SMART Math developmental studies redesign. Smart Math was one of the six pilots that make up the Tennessee Board of Regents Developmental Studies Redesign program that is co-directed by the Education Commission of the States and funded by the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education.
	Ohio Named Recipient of Education Commission of the States’ Frank Newman Award State recognized for H.B. 1 and its sweeping educational reforms The Education Commission of the States (ECS) announces it will honor the state of Ohio as winner of the 2010 Frank Newman Award for State Innovation. Ohio’s enactment of 2009 H.B. 1 demonstrates the state’s commitment to informed, bold and courageous reform. H.B. 1 overhauls nearly every major component of the education system, from early learning through postsecondary. Read the full press release.
	2009 Collections of ECS StateNotes and Policy Briefs ECS regularly issues useful compilations, summaries and/or comparisons of state policies — enacted or pending — on a wide variety of education topics. Here is the collection of all StateNotes, Policy Briefs, ECS Alerts and Idea Papers that were released in 2009. Download the PDF (3.5 MB)
	ECS Winter Commissioners' Meeting Resources January 6-8, ECS hosted its Winter Commissioners Meeting in New Orleans. The meeting focused on how "America Competes." Speakers addressed high school remediation and strategies to align workforce and labor demands. Check out the many presentations.
$money\$	Investing in Innovation Fund U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan recently announced the proposed priorities for grants under the $650 million Investing in Innovation Fund (i3 grants). Although these funds are directed toward individual school districts or groups of school districts, this ECS Alert presents ways in which states could assist districts or consortiums with their grant applications. (Molly Ryan, Education Commission of the States, October 2009)
	The Progress of Education Reform - Service Learning The term service-learning is used frequently these days, but confusion remains as to what it is and why it matters. More importantly, are there any measurable benefits? This issue of The Progress of Education Reform looks at four research studies that explore the impact of service-learning on student achievement and civic engagement. (JoAnn Henderson, December 2009)
	Revving the Education Engine This new ECS paper engages education, policy and workforce leaders to explore how to effectively align education, workforce and economic development policy to meet state and regional workforce needs. It provides a comprehensive view of alignment that addresses the various pathways students pursue through the education system and into the workforce. The paper provides examples of promising policies and programs states are employing to create greater alignment, as well as practical steps that state leaders can take in their states to fully leverage their education assets to meet state workforce and economic development goals.
	Four-Day School Week As school districts nationwide struggle with funding cuts, the four-day school week has gained momentum as one way to save money. This ECS StateNote examines measures in six the states that authorize eliminating one instructional day per week from the school calendar. (Molly Ryan, Education Commission of the States, December 2009)
	ARRA Update: Proposed State Uses of Stabilization Funding Latest alert on the stabilization funding includes information on front loading of funds, state plans versus actual spending, splitting education funds, and state variation on planned expenditures of government service funds. (Mike Griffith, Education Commission of the States, December 2009)
	Maximum P-12 Class-Size Policies The majority of states — 36 — currently have at least one policy via statute or regulation at the state level that places a limit on the number of students that may be in any one general-education classroom. This ECS StateNote examines these policies. (Kyle Zinth, Education Commission of the States, November 2009)
	Transfer and Articulation Paving the Way to Degree Completion This issue of The Progress of Education Reform will look at recent research on transfer and articulation in light of the new movement to increase degree attainment by addressing the following three questions: 1) Do articulation agreements ease the transfer process and lead to degree attainment; 2) what are the factors that facilitate or impede transfer; and 3) how can four-year, baccalaureate-degree-granting institutions ensure that transfer students succeed? (Bruce Vandal, October 2009) See previous issues of The Progress of Education Reform
	ECS Pubs related to ARRA A list of all ECS pubs related to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Also, check out out this U.S. Department of Education Web site for a wide-range of information regarding the Race to the Top Fund and other education programs under the ARRA. http://www.ed.gov/policy/gen/leg/recovery/index.html

	Parents who read to their children make a positive difference Children whose parents read to them tend to become better readers and perform better in school (Snow, Burns, and Griffin 1998). Other family activities such as telling stories and singing songs also encourage children’s acquisition of literacy skills (Moss and Fawcett 1995). Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, The Condition of Education 2006 (NCES 2006–071), Indicator 33, 2006.

	Transfer and Articulation (October 2009) Middle Grades (August 2009) Summer Learning (June 2009) International Benchmarking (April 2009) Funding Dual Credit Programs (Feb. 2009) A Growing Population (Nov. 2008) See previous issues of The Progress of Education Reform
	Service-Learning and Hispanic Students: What Works in the Field This report examines best practices in educating Hispanic students and improving student graduation rates and matriculation into higher education. The author sought to determine whether successful schools implemented different practices for Hispanic students and how successful service-learning was as a pedagogical approach.
	2008 ECS Publications List Check out all of the products generated by the Education Commission of the States in 2008! This impressive collection includes direct links to publications, databases and a sampling of key external studies selected by ECS to highlight. See the collection

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See all StateNotes	Recent StateNotes: ARRA Update: Proposed State Uses of Stabilization Funding Maximum P-12 Class-Size Policies State Policies on Homeschooling A Light at the End of the Tunnel K-12 and Postsecondary Alignment State Initiatives Regarding Electronic or Open-Source Textbooks Noteworthy State Legislation for Improving Career and Technical Education