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

	Race to the Top Analysis Notes Virtual Ed. Priorities in RTT Winners A review by an online education organization shows most of the 10 states that won Race to the Top grants submitted strong online learning proposals. A wiki document that highlights the virtual learning components in all 19 finalists' applications shows the winning states were ready to offer more online opportunities and make needed state policy revisions. Further, those changes are happening in regions that have been traditionally hesitant to embrace online learning. (Education Week, premium article access compliments of edweek.org, 09/07/10) See all of today's e-Clips stories
	Race to the Top Round II Winners On Tuesday, August 24, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan announced 10 Race to the Top (RttT) round II winners. Almost $3.4 billion remains in RttT federal funds and should be awarded to the 10 winning round II applicants by October. Two states, Delaware and Tennessee won grants in round I of the competition earlier this year. Secretary Duncan stated in that "[w]e're very hopeful there will be a Phase 3 of Race to the Top and have requested $1.35 billion dollars in next year's budget" to continue the grant competition.
$teacher$	Teach For America Honored with 2010 ECS Chair’s Award As the 2008‐10 Chair of the Education Commission of the States (ECS), Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty recognizes Teach For America for outstanding service to education with the 2010 ECS Chair's Award. The award will be presented to Teach For America at the ECS National Forum on Education Policy in Portland, Oregon on August 18.
	The Progress of Education Reform: Investing in College Completion Research that supports the redeployment of limited resources This issue of The Progress of Education Reform summarizes recent research that may challenge conventional wisdom on how and where public resources for postsecondary education should be dedicated in an effort to increase college completion rates. Questions to be examined include: 1) How did changes in enrollments and the allocation of resources result in declining college completion rates in the United States? 2) Does shifting enrollments to community colleges save money in the long run? and 3) Can investments in student services rather than instruction increase college completion? (Bruce Vandal, August 2010) See previous issues of The Progress of Education Reform
	AT&T Receives National Recognition from the Education Commission of the States AT&T Aspire initiative aims to reduce national high school dropout rate The Education Commission of the States (ECS) is pleased to recognize AT&T as the 2010 recipient of the ECS Corporate Award. The tribute honors nonprofit organizations and for-profit corporations that have demonstrated a sustained commitment to, and investment in, improving public education, particularly efforts that reach those currently not well-served by the education system. The award will be presented by Minnesota Governor and ECS Chair Tim Pawlenty at the 2010 National Forum on Education Policy, August 18-20, in Portland, Oregon.
	The Education Commission of the States Honors Linda Darling-Hammond with 2010 Conant Award Linda Darling-Hammond is the recipient of this year's Education Commission of the States (ECS) James Bryant Conant Award for her lifetime commitment to improving the quality of teaching and learning across the 50 states. Minnesota Governor and ECS Chair Governor Tim Pawlenty will present the award at the ECS National Forum on Education Policy in Portland, Oregon, August 18-20.
	What Impacts Student Success in College Persistence and Completion? This Research Review is a compilation of research study summaries that address postsecondary success and completion. The recent studies address topics such as: transfer rates, pathways to degrees, declining completion rates and student engagement. (Molly Ryan, August 2010)
	Pay for Performance Proposals in Race to the Top Round II Applications The Education Commission of the States reviewed all 36 Race to the Top (RttT) round II applications. Each of the 36 states that applied for round II funding referenced pay for performance under the heading of "Improving teacher and principal effectiveness based on performance." The majority of states outlined pay for performance initiatives to be implemented upon receipt of RttT funds. Key takeaways from the 36 applications are reviewed in this paper. (Stephanie Rose, July 2010)
	2009 ECS Annual Report ECS had a great year in 2009! We held a regional meeting in New England in January, co-sponsored a Global Education Competitiveness Summit in June and published numerous policy briefs on relevant issues such as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) and Race to the Top. Read all about our great year in the 2009 ECS Annual Report!
	ECS Challenges States to Step Up in Remedial Education *Policy framework to help set path* The Education Commission of the States, through its Getting Past Go Initiative, has released a policy framework, Rebuilding the Remedial Education Bridge to College Success, that makes the case for remedial education as a key component of state strategies to increase college attainment. The framework challenges states to look more carefully at the data they collect, funds they appropriate, ways they assess and place students, instructional models they utilize and the accountability mechanisms they rely on to meet the needs of remedial education students. Read the full press release.
	"Ahead-of-the-Curve" Charter School Policies Whether motivated by the desire to secure Race to the Top funds or other state policy initiatives, a number of states have recently enacted legislation to promote charter school growth. This ECS StateNote provides highlights of several "ahead-of-the-curve" state policy approaches. (Education Commission of the States, Molly Ryan, June 2010)
	Teacher Evaluation: New Approaches for a New Decade Whether spurred by the hope of Race to the Top funds or the research showing that students in ineffective teachers' classrooms do not make the academic gains of children taught by more effective educators, a number of states have enacted legislation in the last year to amend teacher evaluation policies. This ECS policy brief provides highlights of these new provisions.
	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

	Nearly Half of Public School Fourth-Graders Eligible for Free/Reduced-Price Lunch "Forty-eight percent of public school 4th-graders were eligible for free or reduced-price lunches in 2009, including 77% of Hispanic, 74% of Black, 68% of American Indian/Alaska Native, 34% of Asian/Pacific Islander, and 29% of White 4th graders." Source: Aud, S., Fox, M., and KewalRamani, A. (2010). Status and Trends in the Education of Racial and Ethnic Groups (NCES 2010-015). U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. Washington, DC:U.S. Government Printing Office. Accessed July 30, 2010 from http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2010/2010015.pdf.

	The Progress of Education Reform: Investing in College Completion (August 2010) The Progress of Education Reform: Teacher Merit Pay (June 2010) The Progress of Education Reform: End-of-Course Exams (April 2010) The Progress of Education Reform: Chronic Early Absence (February 2010) See previous issues of The Progress of Education Reform

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See all StateNotes	Recent StateNotes and Policy Briefs: "Ahead-of-the-Curve" Charter School Policies Helping Students Get a Head Start on the "Real World": State Strategies for Early High School Graduation Teacher Salaries and Benefits 2003–08 International School Finance Estimating the Number of Jobs Created or Saved State Reporting on Developmental Education: Analysis of Findings ARRA Update: Proposed State Uses of Stabilization Funding Maximum P-12 Class-Size Policies State Policies on Homeschooling 2009 Collections of ECS StateNotes and Policy Briefs - Download the PDF (3.5 MB)