A Promise Unfulfilled: How Title I funding is broken and what could be done about it PDF - This issue of The Progress of Education Reform examines inequities in how Title I funds are distributed, and proposes changes that address three key factors. (Michael Griffith, Education Commission of the States, May 2011)...

School Improvement: What works in improving low-performing schools/districts? - Access related research titles from the ECS Research Studies Database. Links embedded in titles will take you to each study's major findings and recommendations....

From the ECS State Policy Database: No Child Left Behind--Reauthorization Issues/Waivers - This policy database—updated weekly—is made possible by your state's fiscal support of the Education Commission of the States....

From the ECS State Policy Database: No Child Left Behind--Special Populations - This policy database—updated weekly—is made possible by your state's fiscal support of the Education Commission of the States....

Measuring Adequate Yearly Progress: What "Other" Indicators Count Besides Reading and Math? PDF - NCLB calls for one "other" academic indicator to count toward the calculation of AYP. At the high school level that indicator was the graduation rate. At the elementary and middle school levels, states could select any additional measure. This ECS StateNote hopes to deepen that understanding by raising awareness of each state’s "other" academic indicator and its accompanying target. (Dinah Frey, Education Commission of the States, October 2010)...

The Progress of Education Reform: School Improvement--What Works in Improving Low-Performing Schools and Districts? PDF - This issue highlights recent research that explores what works in improving low-performing schools and districts, examines what is being learned from research and looks at the subsequent implications for state policy. (Kathy Christie, Education Commission of the States, November 2007)...

Examples of State Monitoring and Evaluation of Supplemental Educational Service Providers MS Word PDF - NCLB requires schools receiving Title I funds and not making adequate yearly progress to implement various interventions, such as offering students the option to change schools and/or make available supplemental educational services (SES). States are responsible for oversight of SES providers and must use objective criteria for their evaluation and make public reports available on how provider quality is monitored. This ECS StateNote provides examples of action in three states with evaluation processes that resemble guidance from the U.S. Department of Education. (Michael Colasanti, Education Commission of the States, November 2007)...

The State Role in Accelerating Student Growth in Low-Performing High Schools MS Word PDF - The goal of state intervention in a school or district designated as low-performing is not to punish. It is to help figure out how to improve student learning. The challenge, particularly for a chief state school officer or state board of education, is how best to leverage assistance to schools that have varying degrees of need. This ECS Policy Brief examines what has been learned from research and looks at the subsequent implications for state policy. It also makes suggestions for specific actions and provides examples of approaches that states have taken to amend governance and organizational structures, improve instructional conditions and increase instructional capacity. (Kathy Christie, Education Commission of the States, June 2007)...

Interventions in Low-Performing Schools and Districts: State Policies - (Kathy Christie, Education Commission of the States, January 2007)...

Minimum Subgroup Size for Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) MS Word PDF - As part of adequate yearly progress (AYP) definitions under No Child Left Behind, states must set the minimum number of students – or “n” size – that constitutes a subgroup. This ECS StateNote identifies the primary methods states have adopted for determining the size of a subgroup and the numbers or formulas states used in 2003 compared with 2006. In addition, the StateNote indicates which states use confidence intervals as part of their minimum subgroup approach. (Mary Fulton, Education Commission of the States, November 2006)...

From the ECS State Policy Database: No Child Left Behind--Finance - This policy database—updated weekly—is made possible by your state's fiscal support of the Education Commission of the States....

ECS Report to the Nation: State Implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act - ECS Report to the Nation summarizes information gathered and insights gained through work on the organization's NCLB database, as well as through literature reviews and conversations with state leaders. The report looks at seven NCLB categories including: standards and assessments, adequate yearly progress, school improvement, supplemental services, safe schools, report cards and teacher quality. Each of the seven sections provides a look at how states are doing, what states are doing and issues and challenges facing states....

A Policymaker’s Primer on Education Research: How to Understand, Evaluate and Use It - This primer provides an overview of research methods and statistics. It is highly interactive, with flash animation and hot links to examples, additional discussions, pop-up definitions of technical terms and an education research glossary. It also features a flowchart and other tools to guide users through an assessment of research studies. There’s a special “Understanding Statistics Tutorial” and another tutorial on searching the ERIC database. For users who want an abbreviated version of the material in the Primer, there is an “Applied Quick Primer” keyed to the most basic sections. (Patricia A. Lauer, Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning and Education Commission of the States, February 2004)...

From the ECS State Policy Database: No Child Left Behind--Parent Involvement - This policy database—updated weekly—is made possible by your state's fiscal support of the Education Commission of the States....

From the ECS State Policy Database: No Child Left Behind - This policy database—updated weekly—is made possible by your state's fiscal support of the Education Commission of the States....

From the ECS State Policy Database: No Child Left Behind--Adequate Yearly Progress - This policy database—updated weekly—is made possible by your state's fiscal support of the Education Commission of the States....

From the ECS State Policy Database: No Child Left Behind--Assessment - This policy database—updated weekly—is made possible by your state's fiscal support of the Education Commission of the States....

From the ECS State Policy Database: No Child Left Behind--Choice/Transfer - This policy database—updated weekly—is made possible by your state's fiscal support of the Education Commission of the States....

From the ECS State Policy Database: No Child Left Behind--Consequences for Schools - This policy database—updated weekly—is made possible by your state's fiscal support of the Education Commission of the States....

From the ECS State Policy Database: No Child Left Behind--Report Cards - This policy database—updated weekly—is made possible by your state's fiscal support of the Education Commission of the States....

From the ECS State Policy Database: No Child Left Behind--School Support - This policy database—updated weekly—is made possible by your state's fiscal support of the Education Commission of the States....

From the ECS State Policy Database: No Child Left Behind--Supplemental Services - This policy database—updated weekly—is made possible by your state's fiscal support of the Education Commission of the States....