College Access: What helps to promote student access to college? - 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....

P-20 Governance PDF - This StateNote identifies states in which K-12 and postsecondary governance has been fully or partially consolidated in a single entity. The report also identifies where early learning falls under the purview of an entity that administers both K-12 and higher education. (Jennifer Dounay Zinth, Education Commission of the States, January 2011)...

From the ECS State Policy Database: Partnerships--University/School - This policy database—updated weekly—is made possible by your state's fiscal support of the Education Commission of the States....

P-16/P-20 Councils - P-16 councils were first established in the 1990s to convene state leaders representing early learning (the "P") through the first four years of college (the "16"). This ECS database provides information on existing P-16/P-20 Councils in the states. (Jennifer Dounay, Education Commission of the States, May 2008)...

Postsecondary Feedback Systems - This database provides information about the data systems in more than 20 states that provide districts and high schools with information about how their graduates have fared after entering postsecondary education in the state. (Michael Colasanti, Education Commission of the States, June 2008)...

ECS High School Resources and Services MS Word PDF - This two-page document describes the variety of resources and services ECS offers to answer state leaders' questions about high school, transitions to postsecondary, and P-16/P-20 alignment. (Education Commission of the States, July 2009)...

State P-16 and P-20 Council Considerations PDF - The divergent state-level structures that govern and fund education in the states — and the similarly diverse challenges that states face — may call for different members, agendas and supports for state-level P-16 and P-20 councils. However, ECS research suggests that some indicators associated with a council’s actors, agenda and appropriation of resources are positively associated with a council’s capacity to influence or implement meaningful education reform. This worksheet is intended to help you evaluate whether your state’s P-16 or P-20 council is aligned with some of these indicators. (Jennifer Dounay, Education Commission of the States, March 2008)...

While no one was looking – Community-based solutions to linking early learning and the early grades: Implications for state policy - Lessons from the SPARK Initiative PDF - SPARK (Supporting Partnerships to Assure Ready Kids) — a five-year initiative funded by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation — is one good example of what can and is being accomplished at the community level to create continuity across early childhood and K-12 education. This policy brief discusses three high-impact strategies used at SPARK sites. Additionally, the brief provides implementation examples and policy opportunities associated with each strategy. (Mimi Howard, Education Commission of the States, January 2009)...

Landmines P-16/P-20 Councils Encounter — and How They Can Be Addressed (or Avoided Altogether) PDF - Building upon the findings of the ECS database on P-16 and P-20 councils, and experience in the states, this policy brief sets forth the numerous challenges that can foil the best-laid plans of P-16 and P-20 councils, and suggests how they can be addressed or avoided altogether. These "landmines" lie in four areas: Actors, Agenda, Appropriation of Resources and Political Climate. (Jennifer Dounay, Education Commission of the States, November 2008)...

Making the Case for P-3 PDF - Supported by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and the SPARK initiative, this ECS Issue Paper presents a concise and highly operational definition of P-3, outlining key guiding principles and provides a compelling case for "why P-3 now?" To that end, the paper includes arguments from both research and experience that address: How P-3 benefits children in the early years and early grades; How P-3 makes education reform more child-friendly; and How P-3 benefits state and local policymakers. (Kristie Kauerz, Education Commission of the States, July 2007)...

From the ECS State Policy Database: P-16 or P-20 - This policy database—updated weekly—is made possible by your state's fiscal support of the Education Commission of the States....