Student Learning

Students across the country have opportunities to learn through different modalities. States look to provide innovative options for varying student needs, including competency-based education, remote learning and services to alleviate interrupted instruction. With multiple learning modalities and possibilities of long-term school closures, states also look to flexible assessment and accountability systems.

This page catalogues policies affecting learning, assessment and interruptions to student learning.

Recently Published Resources

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Policy Levers to Advance Credential Transparency

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Policy Brief

State Policy Ecosystem for Student-Centered Pathways

Student-centered pathways give students learning opportunities that are personalized and connected to practical experiences that prepare them for postsecondary, career and civic life. In the past, policy levers to create […]

Governors’ Top Education Priorities in 2024 State of the State Addresses

Every year, State of the State addresses offer time for new and incumbent governors to outline policy priorities and celebrate state accomplishments. Since 2005, we’ve tracked, analyzed and identified education […]

State Policies to Support Learners Impacted by the Justice System

This Policy Outline highlights three levers policymakers can use to increase access to higher education for people who are incarcerated and shows how several states have begun this work.

Ed Note Blog Posts

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K-12

An elementary school teacher sits atop a table speaking to a small group of five students in a classroom during the daytime. Each of the five children are looking up at their teacher.

Turning Back the Tide: The Critical Role of States In Reducing Chronic Absenteeism

Chronic absenteeism has risen drastically in our country — increasing from 16% of students before the COVID-19 pandemic to nearly 30% by the 2021-22 school year. During the 2021-22 school […]

Postsecondary

A stack of books, a gavel and a graduation cap sit on a table inside a library to represent expanding education access and graduation opportunities for people impacted by the justice system.

Expanding Education Access for Justice-Impacted Students

Nearly two million people are incarcerated across federal, state, local and tribal systems in the United States. Among those, 95% of people will be released to rejoin their communities, but […]

Early Education (P-3)K-12

Early Grade Literacy: Is Third Grade Retention Effective?

In 2023, 14 governors noted the importance of literacy in their State of the State addresses. Ten governors specifically highlighted efforts to improve early grade literacy for kindergarten through third […]

K-12

How Can States Support Immigrant Students’ Education?

Conversations about immigrant and refugee students often obscure the fact that federal laws — bolstered by court decisions throughout the past few decades — provide newcomer students with the right […]

K-12

North Carolina's Promising Approach to Learning Recovery

As the education landscape continues to be impacted by school closures, quarantines and staffing uncertainties resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, states have been working hard to reduce the long-term effects […]

K-12

How Illinois Supports School Districts in Closing Equity Gaps

The recent release of National Assessment of Educational Progress data highlights the scale of interrupted learning caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and points to the exacerbation of existing inequities in […]

K-12

The Nation’s Report Card Is Back: What Do the Results Say?

The National Assessment of Educational Progress, administered by the National Center for Education Statistics in the U.S. Department of Education, offers trend data that is comparable across states. NAEP is […]

K-12

A teacher with dark brown skin and a bald hair style smiles while helping two students with a math problem. One student has brown skin and natural hair and the other has light brown skin and long, dark-brown hair. The bottom left corner of the image says “guest post.”

Trends in State Allocations of ESSER Funds

After passing the Sept. 30 deadline for states to allocate CARES Act relief funds, states are on track to spend the first round of Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief […]

K-12

Innovative Ways States Are Using ESSER Funds

More than one year since the passage of the American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act, plans have been approved in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico for […]

Early Education (P-3)

How Children’s Cabinets Can Meet the Needs of Families and Youth

The pandemic laid bare the lack of social safety nets in states, necessitating innovative solutions but also illuminating systemic problems. For example, when regular service-delivery routines for youth and families […]

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