Policy Papers

A Broader, Bolder Approach to Education

Summary: This report, initiated by a task force established by the Economic Policy Institute and signed by hundreds of educators, aims to broaden the goals and nature of education reform beyond academics and beyond the school... Read on...

A Nation at Risk

Summary: A Nation at Risk is one of the most influential education policy reports in recent decades. Commissioned by President Reagan and Education Secretary T. H. Bell, this 1983 report set off what became a widespread belief... Read on...

Civil Rights Framework

Summary: Leading civil rights organizations provide a Civil Rights Framework for the re-authorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. From the report: "As civil rights organizations, it is our responsibility to... Read on...

Crisis in the Kindergarten

Summary: Kindergarten has changed radically in the last two decades in ways that few Americans are aware. Children now spend far more time being taught and tested on literacy and math skills than they do learning through play... Read on...

Democratic Dialogue

Summary: Democratic Dialogue is committed to the critical exploration of democratic ideals in education and society through a program of international collaborative research and dissemination. We engage educators, political... Read on...

Every Student a Citizen: Creating the Democratic Self

Summary: Drafted by the Education Commission of the States' National Study Group on Citizenship in K-12 Schools, this paper makes the case for education to go beyond facts to engage young people as active citizens of society and... Read on...

Incentives and Test-Based Accountability in Education

Summary: This extensive and nearly 10-year long study undertaken by leading educators, economists, and psychologists with support from the U.S. Department of Education and several foundations carries a strong message:... Read on...

Innovate to Educate: System [Re]Design for Personalized Learning

Summary: CCSSO, ACSD, and the Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA) convened 150 education thought leaders, practitioners, and technology providers in Boston, Massachusetts for an invitation-only discussion on the... Read on...

Innovation-Based Systemic Reform: Getting Beyond Traditional School

Summary: Stating that conventional schools are based on an out-dated model that often suppresses learning, this paper by the policy group Education Evolving makes the case for school reform to embrace innovation. Specific... Read on...

Loss of Play: A Public Health Issue (Policy Brief)

Summary: Children's health - today and in the future - is a critical public health challenge. Physicians tell us that today's children will live shorter lives than their parents, while economists predict that the long-term... Read on...

Model School Code from Dignity in Schools Campaign

Summary: The Dignity in Schools Campaign is developing a Model School Code to present a set of recommended policies to schools, districts and legislators to help end school pushout and protect the human right to education,... Read on...

North Dakota Study Group

Summary: The North Dakota Study Group on Evaluation is a diverse network of progressive educators dedicated to advocacy for useful, fair, and democratic ways to document and assess children's learning and offering a criticism of... Read on...

Rated: (5/5), based on 1 review Posted in InformationResearchSchool Change and Education ReformStudent Involvement and Youth VoicePolicy Papers

Our Communities Left Behind: An Analysis of the Administration’s School Turnaround Policies

Summary: On July 28, 2010 CEPS issued a report, Our Communities Left Behind: An Analysis of the Administration's School Turnaround Policies, with the support of the Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University... Read on...

Problems With the Use of Student Test Scores to Evaluate Teachers

Summary: Convened by the Economic Policy Institute and drafted by leading educators including Diane Ravitch, Linda Darling-Hammond, and Richard Rothstein, this policy brief provides strong evidence that evaluating and making... Read on...

Restoring Play and Playful Learning to U.S. Kindergartens (Policy Brief)

Summary: New research has documented the disappearance of play from U.S. kindergartens. This essential mode of learning for young children has largely been replaced by didactic instruction, often scripted, and by testing.... Read on...

Rated: (4/5), based on 1 review Posted in InformationPolicy Papers

The Civic Mission of Schools

Summary: Written and endorsed by more than 50 scholars and education practitioners, The Civic Mission of Schools report summarizes the status of and need for civic learning in schools, kindergarten through 12th grade. It... Read on...

Vermont’s Framework Of Standards & Learning Opportunities

Summary: The purpose of Vermont's Framework of Standards and Learning Opportunities is to improve student learning. The standards will be used in three ways:

1. To provide a structure from which standards-based district,... Read on...

Voices From the Classroom: VIVA National Task Force Report

Summary: Classroom teachers from all corners of the United States spent hundreds of hours exploring big-picture policy questions together. After the large group identified ideas for improving personal development, a small group... Read on...

What Matters Most: Teaching For America’s Future

Summary: Drafted by a panel of educators, policy-makers, researchers, and non-profit leaders, this paper sets out the key role played by teachers in the education process, and presents a series of recommendations to recruit,... Read on...