Transforming American Education

President Obama’s National Educational Technology Plan outlines approaches it says schools need to significantly increase college completion rates. Transforming American Education: Learning Powered by Technology emphasizes the importance of leveraging technology to customize learning for students. It recommends enabling every student to learn through digital technology in school and at home, a 1-to-1 computing approach using cell phones, laptops and other mobile-learning devices. “Most young people can’t remember a time without the Internet,” says U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. “But right now, many students’ learning experiences in school don’t match the reality outside of school. We need to bridge this gap.”

As state and federal policymakers work to establish comprehensive education systems that are connected from one stage to the next, it has become increasingly evident that the earliest years are the cornerstone of effective P-20 systems and the foundation upon which subsequent learning must be built. A new ECS Policy Brief explores transition and alignment - two key components for creating continuity across early learning and the early grades - and provides examples of successful state efforts.

Scholastic and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation asked 40,000 of our nation's public school teachers for their thoughts on American Education with the goal of placing teachers’ voices at the center of the discourse around education reform. Respondents represent the diversity and variety of communities and students in America; their answers reflect the challenge and opportunity inherent in addressing policy for America’s schools. Teachers identified five ways to address the key challenges facing today’s schools and ensure that all students achieve at their highest level:

1. Establish clear standards, common across states
2. Use multiple measures to evaluate student performance
3. Innovate to reach today’s students
4. Accurately measure teacher performance and provide non-monetary rewards
5. Bridge school and home to raise student achievement

High school graduates now enroll in post-secondary education at historically unprecedented rates. Yet college completion rates show few improvements, lagging behind other nations, and the proportion of the population with certificates and degrees has remained flat. This report published by the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education draws attention to the need for better coordination and cooperation between K-12 and postsecondary education in order to improve college readiness and college completion in the nation.

When President Obama outlined his plans for the American Graduation Initiative, he emphasized the critical role of community colleges in educating and training students and adults for the jobs needed to keep the United States economically competitive. A key goal of his plan is to see an additional five million people complete community college - earn a certificate or degree or transfer to a four-year school - in the next 10 years. The initiative brings a national focus to the role of community colleges in meeting current and emerging employer demands, and retraining laid-off workers.

Early Experiences Matter: A Guide to Improved Policies for Infants and Toddlers is a set of tools for taking action and improving public policies that impact the lives of infants, toddlers, and their families. The Guide is designed for policymakers and advocates and includes a wealth of policy options and strategies to use in efforts to affect policy change. It is organized into five sections: agenda, good health, strong families, positive early learning experiences and systems. Each section includes mini policy briefs, practical tools, in-depth policy papers, and more. All of the materials in the toolkit are accessible online.