What We Are Reading: College Completion, Federal Innovation Barriers, Early Warning Systems, Education Data Culture

Looking for new high school-related resources? Here are some pieces that other organizations have recently released:*

Complete College Ohio Task Force Report & Recommendations (Ohio Board of Regents, November 13, 2012). In this report, the Ohio task force lists 20 recommendations encompassing a full range of issues that impact college completion and providing a wide selection of tactical options directed to institutions of higher learning as well as policymakers. The recommendations are offered as a menu of options for consideration, customization and action.

Federal Barriers to Innovation (Center on Reinventing Public Education, November 13, 2012). While some federal initiatives, such as the Investing in Innovation Fund (i3), have been aimed at promoting innovation in education, some of the fiscal requirements of two large federal education programs—namely Title I and IDEA Part B—stand in the way. This paper identifies three fiscal requirements of these programs that encourage the status quo, instilling in districts a profound deference for existing staffing and spending patterns.

Rebuilding Communities: Education’s Central Role in Mobilizing Community Reform (Say Yes to Education, November 14, 2012). This report provides an inside look at one of the most ambitious and comprehensive school reform initiatives in the nation, chronicling the challenges and victories the Syracuse community has overcome and achieved as it worked with Say Yes, a national nonprofit foundation that uses education to revitalize once great urban communities.

Data for Action 2012: Focus on People to Change Data Culture (Data Quality Campaign, November 15, 2012). To change the culture of education data, states need to not only create enabling state conditions—such as P–20W leadership that spans early childhood through postsecondary and the workforce; policies that support data systems and use; and resources including time, money, and staff that are conducive to effective data use—but also determine their role in creating enabling local conditions. This report points out that states can take action now to meet stakeholders’ needs and address priority policy issues, such as teacher effectiveness and college and career readiness.

Organizing Early Warning Indicator and Intervention Work Groups for Dropout Prevention A How-to Guide for Schools (Everyone Graduates Center for Jobs for the Future, November 2012). This guide is designed to assist school leaders and leadership teams in planning how to implement effective organizational structures and routines within the school to address the early warning indicators of dropping out. Research has shown the most important indicators are problems in the ABCs: Attendance; Behavior; and Course performance.

*Resource descriptions provided by the sponsoring organization.

Note: This blog post was originally authored under the auspices of the National High School Center at the American Institutes for Research (AIR). The National High School Center’s blog, High School Matters, which ran until March 2013, provided an objective perspective on the latest research, issues, and events that affected high school improvement. The CCRS Center plans to continue relevant work originally developed under the National High School Center grant. National High School Center blog posts that pertain to CCRS Center issues are included on this website as a resource to our stakeholders.

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