Research

A Developmental Perspective on College and Workforce Readiness. Child Trends, 2008. (PDF, 49 pgs.) A report providing the developmental perspective on what competencies young people need to be ready for college, the workplace, and the transition to adulthood. It also provides perspective of the research in three fields: youth development, college readiness, and workforce readiness, and the need for competencies at each level.

21st Century Skills, Education, and Competitiveness: A Resource and Policy Guide. Partnership for 21st Century Skills, 2008. (PDF, 20 pgs.) This guide summarizes the challenges and opportunities that, if left unaddressed, will curtail our competitiveness and diminish our standing in the world. We can thrive in this century only with informed leadership and concerted action that prepares Americans to compete.

Quality Counts 2008: Tapping Into Teaching, Unlocking the Key to Student Success. Education Week with support from the Pew Center on the States, 2008. (web report) Examine strategies that states can use to unlock the full potential of the teaching profession, find out how various states are approaching pay for performance, learn how working conditions influence teacher retention, and more in this annual 50-state report.

Success In the Middle: A Policymaker's Guide to Achieving Quality Middle Level Education. National Middle School Association (NMSA), 2006. (PDF, 44 pgs.) NMSA describes the 14 characteristics of successful middle schools, and argues that government policy has a profound impact on educators' ability to be successful.

Breaking Ranks II: Strategies for Leading High School Reform. National Association of Secondary School Principals, 2004. (book, available for purchase, 220 pgs.) This report, a follow-up to Breaking Ranks (1996), outlines proven strategies for positive change that have proven successful in all types of high school settings.

Every Child Learning: Safe and Supported Schools. Learning First Alliance, 2001. (PDF, 51 pgs.) This report synthesizes the literature, identifies four research-based elements essential to safe and supportive schools, and makes recommendations on how schools and districts can build safe and supportive learning communities.

Facts and Stats

America's Children in Brief: Key National Indicators of Well-Being, 2008. The Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics, 2008. (PDF, 23 pgs.) Statistical data on children and families collected through the coordination and integration of 22 federal agencies. Indicators are organized into seven sections: Family and social environment, economic circumstances, health care, physical environment and safety, behavior, education, and health.

Good Measures for Good Schools. Center for Public Education, 2008. (web resource) How good are our nation's schools? How good are the schools in your own community? If you are a parent seeking the best education for your child or a local school official or legislator making broader policy decisions about your schools, you have probably asked these questions more than once. Likewise, if you are a business person who needs capable workers or an average taxpayer who desires a vibrant community with cost effective public services, these questions have probably crossed your mind. These successful school measures can help you evaluate your school's successes. Here you to can find answers and perhaps make decisions for the future of your community's children, your district's schools, and even your own child.

Education at a Glance 2008: OECD Indicators. Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD), 2008. (web publication) This report enables countries to see themselves in the light of other countries' performance. It provides a rich, comparable, and up-to-date array of indicators on the performance of education systems and represents the consensus of professional thinking on how to measure the current state of education internationally.

The Condition of Education 2008. U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2008. (PDF, 334 pgs.) A major national report presents statistics on 43 different educational indicators.

Kids Count 2008. Annie E. Casey Foundation, 2008. (web and free print publication) Each year, the Kids Count Data Book provides information and statistical trends on the conditions of America's children and families. By providing policymakers and citizens with benchmarks of child well-being, Kids Count seeks to enrich local, state, and national discussions concerning ways to secure better futures for all children.

Cities in Crisis: A Special Analytic Report on High School Graduation. Editorial Projects in Education Research Center, 2008. (PDF, 16 pgs.) This new report supported by America's Promise Alliance and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation provides stark data on the gap in graduation rates between urban and suburban areas of major metropolitan centers.

Quality Counts 2008: Tapping Into Teaching, Unlocking the Key to Student Success. Education Week with support from the Pew Center on the States, 2008. (web report) Examine strategies that states can use to unlock the full potential of the teaching profession, find out how various states are approaching pay for performance, learn how working conditions influence teacher retention, and more in this annual 50-state report.

The 39th Annual Phi Delta Kappa/Gallup Poll of the Public's Attitudes Toward the Public Schools. Phi Delta Kappa (PDK) International and The Gallup Organization, 2007. (PDF, 16 pgs.) As Congress debates changes to the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act with an eye to maximizing the achievement of all students, the findings from this PDK/Gallup Poll highlight potential improvements in our nation's education policy and identify the public's interests and concerns.

Tools

PTA National Standards for Family-School Partnerships Assessment Guide. PTA, 2008.(PDF, 32 pgs.) The PTA's National Standards for Family-School Partnerships offer a framework for how families, schools, and communities should work together to support student success. This assessment guide, or rubric, helps facilitate the implementation of these standards. The guide includes specific goals for each standard, indicators for measuring these goals, and examples for each indicator to show what good practice looks like at different levels of development.

Whole Child Resolution Tool Kit. ASCD, 2008. (web resource) A tool kit for parents, educators, and community members to work with policymakers to pass a whole child resolution in your community-an important first step in raising awareness and support across the country.

Communities In Schools and The Model of Integrated Student Services: A Proven Solution to America's Dropout Epidemic. Communities In Schools, 2008. (PDF, 8 pgs.) This report documents the linkage between well-designed and implemented community-based programs and significant improvements in student and school performance.

Quality Counts 2008: Tapping Into Teaching, Unlocking the Key to Student Success. Education Week with support from the Pew Center on the States, 2008. (web report) Examine strategies that states can use to unlock the full potential of the teaching profession, find out how various states are approaching pay for performance, learn how working conditions influence teacher retention, and more in this annual 50-state report.

PTA National Standards for Family-School Partnerships. PTA, 2007. (PDF, 2 pgs.) This short report outlines the benefits of parent, family, and community involvement and include the National PTA's six standards for family-school partnerships. The standards reflect recent research and focus on how parents, schools, and communities can work together to support student success.

Whole Child Community Conversations Project. ASCD, 2007. (free web guides) ASCD offers a framework to explore and discuss the best ways to support the whole child. Two versions of a facilitator's guide are available for local community and student engagement.

Other Resources

Democracy at Risk: The Need for a New Federal Policy in Education. Forum for Education and Democracy, 2008. (PDF, 72 pgs.) Prepared by Linda Darling-Hammond and George Wood, this report calls on the federal government to payoff the "education debt," invest in a new "Marshall Plan" for teachers and school leaders, support educational research and innovation, and engage and educate local communities.

Whose Problem is Poverty? Educational Leadership, ASCD, 2008. (web article) Richard Rothstein, the author of Class and Schools: Using Social, Economic, and Educational Reform to Close the Black-White Achievement Gap says, "It's no cop-out to acknowledge the effects of socioeconomic disparities on student learning. Rather, it's a vital step to closing the achievement gap."

Framework for 21st Century Learning. The Partnership for 21st Century Skills, 2007. (web report) The Framework for 21st Century Learning, a plan to help students and educators achieve 21st-century learning goals, addresses key concerns by developing a clear vision for student outcomes in the new global economy and defines how school systems can best support them.