State leaders must choose accountability over complacency in reopening plans
Schools around the country are once again scrambling to keep students learning in person against a rising tide of COVID-19 cases. Whether they succeed will hinge on how local officials are able to mount effective mitigation strategies that keep students and staff safe amid an escalating public health crisis. States have a critical role to […]
How 11 states are using emergency federal funds to make improvements in college and career access
The Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund (GEER I and II) gave states $4.25 billion in discretionary federal dollars to support K–12 schools, higher education, and workforce initiatives. These were welcome resources, coming just as the pandemic accelerated unemployment and exacerbated declining college enrollment, hitting those from low-income backgrounds hardest. As of May 1, about $1.5 […]
State Accountability Systems in the COVID Era and Beyond
This brief presents a set of ideas and themes to begin to inform challenges around testing and accountability during the pandemic.
Urgent action by states, fed needed to clarify school reopening decisions
Schools around the country are shuttered again this fall as school systems continue to face chaotic conditions as result of the pandemic. As many students begin the school year remotely, families are eager for answers to the question of when schools will open for in-person instruction. There are no easy answers to this question, of […]
Leading states show how to set clear expectations for remote learning—more should follow their example
Last spring, fewer than half of the nation’s school districts expected teachers to deliver remote instruction, grade student work, and take attendance. Districts’ inaction appeared to be closely linked to states’ unclear expectations. As the pandemic spreads, districts across the country have announced they will open remotely, in some cases only weeks away from the […]
States: It’s not too late to guide districts on teaching and learning
One striking finding of the CRPE and Public Impact review of state reopening plans is what’s not there: the primary purpose of schools, teaching and learning. During COVID-19, states are giving districts only minimal guidance and support about teaching and learning. Yet district and school leaders are already working around the clock to plan for […]
States must take decisive action to avert the coming education crisis
According to a new analysis of state reopening plans by CRPE and Public Impact, states have largely ceded their role in defining how school systems must address the COVID-19 pandemic. To be sure, these plans offer recommendations and questions for school system leaders to consider. Many plans suggest measures to protect the health and safety […]
Student learning is an afterthought in many state reopening plans; that’s a huge mistake
Schools have once again been thrust into the national spotlight as education leaders wrestle with changing local health conditions and impossible politics. Against this backdrop, states have emerged as the battleground for how schools will and will not adapt to the crisis and what the results will be for students and their families. CRPE […]
Will States Step Up to Address Gaps in Access to Remote Learning This Fall?
It should surprise no one that this spring’s experiment with remote learning revealed huge gaps in access to education that divided low-income students from their more affluent peers, rural students from urban ones, and students with disabilities from non-disabled students. While the gaps in resources between schools and districts are significant, they pale in comparison […]
Four Steps States Can Take to Level the Remote Learning Playing Field
The COVID-19 crisis has laid bare some old truths: where you live and what school you attend has profound impacts on what students can expect to get out of public education. Some students get instruction from teachers while others don’t; some students choose from a multitude of personalized learning pathways while others get packets of […]
