Welcome to Learning Policy Institute

The Learning Policy Institute conducts and communicates independent, high-quality research to improve education policy and practice. Working with policymakers, researchers, educators, community groups, and others, the Institute seeks to advance evidence-based policies that support empowering and equitable learning for each and every child. Read More

Report

Building an Early Learning System that Works: Next Steps for California

There is overwhelming evidence that children’s early years, from birth through preschool, are a crucial time for their development, and that high-quality early learning opportunities support children’s school readiness, promote later life success, and yield a return of up to $7 for every $1 invested. Providing access to high-quality ECE for all children in California will require a comprehensive approach to turning an uncoordinated set of underfunded programs into a true system of supports for children, families, and providers. A complement to LPI’s earlier report Understanding California’s Early Care and Education System, this report examines the challenges California’s counties face in providing ECE and provides recommendations for improving access to high-quality ECE for all children.

Brief

Encouraging Social and Emotional Learning: Next Steps for States

The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) provides an opportunity for states to include measures of students social, emotional, and academic development when assessing outcomes. This brief offers recommendations for ways state agencies can encourage social and emotional learning in schools to support the whole child, through their systems of accountability and continuous improvement under ESSA.

Blog

50 Years After Kerner, It’s Time to Finish What We Started

Richmond, VA’s diversity is a point of strength, but the vast majority of its schools are still segregated by race and income. In the latest Kerner blog, Anne Holton writes about that reality and what one school is doing to change it. Holton is Visiting Professor of Public Policy and Education at George Mason University and former Virginia Secretary of Education.

In the News

City Visions, KALW Radio: “What to Do About the Teacher Shortage”

LPI State Policy Director Tara Kini joins a panel on KALW’s City Visions to discuss the teacher shortage in the Bay Area, what can be done to better prepare and support teachers, and how we can recruit and retain teachers.

View More Publications

Early Childhood Learning 

High-quality early learning provides young children, particularly those from low-income households, with the foundation that research shows improves academic success and provides long-term benefits.

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Deeper Learning 

The Learning Policy Institute explores three key components of deeper learning strategies: * Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment * College, Career, and Civic Readiness * School Organization and Design

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Educator Quality 

We explore three key components of educator quality: * Evaluation and Career Development * Professional Learning * Recruitment and Retention

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Equitable Access and Resources 

Equitable distribution of financial and other critical resources, including access to high-quality educators, college-preparatory curriculum, and support services, creates the foundation necessary for every child to succeed.

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Accountability and Improvement 

Effective accountability systems ensure adequate and equitable resources and enable ongoing improvement. They do this by providing the information, capacity building, and support needed to identify strengths and challenges, and make necessary improvements.

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In the News 

Media outlets around the country turn to the Learning Policy Institute’s research and staff for evidenced-based insight into critical issues facing our schools and students.

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Publications 

The Learning Policy Institute publishes and widely disseminates its research and analysis to contribute to public knowledge and policy decision making. All LPI publications are subject to rigorous research standards and external peer review.

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Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) 

The Learning Policy Institute has produced an extensive collection of resources to inform and guide policymakers and stakeholders in the development of state ESSA plans.

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Report

The Promise of Performance Assessments: Innovations in High School Learning and Higher Education Admissions

Jan 18 2018

A new study looks at the use of performance assessments for both K-12 learning and college admission, placement and advising. The study is the first research produced through Reimagining College Access, a national initiative of the Learning Policy Institute and EducationCounsel that for the first time brings together k-12 and higher education policy and practice leaders to recognize and foster high-quality k–12 performance assessment systems.

Video

The Power of Performance Assessments: Oakland Unified’s Graduate Capstone Project

Oct 26 2017

In the Oakland Unified School District, a yearlong Graduate Capstone Project provides an opportunity for students to research, analyze, and become experts in a topic of their own choosing. LPI’s video shows how this complex project, which is used as a districtwide performance assessment, is building students’ ownership of their own learning and helping them develop and use critical thinking and communication skills.

Webinar

Webinar: Increasing Opportunities for Deeper Learning

Feb 15 2018, 3:00 PM EST

On February 15, LPI held the first webinar in a series that explores why deeper learning is crucial for students in today’s innovation economy and how we can achieve greater equity in access to deeper learning. This webinar addressed ways schools and school districts can improve academic achievement—particularly among students who are farthest from opportunity—through engaging students in learning that focuses on meaningful mastery of subjects, critical thinking, problem-solving, collaboration and other skills necessary for college, career, and civic participation in the 21st Century.