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

Policy Playbook

Community Schools Playbook

This resource, from the Partnership for the Future of Learning, provides a comprehensive policy guide for implementing and sustaining community schools. It includes detailed information on the four key pillars of comprehensive community schools and features communications and policy development resources, including model legislative language and policy examples from across the United States.

In the News

New Report Shows Where Improvements Are Needed In California’s Education System

Getting Down to Facts II, produced by leading education policy researchers across the country, reveals that California has made improvements due to recent reforms, but that major system-wide funding challenges and significant gaps in student achievement remain. The report summarizes 36 studies and 19 research briefs on the effects of education reforms adopted over the past decade.

Article

What Makes Social-Emotional Learning So Important

School Administrator by Linda Darling-Hammond | In this special issue devoted to social-emotional learning and school climate, Darling-Hammond explains the importance of social-emotional learning and describes the four measures that can contribute to school environments in which students are motivated and feel they belong, which supports their learning.

Report

Making ESSA’s Equity Promise Real: State Strategies to Close the Opportunity Gap

This report documents how states are taking advantage of provisions in the federal Every Student Succeeds Act to measure key indicators of potential inequities (including suspension rates, school climate, chronic absenteeism, extended year graduation rates, and access to college- and career-ready curricula), so that they can address disparities, make schools more inclusive, and help all students succeed. Join LPI and the National Urban League on September 26 for a webinar highlighting this report and a new interactive map.

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.