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

Community Schools as an Effective School Improvement Strategy: A Review of the Evidence
Report

Community Schools as an Effective School Improvement Strategy: A Review of the Evidence

Education policymakers working to address the impacts of growing economic and racial inequality on students often look to community schools as an effective approach for supporting students and their families in communities facing concentrated poverty. This report, which synthesized findings from 143 rigorous research studies, finds community schools can improve outcomes for all students, and especially those facing lack of access to high-quality schools and out-of-school barriers to learning.
Blog

Suspended Education: How Accountability Systems Can Address Inequitable Suspension Practices and Support Whole Child Education

Thanks to the federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), states are beginning to develop accountability systems that are focused on multiple measures of student success, including one key driver of inequity—the overuse of suspension, particularly for students of color, as a discipline tactic.
Report

The Teacher Residency: An Innovative Model for Preparing Teachers

The teacher residency model holds much promise to address the issues of recruitment and retention in high-need districts and subject area shortages. This model also has the potential to support systemic change and building of the teaching profession, especially in the most challenging districts. Initial research is promising as to the impact residencies can have on increasing the diversity of the teaching force, improving retention of new teachers, and promoting gains in student 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.
View More Publications

Our Work

Early Childhood Learning
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.
/topic/early-childhood-learning
Deeper Learning
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
/topic/deeper-learning
Educator Quality
Educator Quality
We explore three key components of educator quality: * Evaluation and Career Development * Professional Learning * Recruitment and Retention
/topic/educator-quality
Topic: Equitable Resources and Access
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.
/topic/equitable-resources-and-access
Topic: Accountability and Improvement
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.
/topic/accountability-and-improvement
In the News
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.
/in-the-news
Publications
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.
/products/all-publications
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.
/topic/essa

Focus on Deeper Learning

The Promise of Performance Assessments: Innovations in High School Learning and Higher Education Admissions
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.
The Power of Performance Assessments: Oakland Unified’s Graduate Capstone Project
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: Increasing Opportunities for Deeper Learning
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.