Briefs

June 13, 2017 | Principals are essential to improving student achievement and narrowing persistent achievement gaps. The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) provides opportunities for states to use federal funds to invest in developing and supporting effective school leaders, such as supporting their recruitment, preparation, and training using the optional state set-aside under Title II. This brief summarizes the evidence about the importance of principals, describes research-based practices in leadership development, and outlines promising, evidence-based investments from submitted and draft ESSA state plans.

June 13, 2017 | Under the Every Student Succeeds Act, states are using a new approach to accountability based on multiple indicators of educational opportunity and performance and can decide how to use these measures to identify schools for intervention and support and to encourage systems of continuous improvement. The decision rule approach can encourage greater attention to each of the measures, offer more transparency about how school performance factors into identification, and support more strategic interventions than those informed only by a single rating, ranking, or grade. This brief describes five options for using decision rules that are designed to meet ESSA’s requirements and support states' use of systems that encourage continuous improvement across all schools.

June 5, 2017 | Community schools, which feature integrated student supports, expanded learning time, family and community engagement, and collaborative leadership, can be a successful strategy for improving schools under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). That’s the conclusion of this research review, based on an analysis of over 100 studies. This brief, published jointly by the Learning Policy Institute and the National Education Policy Center, discusses the four key features of community schools and offers guidance to support school, district, and state leaders as they consider or implement a community school intervention strategy in schools targeted for comprehensive support.

June 5, 2017 | Well-designed and implemented professional development is an essential component of a comprehensive system of teaching and learning that supports students to develop the knowledge, skills, and competencies they need to thrive in the 21st century. This brief outlines key components of effective professional development and offers rich descriptions of model programs to inform education leaders and policymakers seeking to leverage professional development to improve student learning.

April 18, 2017 | The Every Student Succeeds Act provides an important opportunity for states to broaden the definition of student success to include measures of students’ social-emotional, as well as academic, development. This brief describes how states might measure and promote social and emotional learning (SEL) in their accountability and continuous improvement plans.

February 27, 2017 | Turnover accounts for 90% of the demand for new teachers, exacerbating shortages and undermining academic progress. This brief summarizes research on the important role that principals can play in reducing the steady churn of teachers and highlights actions states and districts can take to strengthen school leadership.

February 8, 2017 | In the past year, California’s teacher shortage has worsened as demand continues to grow and the supply of new teachers remains stagnant. This brief summarizes the findings of LPI’s 2017 update on the California teacher shortage and includes recommendations for state-level policies that would provide near-term solutions for strengthening the teacher pipeline.

February 8, 2017 | California schools have long struggled to find enough fully prepared special education teachers, but since the 2013-14 school year these shortages have skyrocketed. This research brief examines recent data on special education credentials and authorizations and documents an alarming rise in the number of underprepared teachers entering special education classrooms.

November 30, 2016 | Seventy-five percent of districts responding to a Fall 2016 survey reported teacher shortages, with 81% saying the problem is getting worse. This brief details the results of the survey, conducted by the Learning Policy Institute and the California School Boards Association, including information about how districts are responding to shortages.

September 15, 2016 | This brief summarizes an analysis of the scope of teacher shortages being experienced throughout the country and discusses the causes and consequences of the shortages. Shortages are particularly severe in special education, mathematics, science, and bilingual/English learner education, and in locations with lower wages and poorer working conditions. This brief also provides recommendations of local, state, and federal policies to support the recruitment and retention of a quality teacher workforce.