As we congratulate a new crop of high school graduates and support them in moving forward into college and careers, there are indicators to celebrate, but also troubling warning signals on our dashboard of national education. Read more
Two recent reports examine how well prepared those students who graduate from high school are for college and careers. States, it turns out, have no consistent way of assessing this preparation. And the single largest group of students takes courses that, together, fall short of demonstrating a coherent program of study. Read more
The federal Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights gathers extensive information on the persisting inequities within the nation's public schools. The latest Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC, 2013-14) includes, for the first time, indicators on important topics related to educational access, law enforcement in schools, and more.Read more
The reauthorization of federal education legislation, the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), expands the latitude states have to identify and implement school accountability measures. But these measures vary widely across the nation.Read more
Adults working at this school reward students for positive behavior.
School districts, charter schools, and state education agencies looking to collect school climate data now have access to a free tool developed by the federal Department of Education (ED) and hosted by the National Center on Safe and Supportive Learning Environments (NCSSLE), on which Child Trends serves as a partner. The Department of Education School Climate Surveys (EDSCLS) are a set of validated tools to survey students, parents, instructional staff, and non-instructional staff about the conditions for learning at their school. Such data provide important information about the conditions that promote or hinder learning and students' engagement with education.Read more
