From the OverAchievers

Achieving the Possible Survey Results

Over the past five years, the phrase "college and career readiness" has been used often by state and local policymakers, education foundations and non-profits, journalists, and, most recently, by President Obama, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, and the U.S. Department of Education. The goal of preparing all students for college, careers and life has become the driving force behind many education reform strategies at the local, state and national level. It is increasingly clear that the college-and career-ready agenda has taken hold across the country. While policy and thought leaders in state capitols and Washington D.C. have embraced the agenda, it has always been less clear what the public thinks about the goal of gr...

Next-Generation Science

There is no doubt that science—and science education—is central to the lives of all Americans. To understand a visit to the doctor’s office, the latest scientific discovery or the newest gadget requires increasing levels of sophistication. Science education often manifests itself in ways not always obvious, like honing the ability to approach and solve problems and think critically. Science also drives innovation, which in turn drives the economy. Science is at the heart of the United States’ ability to compete and lead, which of course means that all students—whether they become technicians in a lab, PhD researchers or simply consumers—must all have a solid K-12 science education. The National Research ...

Opening Doors: College- and Career-Ready High School Graduation Requirements

Five years ago when Achieve first started tracking progress on the college- and career-ready policy agenda, there were only three states that had set their high school graduation requirements at a level that would ensure college and career readiness for all students. Today, that number stands at 21 states, covering more than half of the students in the U.S. The states that have college- and career-ready graduation requirements are: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas and Washington - and the District of Columbia. These states have made the commitment to ensure that all stud...

Race to the Top Round 2 Applicants Announced

35 states plus the District of Columbia submitted applications for the second round of Race to the Top competition, in which $3.4 billion in economic stimulus funds are still available. See the full list of states here. The U.S. Education Department (USED) will select the Round 2 winners over the summer using the same process as was used in Round 1. In the panel review stage, five expert reviewers will read and discuss each application. They will then score and comment on each application independently, and the applicant will be given a score based on the average of the five scores. USED will look for a natural break in the scores to identify finalists and invite those finalists to D.C. to make in-person presentations to the review panels...

Recommendations for ESEA Reauthorization

The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee recently began hearings on the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) or No Child Left Behind, as the law was nicknamed during its last reauthorization in 2002. The education landscape and conventional wisdom on what our education systems should be aiming for have changed significantly since then. Achieve has found, as documented in our annual survey of the states, Closing the Expectations Gap, that in the last five years alone states have made significant progress on reforming their education systems to value college and career readiness, progress that has happened largely because of state leadership. When ESEA is reauthorized, it's important th...