Other Reports

In addition to the annual Quality Counts, Diplomas Count, and Technology Counts reports, the EPE Research center has released the following reports.

All reports are in PDF format and require Adobe Acrobat Reader. Please click here to get the Adobe Reader. Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader

Preparing for Change: A National Perspective on Common Core State Standards Implementation Planning

January 2012

This new report, produced by the EPE Research Center in partnership with Education First, a national education policy and strategic consulting firm, describes states’ progress toward creating plans for implementing the Common Core State Standards. Preparing for Change: A National Perspective on Common Core State Standards Implementation Planning provides insight into the steps states are taking to implement common standards and reports results from a 50-state survey examining transition planning. The survey results offer specific details on the status of state plans for changes in teacher professional development, curriculum and instructional materials, and teacher-evaluation systems. The results find that a handful of states are particularly far along in their plans to implement the CCSS, but that most states still have a long way to go in their planning efforts.

Improving Student Learning By Supporting Quality Teaching: Key Issues, Effective Strategies

December 2011

This special report from the EPE Research Center examines teaching quality and student learning. It summarizes the state of research on teaching quality, the links to student learning, and the contextual factors that play an intermediating role in teaching and learning. It focuses on literature from both the K-12 system and the early-childhood arena that discusses teacher professional qualifications, models to improve and gauge quality instruction, and examples from the field. These findings are complemented by an overview of promising strategies for improving teaching quality and an original environmental scan of the investments made by major foundations in the area of teaching quality, including a list of the most influential actors in this area.

State Policies That Pay: A Survey of School Finance Policies and Outcomes

May 2010

This special report from the EPE Research Center assesses the state of education finance policy for America’s schools. Based on the center’s original survey and data analysis, State Policies That Pay offers a unique perspective on state efforts to generate and distribute funding to their schools and school districts in several key areas: school funding formulas, targeted funding strategies, revenue sources and restrictions, financial equity and spending patterns, accountability for spending, and school finance challenges.

Cities in Crisis 2009: Closing the Graduation Gap

April 2009

This new report from the EPE Research Center finds that barely one-half of students in the nation's 50 largest cities complete high school with a diploma. But the study, a successor to 2008’s Cities in Crisis, also discovers signs of improvement, with rising graduation rates and narrowing urban-suburban gaps in recent years.

Perspectives on a Population: English Language Learners in American Schools

Released in conjunction with Quality Counts 2009
January 2009

Perspectives on a Population: English-Language Learners in American Schools offers the most comprehensive, data-driven examination to date of ELL students and youths in the United States.

Special Education in America

November 2008

This EPE Research Center report examines a number of key issues facing students with disabilities ranging from the demographics of the population, educational settings, overrepresentation of certain student groups, achievement, high school completion, and transitions to adulthood.

Cities in Crisis 2008

April 2008

This report released by America's Promise Alliance and prepared by EPE Research Center, finds that approximately half of the students served by the principal school systems in the nation's 50 largest cities are graduating from high school. The report is a predecessor to 2009’s Cities in Crisis.

Influence: A Study of the Factors Shaping Education Policy

December 2006

The EPE Research Center’s new study has identified the most influential people, organizations, information sources, and research studies in education policy over the past decade.

High School Graduation in Texas

October 2006

Analyses from the Editorial Projects in Education Research Center estimate that over 120,000 public high school students in the state of Texas failed to graduate with a regular diploma last school year. To put this crisis in perspective, the number of non-graduates is about double the combined number of students entering 9th grade in the state’s seven largest school districts. Seventy percent of all non-graduates were members of minority racial and ethnic groups, indicating that minority students are disproportionately affected by this graduation crisis.

Making the Connection:
A decade of standards-based reform and achievement

Released in conjunction with Quality Counts 2006
January 2006

Quality Counts 2006 finds that over the past decade states have increasingly adopted core policies related to standards-based education—academic standards, aligned assessments, accountability, and efforts to improve teacher quality.

Evolution in State Science Education Standards

November 2005

In this study, the EPE Research Center performed a systematic and objective analysis of state academic standards in science education in order to characterize the extent to which these documents cover the theory of biological evolution.

Put Education Week Data to Work for You!
The EPE Research Center now offers customized K-12 data based on years of its cutting-edge research. Our data sets are unique in the American K-12 education field because of their relevance, breadth, depth, and ease of use.
May 20, 2010 - Education Week

UCLA Report Details Recession's Impact on Schools
January 22, 2010 - AP

Per-pupil Expenditures Approaching $10,000
As the nation weathers difficult economic times, many states are facing particularly heavy pressure to secure enough funding to provide a quality education for their students. In fact, some states have already proposed or announced budget cuts on precollegiate educational spending.
January 21, 2009 - Research Center

Mismatch Between Policy Efforts and Projected Need for ESL Teachers
For the first time in its 13-year history, Quality Counts provides a comprehensive examination of state efforts to address the challenge of educating English-language learners (ELLs). Produced by Education Week and the EPE Research Center, Quality Counts 2009 maps the demographic trends of this diverse, rapidly growing group of students and highlights state policies that support English-learners.
January 14, 2009 - Research Center

Qualifications of the Mathematics and Science Teacher Labor Force
Recent findings of the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study, or TIMSS, show that although U.S. 4th and 8th graders scored above the international average on both mathematics and science assessments, its relative position compared to other countries did not change much over time, with the U.S. still lagging far behind top-performing countries.
January 6, 2009 - Research Center

Achievement Gap between Disabled and Nondisabled Students
While various studies have shown that students with different learning disabilities have benefitted academically from curricula and teaching methods tailored to meet their needs, most research finds significant achievement gaps between disabled and nondisabled students.
December 24, 2008 - Research Center

State Health and Physical Education Graduation Requirements
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the prevalence of childhood obesity in all age groups has increased two-fold over the last two decades. Advocates have recommended that schools offer classes on health and physical education courses as a way to promote a healthier lifestyle among the nation’s youths.
December 17, 2008 - Research Center

Policy Changes Brought About by P-16 Councils
As cross-sector collaborations of education, government, business, and community leaders, state P-16 councils aim to better align educational institutions from preschool through postsecondary.
December 10, 2008 - Research Center

Fluctuating Funding for Students
When creating their budgets, many school administrators are faced with the challenge of inconsistent per-pupil funding levels from year to year. The EPE Research Center explores that phenomenon by examining changes in statewide per-pupil expenditures from the 2001-02 through 2004-05 school years.
December 2, 2008 - Research Center

Policies to Build School Building Quality
Such factors as teacher experience and qualifications or curricular standards are among the key elements of a school’s educational climate. But the physical conditions of school buildings and facilities also play a role in shaping a child’s educational experience.
November 18, 2008 - Research Center

State Regulations on Out-of-Field and Uncertified Teachers
Due to difficulties in staffing targeted subject areas, school administrators often find themselves forced to assign teachers to positions or subject areas for which they may not be certified. In order to address this problem, some states have implemented policies to regulate the numbers of out-of-field and uncertified teachers in all K-12 schools.
November 12, 2008 - Research Center

Which Subjects do State Exit Exams Test?
Some critics have argued that focusing on a narrow set of subjects effectively marginalizes the attention devoted to other parts of the curriculum. The content of state exit exams offers one barometer to gauge the emphasis placed on various subject areas by the states.
November 5, 2008 - Research Center

Multiple Yardsticks for Measuring Proficiency
Although data from state testing programs show increasing proportions of students reaching or surpassing the proficiency bar, some experts question the validity of such gains. Those results have raised eyebrows, in part, because trend lines are rising much more rapidly on state-developed tests than on the U.S. Department of Education’s National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), also known as The Nation’s Report Card.
October 29, 2008 - Research Center

Earning Career and Technical Endorsements in High School
To help ensure that non-college-going graduates are prepared for the demands of the labor market, some states offer students the opportunity to earn career-technical endorsements as they work towards their high school diplomas
October 23, 2008 - Research Center

States Work to Reduce Class Size
Many teachers, parents, and policy makers see reducing class size as a way to improve how students learn and teachers instruct. In comparison with students in larger classes, various studies suggest that students enrolled in small classes tend to interact more with their teachers, exhibit more pro-social behavior, and have higher achievement scores.
October 15, 2008 - Research Center

How Affordable is College?
Few would dispute the economic, educational, and social advantages a college education can offer. Those benefits, however, must be weighed against the costs of postsecondary education, which have risen significantly in recent years. Quality Counts 2007 reported an analysis of college costs based on data from the federal Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System.
October 8, 2008 - Research Center

Racial Inequality in Computer Access?
The EPE Research Center explored student access to instructional computers by calculating the number of computers available for a typical classroom (about 16 students at the primary level) and compared those results for schools with high versus low concentrations of racial and ethnic minority students .
October 1, 2008 - Research Center

Few States Survey Teachers on School Climate
Student performance data, a central feature of school report cards, has become the major basis for educational accountability decisions in recent years. Even with that rise of performance-based accountability, other key factors influencing student achievement—school learning environment, teacher working conditions—have received scant public attention.
September 24, 2008 - Research Center

Most States Have Technology Standards for Teachers
Proponents of educational technology have argued that teachers who are themselves competent users of instructional technology can deliver more innovative lessons in the classroom, increase the capacity of their students to use technology, and ultimately facilitate student learning.
September 17, 2008 - Research Center

Charter Schools on the Rise
As the nation’s educators and reformers seek promising approaches to improving the nation’s schools, the profile of charter schools continues to rise.
September 10, 2008 - Research Center

A Poverty Gap in Access to Computers?
Analysts often quantify the impact of socioeconomic inequalities within education by examining differential patterns of school inputs and outputs (such as per-pupil funding levels and test scores, respectively). However, inequalities can also be reflected in discrepancies related to instructional practice and learning tools, one example being student access to instructional computers.
September 3, 2008 - Research Center

Encouraging Teachers to Work in Hard-to-Staff Assignments
In order to help bolster teacher retention rates and fill subject-specific teacher shortages, some states are offering incentives to teachers who agree to work in targeted teaching-assignment areas.
August 27, 2008 - Research Center

State Policies Ensuring School Readiness
In the U.S., children typically start their formal education around the age of five. With increased attention to the performance of even the youngest students, many states are enacting policies to ensure students arrive at school prepared to succeed on day one.
August 20, 2008 - Research Center

Increasing Equality with Wealth Neutral School Financing
The majority of local school funding is determined by property taxes; thus, school districts in wealthier areas are traditionally able to raise more funds than schools in poorer areas. Because some scholars and policy makers believe that the amount of money spent per student is tied to academic achievement, many states have made efforts to make their school funding wealth neutral.
August 13, 2008 - Research Center

How Often are Teachers Evaluated?
All but seven states and the District of Columbia formally evaluate teachers for their performance in the classroom. Although such evaluations occur on a periodic basis, some states require that they occur more frequently than others.
August 6, 2008 - Research Center

Few Students Reaching Highest Levels in Math, Science
An EPE Research Center analysis of data from the 2005 National Assessment of Educational Progress shows that few students are reaching the highest levels of achievement in math and science.
July 30, 2008 - Research Center

Supplementary Resources for Teachers of Core Subjects
In Quality Counts 2008, the EPE Research Center found that most states supplement their academic content standards by providing teachers in core academic subjects with resources or guides to help them implement those standards.
July 23, 2008 - Research Center

Guaranteeing Postsecondary Admission
Only 20 states have enacted policies to help pregnant or parenting students, a population considered to be at-risk of dropping out of school.
July 16, 2008 - Research Center

States Provide Supplementary Resources for Diverse Student Populations
In Quality Counts 2008, the Editorial Projects in Education Research Center found that a majority of states provide supplementary resources or guides to support state academic standards for teachers of special needs students, yet fewer than half of the states in the country provide teachers of gifted and talented students with supplementary resources.
July 9, 2008 - Research Center

Rewarding High School Achievement with Merit-Based Aid
Many states use merit-based aid as a way to attract high school graduates with demonstrated academic achievement to pursue higher education in their home states.
July 2, 2008 - Research Center

State-Reported Graduation Rates at Variance with Independent Calculations
Under current U.S. Department of Education regulations, states can exercise considerable latitude in choosing methods to calculate high school graduation rates under the No Child Left Behind Act. Most states use calculation methods that tend to produce inflated graduation rates by including unreliable dropout data in their formulas.
June 25, 2008 - Research Center

1.23 Million Students Fail to Graduate in the Class of 2008
High school graduates earn higher annual incomes, commit fewer crimes, and have lower rates of substance abuse than those without a high school diploma. Yet, according to Diplomas Count 2008 a student is lost from the graduation pipeline every 13 seconds of the school year.
June 18, 2008 - Research Center

States with P-16 or P-20 Councils
As reported in Diplomas Count 2008, 38 states have a P-16 or P-20 council and two of these states—Louisiana and Pennsylvania—have two state-level councils.
June 11, 2008 - Research Center

Providing Tools for Ongoing Assessments
Formative assessments and item banks are two tools teachers can use throughout the year to check their students’ progress against benchmarks of knowledge and understanding. The EPE Research Center found that 21 states provide educators with formative assessments and/or item banks linked to state standards for the 2007-08 school year.
June 4, 2008 - Research Center

Regional Cost Differences in Education
Compared to unadjusted per-pupil expenditures (PPEs), the Research Center found that in the 2004-05 school year, the difference between cost-adjusted and unadjusted PPEs was more than $1,000 in 12 states.
May 28, 2008 - Research Center

Some States Make Working in Hard Schools Easier
The EPE Research Center found that 20 states offer incentives to teachers in hard-to-staff assignments for the 2007-2008 school year.
May 21, 2008 - Research Center

Preschool Enrollment Varies Across States
On average, about half of the nation’s 3- and 4-year-olds are enrolled in preschool programs, yet enrollment is not uniform across states.
May 14, 2008 - Research Center

Few States Test Students on Technology Skills
A survey conducted by the EPE Research Center found that only five states during the 2007-2008 school year test students on technology skills.
May 7, 2008 - Research Center

State Policies Toward Pregnant and Parenting Teens
Only 20 states have enacted policies to help pregnant or parenting students, a population considered to be at-risk of dropping out of school.
April 28, 2008 - Research Center

In-Field Teaching Assignments in Mathematics
On average, about 40 percent of U.S. mathematics teachers did not major in mathematics in college.
April 7, 2008 - Research Center

Help Wanted: School Psychologists
Only seven states have policies that recommend a ratio of students per school psychologist.
March 27, 2008 - Research Center

State Policies Related to School Violence
Many states choose to address serious problems of school violence through policy and program adoption.
March 24, 2008 - Research Center

Failing School Finance in the West: A Continental Divide
States run the gamut in the number of sanctions they have adopted as state policy for low-performing Title I schools.
March 11, 2008 - Research Center

Sanctions and Low-Performing Schools
States run the gamut in the number of sanctions they have adopted as state policy for low-performing Title I schools.
March 5, 2008 - Research Center

Will NCLB Go Green?
The No Child Left Inside campaign tells NCLB to go green.
February 22, 2008 - Research Center

State Policies on School Leadership Preparation
Most states have standards for school administrators, but only 14 states require administrators to participate in mentoring programs.
February 8, 2008 - Research Center

Evaluating Teachers
Many scholars suggest that evaluating teachers is one way to insure quality instruction. But how many states have meaningful policies in place?
January 25, 2008 - Research Center

Mentoring Support for New Teachers
Some states are more active than others in terms of the different types of standards they have implemented related to their mentoring requirements.
January 14, 2008 - Research Center

Few States Require Promotion Exams
Nearly ten years ago President Bill Clinton called for an end to social promotions. Yet few states have adopted promotion exams as a means to this end.
January 2, 2008 - Research Center

Making Room for the Arts
Under the No Child Left Behind Act, many school districts have increased their focus on reading and mathematics at the expense of other subjects. But some states appear to consider exposure to the arts an important component of college readiness.
December 13, 2007 - Research Center

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