policy

This issue is an online supplement to VUE 46, which addressed the topic of performance assessment – a personalized and rigorous alternative to standardized testing that allows teachers to build on individual students’ strengths and foster more equitable learning outcomes.   

VUE 47 adds...

There is growing interest among state and local educational leaders in using performance assessment to develop and assess students’ critical abilities—such as inquiry, communication, and collaboration—that are essential for student success but poorly measured by many traditional assessments. In...

Against a backdrop of the opportunities provided by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) and the challenges for education posed by the new federal administration, this issue of Voices in Urban Education (VUE) proposes performance assessment as a personalized and rigorous alternative to...

The purpose of this study was to: 1) determine the amount of money a typical state would incur to implement a high-quality assessment (HQA) system including performance components in comparison to the amount currently being spent on their state assessment, and 2) determine if various cost-...

High Schools for Equity documents the practices and outcomes of five urban high schools in California that do an extraordinary job of preparing their students for success in higher education, productive careers, and a fulfilling life. The schools, which are non-selective in their admissions and...

This primer is created for state policymakers seeking to modify instruction and assessment policies to better engage today’s students. The primer defines deeper learning, explains how it overlaps with other active learning strategies and describes how it can be, and is being, accomplished at the...

This policy brief describes how four student-centered high schools support student success. In addition, it recommends policy strategies that could sustain schools like these on a much broader scale, so that they become the norm rather than the exception.  The four high schools featured in this...

Students first select and research a policy issue, then a corresponding interest group. Students write a 5 to 6 page proposal to their chosen interest group, suggesting which branch of government the interest group should attempt to influence and explaining why they believe that branch is the...

Although history can repeat itself, leaders and decision makers have the potential to prevent conflict, war, genocide, and social injustice. With a thorough understanding of the complexities of the past and present, globally aware leaders can prevent history from repeating itself. It is...

In this task, students assume the role of a Political Party Research Officer. Their boss (a state Congresswoman) is on her way to a conference on a controversial current issue and the student is tasked with creating a playlist of relevant resources that she can listen to/watch on her ipod while...

This task asks students to write an argumentative essay about which level of government -- federal or state -- should have authority and power when making and executing laws related to a controversial issue.

Students will research an issue of their choice, write an argument in support of...

In this task, students will select and conduct research on an elected official who represents them at the federal level – a member of the House of Representatives or the U.S. Senate.

Students will then choose a relevant issue or a current piece of legislation and convey their viewpoints...