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The U.S. Department of Education's Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education (OCTAE) funded Manhattan Strategy Group and Abt Associates to conduct the Advancing Innovation in Adult Education project. The goal is to inspire and promote the development and use of innovate approaches in adult education that can result in high quality services and positive outcomes for adult learners. The five adult education practices highlighted in this report provide integrated education and training program as well as bridge services that support adults' development of the knowledge, skills, and abilities they need to enroll and be successful in postsecondary education or occupational training, earn short-term credentials, and obtain employment. The programs, which are part of local school districts, have developed strong partnerships with a range of stakeholders, including community and technical colleges, universities, workforce development providers, and employers. The five practices and the programs in which they are being implemented include: (1) Bridges to Careers Expansion, Rochester Adult Literacy at Hawthorne, Rochester, Minnesota; (2) Career Pathways, South Bay Adult School, Redondo Beach, California; (3) Certified Clinical Medical Assistant (CCMA), Jennings County Education Center, North Vernon, Indiana; (4) Connections 101, Great Falls College and Career Readiness Center, Great Falls, Montana; and and (5) PluggedIn Virginia (PIVA) Boot Camp, Peninsula Regional Education Program, Newport News, Virginia. This compendium describes the project's criteria for the selection of innovative practices, and provides context for the practices that were selected and profiles each of the innovative practices.

The full financial impact of COVID-19 is now unfolding for school districts, and it is a story of much more than PPE, hand sanitizer, and laptops. Looking ahead at the bigger picture, we see that the magnitude of cost pressures to come will far outweigh even the costs that districts have incurred to date. Particularly for large, urban school districts, COVID-19 has greatly exacerbated the "triple squeeze" of rising costs, declining revenue, and greater student need -- challenges that districts were contending with even before the pandemic struck. In this brief, we discuss our emerging perspectives on the long-term financial impacts of COVID-19 and implications for education leaders at all levels. This framework and early analysis can be used as a starting point for the field to engage in ongoing dialogue about each component of the challenge and to identify the actions needed from district, state, and federal leaders to turn a year of crisis into a moment for meaningful transformation.

In most K-12 school districts across the country, the beginning of the 2021-22 school year has been different from what school and district leaders expected and were planning for. Many spent the spring and summer sowing the seeds of their ESSER plans, allocating federal investments to high-impact strategies designed to bear fruit for years to come. The most planful districts have struggled to get their COVID-recovery work moving, let alone efforts to redesign existing policies and structures so all students can learn and thrive. The most equity-minded leaders are grappling with how to allocate more resources to the places with the greatest needs when funding may be boosted, but staff are already stretched to their limits and everyone is in need. The good news is that there is a path forward. Through work with dozens of district partners Education Resource Strategies have seen both the exponential challenges facing districts right now and the range of effective solutions leaders are employing to tend to their gardens while also responding thoughtfully to the fires igniting in front of them. For those trying to balance doing both, the following five actions are offered in this report: (1) Prioritize your plan; (2) Deliberately protect the resources you need -- people, time, and money -- for the strategies you decide to pursue; (3) Create accountability for implementing and improving your narrowed set of priorities; (4) Address the fires in ways that can advance your efforts to build toward sustainable recovery and redesign strategies in your original plans; and (5) Create the space and systems that allow for mindfulness, wellness checks, and other supports for those doing the work.

We all want our schools to be safe, inviting and positive places for all students. Unfortunately, that isn't always the case. We are grappling with a history of systemic racism and police brutality against Black Americans in our country--a national reckoning that is playing out in our schools, too. As the research base grows on the negative impacts of over-policing in schools, particularly for Black students, there is mounting pressure for districts to cut ties with police departments in favor of other investments to create the safe, welcoming, and supportive school climates that we want for all students. This "emerging insights" brief aims to support districts in engaging with 3 important questions, naming some of the common challenges and opportunities, to ultimately help align resource use to vision. We explore each key questions in more detail, sharing observations from more than 15 years of experience helping school systems transform how they use their resources to better support students, as well as learnings from existing research in the field, initial conversations with district leaders, and insights from our comparative financial database of over 25 districts.

Nearly half of the 907 public school districts tracked by Education Week opened school fully remote this year. This includes more than three-quarters of the nation's largest districts, which serve high proportions of students with the greatest learning and social-emotional needs stemming from the pandemic. Now, many district leaders are working feverishly to determine if they can transition to some in-person learning for their students as the school year goes on. For more than six months, our team at Education Resource Strategies (ERS) has partnered closely with eight large school districts in developing prototypes, models and tools to support district planning, grounded in guiding principles. From that work, we have now zeroed in on three challenging questions that will have an outsized impact on student and educator experiences in a transition to any in-person school: (1) What should be our next step--hybrid or in-person?; (2) How do we meet the needs of in-person and remote students simultaneously?; and (3) How should we handle teacher opt-outs from in-person instruction?

A school facility's quality and accessibility have important impacts on schools' functionality to serve as places of high-quality education. While these challenges are familiar to most schools in the United States, charter schools are responsible for acquiring and paying for their educational facilities, a responsibility that local school districts usually complete for traditional public schools. This report is designed to inform the public of the current state of charter school facilities, focusing on areas directly related to school operations: (1) access to facilities, including facility acquisition and ownership; and (2) facility funding and financing. It begins with a description of the role charter schools play within the U.S. public school system and a broader discussion of public school facilities in the United States. Next, it describes charter schools' access to suitable facilities, including the processes related to charter facilities acquisition. In addition, it discusses the mechanisms used to fund and finance charter school facilities. Lastly, the report concludes with a discussion of four key findings relevant to the current state of charter school facilities and identifies gaps in the existing literature where further research is needed.

With the new school year now well under way, staff, students and families are still in desperate need of a clear strategic direction and set of tools for promoting equity and excellence in a moment of crisis. Nationally, we see school systems stepping up in new ways to provide this clarity, and seizing the moment afforded by these unusual circumstances to experiment with radically new models of decision-making, community engagement, school scheduling and staffing and instructional delivery. How? This paper makes the case that the key to districts making progress towards equity and excellence amidst so much uncertainty is a "whole-system approach to continuous learning and improvement." We also provide seven concrete action steps that district leaders can take right away this school year to begin to take such an approach, and we provide a template dashboard to track and measure that work.

Charter school authorizers (authorizers) that are committed to fostering high-quality charter school options for all students have an imperative to understand the nature of school distress and failure. Authorizers and other stakeholders need to be able to identify and understand schools experiencing distress, long before a state accountability grade designates a school as "failing." In theory, the charter school sector relies somewhat on market forces and family choice to remove unsuccessful schools from the educational ecosystem. However, research shows only roughly 5% of academically underperforming schools are closed annually, on average. When schools are allowed to decline to a point that closure becomes the only option, the disruption of school closure and student mobility often exacerbate the negative effects on students. Rather than wait until a school fails, authorizers may have the ability to identify schools in distress at a much earlier stage. Authorizers often have access to data that allows them to recognize a school in distress at a stage when successful, manageable interventions are possible and the trajectory of hundreds or thousands of students can be improved. While policy contexts and appetites for various interventions and supports will vary for different authorizers, all authorizers can benefit from understanding the leading indicators that often precede a school's decline before decline has affected lagging performance indicators. These early warning signs of a school in trouble provide a good starting point for flagging schools that may need guidance, supports, or simply a more thorough review. Based on the needs of the field, the National Charter School Resource Center (NCSRC) sought to identify and describe characteristics observed in schools experiencing difficulty in achieving the ESEA's definition of a high-quality charter school. This is call these early warning signs indicators of distress. This report provides the indicators of distress authorizers regularly encounter as a school's quality begins to decline. [For "Identifying Indicators of Distress in Charter Schools, Part 2: The Roles and Perspectives of Charter School Leaders and Board Members," see ED616211. For the related toolkit, "Identifying Indicators of Distress in Charter Schools: Tools to Support Authorizer Data Collection," see ED616212.]

Because returning to in-person instruction too soon and without comprehensive health and safety measures will lead to dire risks and consequences, many districts are choosing to start off the 2020-21 school year fully remote. However, districts can still leverage this period of fully-remote time as an opportunity to proactively address the complicated details that are sure to arise when it becomes time to gradually transition into safely serving more students in person. "The Economics of Remote to In-Person School Transitions" outlines four starting points and shares sample analysis of three key design levers that district leadership teams can use to help plan and implement these transitions when the time is right for their context.

In the wake of COVID-19, school systems face a daunting set of challenges as they plan for the 2020-2021 school year -- including meeting students' increased academic and social-emotional needs, implementing physical distancing requirements, and grappling with significant revenue loss. School systems must prepare for the 2020-2021 school year with an integrated decision-making process that responds to these new challenges in an aligned way. As part of closing out the current fiscal year, school systems should critically evaluate both the impact of COVID-19 on their net fiscal position and any remaining levers to maximize savings this year. Accurate and updated projects are crucial for informing difficult decisions about spending reductions next year, and given the magnitude of forecasted revenue loses, every dollar that school systems can save now is a dollar less that will need to be cut later. In this ERS Briefing, we explore the key decisions districts faced during their COVID-19 response and how subsequent areas of spending and saving impacted systems' end-of-year financial position. We share these findings to shed light on the magnitude of what can be expected from school systems' savings (and why), to help district leaders identify remaining options for increasing savings during the current fiscal year, and to inform state appropriations and policy for FY21.

The charter school sector currently serves more than 3.2 million students in more than 7,000 schools. In addition, 45 states, DC, Guam, and Puerto Rico have charter school laws. While the sector has experienced tremendous growth, the acquisition and financing of adequate school facilities continues to be a major barrier for school operators and continued growth. This report reviewed recent developments and data in public school enrollment, demographic and population change, real estate dynamics, and charter school facilities finance to identify three key trends that are likely to impact the charter school facilities landscape for the next 5-10 years. Some trends will provide new opportunities for charter schools -- while others will create challenges that are likely to require creative solutions. The key trends identified in this report are: (1) geographic and population changes will continue to impact the charter school sector and facilities landscape; (2) charter schools are likely to benefit from a more mature facilities finance market; and (3) changing academic strategies, including community partnerships and 21st century career preparation, will likely create the need for more innovative facilities models.

The 2019 Student Opportunity Act creates a once-in-a-generation moment for Massachusetts students: the Commonwealth has committed $1.5 billion dollars over seven years to make good on the promise that best-in-the-nation education can be a reality for all Massachusetts children, especially English learners and students from low-income families. But daily demands don't evaporate with expanded funding, and it can be difficult for district leaders to know: can we really afford the kinds of changes that will transform school for our kids? Our team at ERS examined real Massachusetts districts to test what's possible with expanded SOA funding. Using state funding allocations and school data, we found a set of strategies to support new teachers, give attention to students who are struggling, and help kids build the social-emotional skills to succeed -- all made possible by funds districts didn't have a year ago. This briefing shares strategic practices that take advantage of this moment to make big changes and help students succeed.

In turnaround schools, traditional approaches to school improvement (and some say, even the recent seven billion dollar federal investment in school improvement) aren't enough -- but why? Schools that successfully achieve turnaround "do school" differently to break cycles of underperformance and maximize learning for all students, and they do so with district support. In our new briefing, we explore a model for how schools and districts can rethink their use of resources to drive and sustain school turnaround, with stories from four school districts (San Francisco, Denver, Memphis and Miami) that put these strategies into action with promising results.

Louisiana was one of the 10 states selected to participate in New Skills for Youth (NSFY). NSFY, launched by JPMorgan Chase & Co. in 2016, is a $75 million, five-year initiative, aimed at strengthening and expanding high-quality career pathways for youth. As part of this initiative, the Council of Chief State School Officers, Advance CTE, and Education Strategy Group worked with states to improve their career readiness systems. This snapshot profiles the work Louisiana did to enhance its career readiness system across the entire NSFY initiative. Between 2016 and 2019, Louisiana: (1) Continuously improved the Jump Start program: Through NSFY, Louisiana improved Jump Start, which aligns K-12 Career Technical Education (CTE) with the state's economic development strategies; (2) Developed and implemented the CTE Leadership Academy: Recognizing that high-quality CTE opportunities in the state also require effective CTE leaders, Louisiana launched the CTE Leadership Academy; (3) Implemented a micro-industry engagement strategy: Louisiana implemented a technology-based strategy to increase equity and access to work-based learning, especially for students in remote areas; and (4) Expanded access to work-based learning: Through Jump Start Summers and the Building Employment Skills for Tomorrow (BEST) program, Louisiana greatly expanded onsite work-based learning opportunities for high school students. [For the summary report, see ED602101.]

Massachusetts was one of the 10 states selected to participate in New Skills for Youth (NSFY). NSFY, launched by JPMorgan Chase & Co. in 2016, is a $75 million, five-year initiative, aimed at strengthening and expanding high-quality career pathways for youth. As part of this initiative, the Council of Chief State School Officers, Advance CTE, and Education Strategy Group worked with states to improve their career readiness systems. This snapshot profiles the work Massachusetts did to enhance its career readiness system across the entire NSFY initiative. Between 2016 and 2019, Massachusetts: (1) Designed and launched a college and career pathways designation program: Following recommendations from the Early College Joint Committee in 2017, the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) and Department of Higher Education designed and launched a new initiative to expand access to high-quality college and career pathways (HQCCPs); (2) Consolidated and coordinated workforce planning: In Massachusetts, cross-agency workforce development efforts are coordinated by the governor's Workforce Skills Cabinet, which includes leadership from the Executive Offices of Education, Labor and Workforce Development, and Housing and Economic Development; and (3) Refreshed college and career advising across the commonwealth: DESE developed a new college and career advising framework that focuses on career development and college and career planning in grades 9-12. [For the summary report, see ED602101.]

Kentucky was one of the 10 states selected to participate in New Skills for Youth (NSFY). NSFY, launched by JPMorgan Chase & Co. in 2016, is a $75 million, five-year initiative, aimed at strengthening and expanding high-quality career pathways for youth. As part of this initiative, the Council of Chief State School Officers, Advance CTE, and Education Strategy Group worked with states to improve their career readiness systems. This snapshot profiles the work Kentucky did to enhance its career readiness system across the entire NSFY initiative. Between 2016 and 2019, Kentucky: (1) Fully aligned all career pathways with labor market priorities: Kentucky transformed and phased out virtually every career pathway that was not well aligned with labor market demand; (2) Implemented the regional career academy model: Kentucky converted shared-time area technical centers and locally operated career and technical centers into regional career academies--full-time schools where students receive both academic and career instruction--to remove barriers to access for learners; (3) Improved CTE teacher induction and support: In 2017, Kentucky upgraded its New Teacher Institute program to provide more consistent supports to increase educator retention rates, especially in low-income and rural areas lacking professional development infrastructure for teachers; and (4) Expanded access to dual credit opportunities aligned to learners' career pathways: The commonwealth moved to reduce barriers to entry for dual credit opportunities and minimize "random acts of dual credit." [For the summary report, see ED602101.]

Nevada was one of the 10 states selected to participate in New Skills for Youth (NSFY). NSFY, launched by JPMorgan Chase & Co. in 2016, is a $75 million, five-year initiative, aimed at strengthening and expanding high-quality career pathways for youth. As part of this initiative, the Council of Chief State School Officers, Advance CTE and Education Strategy Group worked with states to improve their career readiness systems. This snapshot profiles the work Nevada did to enhance its career readiness system across the entire NSFY initiative. Between 2016 and 2019, Nevada: (1) Designed and implemented the college- and career-ready (CCR) high school diploma: Nevada's efforts to transform its career readiness system were structured around a new high school diploma authorized by the Legislature in 2017; (2) Built the infrastructure to scale work-based learning opportunities statewide: Throughout the NSFY initiative, Nevada worked to formalize and coordinate work-based learning activities and expand opportunities to learners across the state; and (3) Completed a comprehensive career pathways audit: Under then-Governor Brian Sandoval, Nevada took aggressive action to strengthen its current and future workforce and diversify its economy by strengthening high-growth "New Nevada" sectors such as advanced manufacturing, information technology, education and health care. [For the Impact Summary, see ED602101.]

Oklahoma was one of the 10 states selected to participate in New Skills for Youth (NSFY). NSFY, launched by JPMorgan Chase & Co. in 2016, is a $75 million, five-year initiative, aimed at strengthening and expanding high-quality career pathways for youth. As part of this initiative, the Council of Chief State School Officers, Advance CTE, and Education Strategy Group worked with states to improve their career readiness systems. This snapshot profiles the work Oklahoma did to enhance its career readiness system across the entire NSFY initiative. Between 2016 and 2019, Oklahoma: (1) Implemented and scaled Individual Career and Academic Planning (ICAP): With the passage of House Bill (H.B.) 2155 in May 2017, Oklahoma began implementing ICAP, a statewide system of career and academic planning for grades six through 12 that was integrated into state graduation requirements beginning with the graduating class of 2023; (2) Enhanced the state accountability system: Oklahoma updated its state accountability system in 2017 to value career readiness achievements in school and district report cards; (3) Developed the Oklahoma Edge website and online learning community: To support its holistic approach to career planning, Oklahoma developed an information- and resource-sharing platform for students, parents, educators and businesses; and (4) Expanded teacher externships: Oklahoma expanded teacher externship programs, which provide worksite placements for teachers that allow them to gain hands-on experiences and later impart the knowledge gained to their students. [For the summary report, see ED602101.]

Delaware was one of the 10 states selected to participate in New Skills for Youth (NSFY). NSFY, launched by JPMorgan Chase & Co. in 2016, is a $75 million, five-year initiative, aimed at strengthening and expanding high-quality career pathways for youth. As part of this initiative, the Council of Chief State School Officers, Advance CTE, and Education Strategy Group worked with states to improve their career readiness systems. This snapshot profiles the work Delaware did to enhance its career readiness system across the entire NSFY initiative. Between 2016 and 2019, Delaware: (1) Grew the Delaware Pathways program: Delaware expanded the Delaware Pathways program, the statewide system of career pathways for youth, as well as training opportunities for educators and community-based partners to ensure the success of career pathway implementation; (2) Scaled and operationalized work-based learning across the state: To provide more options for career readiness, Delaware prioritized the expansion of work-based learning and pre-apprenticeship opportunities for K-12 students; (3) Supported students with disabilities to increase enrollment and success in career pathways: Delaware developed a new framework to strengthen supports for learners with disabilities, who make up 14 percent of the high school population in the state, to ensure that they can access and succeed in career pathways; and (4) Established statewide industry councils: To deepen the connections already formed between education and industry, Delaware began convening statewide industry councils in 2018. [For the summary report, see ED602101.]

Rhode Island was one of the 10 states selected to participate in New Skills for Youth (NSFY). NSFY, launched by JPMorgan Chase & Co. in 2016, is a $75 million, five-year initiative, aimed at strengthening and expanding high-quality career pathways for youth. As part of this initiative, the Council of Chief State School Officers, Advance CTE and Education Strategy Group worked with states to improve their career readiness systems. This snapshot profiles the work Rhode Island did to enhance its career readiness system across the entire NSFY initiative. Between 2016 and 2019, Rhode Island: (1) Refreshed all statewide Career Technical Education (CTE) standards and aligned state funding with industry priorities: To ensure that all CTE programs are aligned with industry expectations for entry-level work, the state's Career and Technical Education Board of Trustees created CTE standards in 57 career pathways across 13 high-priority sectors; (2) Established a statewide work-based learning intermediary: One of Rhode Island's major accomplishments was operationalizing work-based learning across the state through a statewide intermediary, Skills for Rhode Island's Future; (3) Expanded equitable access to high-quality career pathways: In 2018, RIDE launched a new program called CTE Innovation and Equity Grants to reach under-served students; and (4) Seeded local innovation through a network of PrepareRI ambassadors: To foster local innovation, RIDE organized a network of teachers, administrators and school leaders to serve as PrepareRI ambassadors in their communities. [For the Impact Summary, see ED602101.]

Wisconsin was one of the 10 states selected to participate in New Skills for Youth (NSFY). NSFY, launched by JPMorgan Chase & Co. in 2016, is a $75 million, five-year initiative, aimed at strengthening and expanding high-quality career pathways for youth. As part of this initiative, the Council of Chief State School Officers, Advance CTE and Education Strategy Group worked with states to improve their career readiness systems. This snapshot profiles the work Wisconsin did to enhance its career readiness system across the entire NSFY initiative. Between 2016 and 2019, Wisconsin: (1) Designed and launched Pathways Wisconsin: Pathways Wisconsin is supported by regional coordinators who work with employers, K-12 and postsecondary leaders and other key stakeholders to develop career pathways that are approved at the state level; (2) Engaged employers to strengthen regional career pathways: While the state originally planned to identify CEO champions to lead in each region, state leaders soon recognized that a better strategy would be to engage existing networks of employers through the regional economic development organizations; and (3) Enhanced the state data system with Career Technical Education (CTE) data and career readiness indicators: To improve data quality and alignment, the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction integrated CTE data collection into the state's WISEdata student information system. [For the Impact Summary, see ED602101.]

Tennessee was one of the 10 states selected to participate in New Skills for Youth (NSFY). NSFY, launched by JPMorgan Chase & Co. in 2016, is a $75 million, five-year initiative, aimed at strengthening and expanding high-quality career pathways for youth. As part of this initiative, the Council of Chief State School Officers, Advance CTE and Education Strategy Group worked with states to improve their career readiness systems. This snapshot profiles the work Tennessee did to enhance its career readiness system across the entire NSFY initiative. Between 2016 and 2019, Tennessee: (1) Established a statewide career pathways certification program: Tennessee established the Tennessee Pathways Certification, which recognizes career pathways that meet specific criteria for quality; (2) Aligned regions and service delivery across state systems: To address fragmentation across state systems, then-Governor Bill Haslam directed the Department of Education, the Department of Labor and Workforce Development (LWD), and the Department of Economic and Community Development (ECD) to work together to align their service delivery regions and improve coordination; (3) Hired and trained regional coordinators: In 2018, the Tennessee NSFY team hired and trained nine Tennessee Pathways regional coordinators to support the planning and delivery of high-quality career pathways within each of the Tennessee Pathways regions; and (4) Expanded access to early postsecondary opportunities (EPSOs): Throughout the NSFY initiative, Tennessee took steps to expand access to EPSOs for learners. [For the Impact Summary, see ED602101.]

From 2016 through 2019, 10 states strengthened their career readiness systems through the New Skills for Youth initiative (NSFY), a $75 million national investment by JPMorgan Chase & Co. to enhance state efforts to increase the number of learners across the country who are prepared for success in both college and career. As part of this initiative, the Council of Chief State School Officers, Advance CTE, and Education Strategy Group worked with states to improve their career readiness systems. Through NSFY, Delaware, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Nevada, Ohio, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Tennessee, and Wisconsin took action to develop and scale high-quality career pathways, expand access to work-based learning opportunities, strengthen data and accountability to incentivize career readiness, and lay the foundation for sustaining career readiness efforts. This report examines the impact of these states across the entire initiative and highlights the state role in catalyzing and transforming career readiness opportunities for youth.

This analysis provides an initial look at dual enrolled students at Tennessee Board of Regents (TBR) community and technical colleges. Primarily focusing on data from community colleges, this work explores not only which students participate in dual enrollment and in what numbers, but also, for which courses, and with what level of success. We also explore dual enrollment at the Tennessee Colleges of Applied Technology (TCATs), a growing opportunity for TBR colleges to serve high school students through early postsecondary opportunities (EPSOs). The data and analysis presented serves as launching point to begin a broader conversation about student success and potential challenge areas in dual enrollment and other EPSOs.

The correlation between socioeconomic status and academic achievement does not just apply to individual students--the concentration of poverty in schools matters, too. Schools with concentrated poverty require more state funding in order to best serve their students. But it is not just about how much; to be equitable, states must spend enough money on these schools and spend it well. In this paper, we identify four levels of funding equity, assess where states fall on the spectrum, and highlight the importance of strategic resource allocation in achieving equity for all students.

For 21st century workers, success is rapidly being redefined. A high school education is no longer sufficient for high-wage employment, and the path to a postsecondary credential of value can be a convoluted one. Each transition -- from secondary to postsecondary education, from postsecondary education to the workforce, or from adult basic education to postsecondary education -- carries new frictions that can prevent a learner from achieving success. It is incumbent upon state Career Technical Education (CTE) leaders to identify and remove systemic barriers to success and make sure resources, information and training are available to support learner success. This brief, the fifth and final publication in the "Making Good on the Promise" series, examines some of the barriers that limit learner success at all education levels and ways that states can support each learner to complete a program of study and transition successfully along their chosen career pathway. It explores three state strategies: (1) Using data-driven support systems to meet learners' needs; (2) Providing integrated support services to secure wellness, academic preparation and financial stability; and (3) Creating the enabling conditions for successful transitions. This brief was developed through the New Skills for Youth initiative, a partnership of the Council of Chief State School Officers, Advance CTE and Education Strategy Group, generously funded by JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Historically, Career Technical Education (CTE)--once called vocational education--was an alternative educational option for learners who were considered non-college bound. As a result, a disproportionate number of low-income learners, learners of color, learners with disabilities, female learners and other historically marginalized populations were "tracked" into terminal vocational programs that denied their full potential and left them with limited opportunity. Today, the quality of CTE has vastly improved, making it a preferred path for many secondary and postsecondary learners. Yet even today, many learners do not have access to high-quality programs of study in their communities. This brief, the fourth in the "Making Good on the Promise" series, examines strategies state leaders can use to expand CTE opportunities for each learner. Specifically, the brief examines how state leaders can: (1) Secure and leverage resources to close CTE opportunity gaps; (2) Expand geographic access to CTE Opportunities; and (3) Address barriers to entry into CTE programs of study. To help state leaders accomplish this, the brief examines promising strategies that Tennessee, Rhode Island, Ohio, and South Carolina are using to dismantle barriers that prevent learners from accessing high-quality CTE. The "Making Good on the Promise" series is made possible through the New Skills for Youth initiative, a partnership of the Council of Chief State School Officers, Advance CTE and Education Strategy Group, generously funded by JPMorgan Chase & Co.

A strong, well-aligned data system allows State CTE [Career Technical Education] Directors and other state leaders to answer critical questions about the quality of their CTE programs and whether learners are participating and succeeding equitably. But today's state data systems are not meeting the need for data-informed decision making. Eighty-six percent of State CTE Directors believe improving and enhancing their CTE data systems is a priority, but only 45 percent say they have the information they need to assist in making decisions about CTE program quality and other initiatives at both the secondary and postsecondary levels. How can states improve the quality of their data systems so they can make more effective use of their data? This report draws on a national survey of State Directors to answer these critical questions and more. The report finds that: (1) States are hesitant to use their data for high-stakes decision making; (2) CTE data systems are not sufficiently aligned across the secondary, postsecondary and workforce sectors; and (3) Many states rely on self-reported measures of career readiness and do not often use rigorous validation processes. This report comes at an opportune time. The Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act (Perkins V) gives states an opportunity to improve their data systems and make more data-informed decisions. With Perkins V implementation on the horizon, what can states do to improve the quality and effective use of their data?

"Making Career Readiness Count 3.0" provides an analysis of how the 50 states and the District of Columbia are including and incentivizing measures of career readiness in their new accountability systems under ESSA, as well as an analysis of state-level accountability systems in states with dual systems. This report is the result of a collaboration among Achieve, Advance CTE, the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO), and Education Strategy Group (ESG) and is the third report in a series developed through a longstanding partnership between Achieve and Advance CTE (previous versions were released in 2014 and 2016). The report uses the framework outlined in "Destination Known" to classify states' measures of career readiness within the framework's four categories: Progress Toward Post-High School Credential, Co-Curricular Learning and Leadership Experiences, Assessment of Readiness, and Transitions Beyond High School. The report also includes key themes emerging in career readiness and a detailed state-by-state look at how measures of career readiness are included in each state. [For the 2014 report, see ED547272. For the 2016 report, see ED582069.]

With the hopeful prospect of new money before them and the continued pressure to stretch every dollar, school districts face a choice: do more of the same, or seize this moment of change to re-envision schooling to better meet student needs. This means thinking strategically about the resources school systems have and ensuring new funds go toward powerful ideas that will increase student achievement--not toward the same practices and policies that haven't gotten them where they need to be. Education Resource Strategies (ERS) have worked with over 40 urban districts and four state departments of education to analyze how they're using resources--including people, time, and money--and identified better ways to meet student needs. To seize this moment of transformation, district leaders should make two big shifts. First, they should empower strong, redesigned schools. Second, they should strategically invest and organize resources. This report outlines nine key areas where districts should pay particular attention to restructuring: (1) Restructure one-size-fits-all teacher compensation and job structures to foster individual and team effectiveness, and reward contribution and demonstrated effectiveness; (2) Realign investment in professional learning to focus on rigorous, comprehensive curricula and assessments; content-focused, expert-led collaboration; and frequent-growth oriented feedback--rather than one-off workshops; (3) Rethink rigid class sizes and one-teacher classroom models to target individual attention, especially for struggling students; (4) Optimize existing time to meet student and teacher needs and expand as needed; (5) Leverage special education spending to provide early intervention and targeted individual attention for all students; (6) Support and develop leadership teams; (7) Revisit school funding to increase flexibility and match need; (8) Leverage outside partners and technology to maintain or improve quality at lower cost; and (9) Redesign central offices for efficiency and school leader empowerment.

Throughout history, and continuing today, learners of color, low-income learners, female learners and learners with disabilities have been historically tracked into terminal vocational programs leading to jobs with uncertain promise of economic growth and prosperity. As a result, some communities do not view CTE [Career Technical Education] as a viable mechanism to help them achieve their college and career goals. This brief, the third in Advance CTE's "Making Good on the Promise" series, maps out five steps state leaders can take to rebuild trust in marginalized communities that CTE historically failed to serve equitably: (1) Acknowledge that inequity is a problem; (2) Promote a culture that values equity and diversity within the state agency and instructor workforce; (3) Commit to transparency and advancing only high-quality CTE programs of study; (4) Implement strategies to gain buy-in from communities and stakeholders; and (5) Celebrate, lift up and replicate successful programs of study and practices. To help states with these steps, the brief features state examples from Oklahoma, Wisconsin, Massachusetts, Idaho and Nebraska. The "Making Good on the Promise" series is made possible through the New Skills for Youth initiative, a partnership of the Council of Chief State School Officers, Advance CTE and Education Strategy Group, generously funded by JPMorgan Chase & Co.

The fourth school year impacted by the pandemic is more than halfway complete, and school district leaders across the country are working hard to invest remaining ESSER dollars strategically to support learning recovery. With the ESSER spending window closing soon, however, many leaders are spending funds to meet the deadline, rather than continuing to deliberately invest in the evidence-based practices that students need most and that promote long-term sustainability. Fortunately, state legislatures and state education agencies have the power to provide districts and schools with the resources and time they need to ensure students fully recover from pandemic-related disruption. By providing targeted guidance and enacting statutory and regulatory changes, states can--and should--empower districts with more flexible, strategic spending. This brief report looks at the following questions: (1) Why Do Districts Need More Support?; and (2) What Can States Do to Support Districts--Now and Beyond ESSER?