On September 25, 2009, the Alliance for Excellent Education hosted a panel of federal policy leaders to discuss the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA), the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), and the federal government’s role in addressing chronically low-performing high schools.

It is important that all educators have the training, support, and structures in place to use data effectively. At this briefing, we will discuss the kinds of data that are most useful to teachers, the challenges inherent in teachers’ use of data, and the policies that can promote teachers’ use of data to impact student achievement. Our nation cannot afford to be “information poor” any longer; it is time to deliver on the promise of data to improve teaching and learning.

Approximately 120 educators, policymakers, and business and community leaders gathered on June 19 in Denver, Colorado, to learn more about the critical role that adolescent literacy plays in ensuring all students graduate from high school college and career ready and the importance of building a local, state, and national vision for how to help all students acquire these foundational skills. The forum was sponsored by the Alliance for Excellent Education, the Colorado Department of Education, and Denver Public Schools. Speakers included U.S. Senator Michael Bennet (D-CO), Colorado Lieutenant Governor Barbara O’Brien, and Colorado Commissioner of Education Dwight Jones.

Approximately 120 educators, policymakers, and business and community leaders gathered on June 8 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to learn more about the critical role that adolescent literacy plays in preparing students for college and career readiness and the critical nature of building a local, state, and national vision for how to help all students acquire these foundational skills. The event was sponsored by the Alliance for Excellent Education and the Louisiana Department of Education. Speakers included Congressman Rodney Alexander (R-LA), Congressman Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Mayor-President Kip Holden of East Baton Rouge Parish, and Louisiana State Superintendent Paul Pastorek.

Nearly ninety educators, stakeholders, and policymakers gathered April 24 on Capitol Hill to learn about the role of school leaders in preparing secondary school students for success in college, work, and life. The discussion was cohosted by the Alliance for Excellent Education and the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP), and highlighted the achievements of three Breakthrough School principals as examples of this exceptional and much-needed leadership.

A diverse range of educators, administrators, policymakers, and other key stakeholders gathered on April 22, 2009, at Utilizing Student Supports and Alternative Settings for Dropout Prevention: Georgia’s Performance Learning Centers, a forum hosted by the Alliance for Excellent Education, to discuss the implementation and results of Communities in Schools’ Performance Learning Centers (PLCs) in Georgia. The event focused on the challenges of re-engaging students who are at risk of dropping out, how community organizations and school districts can partner to provide the necessary supports to ensure student success, and the implications of these experiences for national and federal efforts aimed at reducing America’s dropout rate.

There is increasing attention being paid to the “next generation” of assessments and what that might mean for federal policy and the reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). This all-day conference explored key issues related to both the development and use of assessments, as well as federal policy implications. This included the development of college- and work-ready assessments, the use of formative assessments, the assessment of English language learners and students with disabilities, the use of assessments for growth models at the high school level, U.S. participation in and use of international assessments, and the role of technology in improving assessments.

On April 10, 2009 the Alliance for Excellent Education, together with the College Success Foundation, sponsored a forum on the role of adolescent literacy in college- and career-readiness, with an emphasis on STEM. Explored during this forum was the role that literacy plays in preparing students successfully for college and work, as well as recognize promising efforts at the local, state, and federal levels to enhance middle and high school literacy. The event also focused on reviewing the latest research, practice, and policy related to adolescent literacy with local and national experts as well as with a broad array of stakeholders.

Over one hundred educators, administrators, policymakers, and other key stakeholders gathered on March 25, 2009 at Accelerated Learning for All: How Access to College Courses Can Help Struggling Students Graduate from High School and Succeed in College and Work, a forum hosted by the Alliance for Excellent Education, to discuss the Early College High School Initiative (funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and coordinated by Jobs For the Future) and the Gateway to College model implemented as part of the initiative.

On March 10, the DQC partners and other national thought-leaders spearheaded a national conversation to: (1) discuss the integral role of data to the national education improvement agenda and how the newly available stimulus funds can be used to improve student achievement and close achievement gaps; (2) celebrate state progress in building longitudinal data systems, (3) explore remaining challenges to the growth and use of these systems; and (4) highlight and discuss the state and federal roles in addressing next generation issues to ensure the use of these new data systems.