Preparing all students to succeed in today’s increasingly global economy and complex world requires a shift from a teacher-centric culture to learner-centered instruction, according to a new report from the Alliance for Excellent Education. This report examines the characteristics of learner-centered instruction and the support that educators and schools will require to make such an approach work. It argues that a learner-centered approach will not succeed without a cultural shift throughout the education system that includes maximizing the potential of digital learning to meet students’ needs.

The eleven state applications approved by the federal government for waivers under the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act vary in the degree to which “deeper learning” skills are reflected in the standards, accountability systems, professional development, and teacher evaluations, according to a new policy brief written by the Alliance for Excellent Education. The brief argues that deeper learning provides students with the deep content knowledge they need to succeed after high school and the skills that today’s jobs demand. To ensure that deeper learning competencies are better reflected in state plans, the brief offers recommendations to policymakers

In each state, between 41 percent and 91 percent of the homeless students identified by the U.S. Department of Education (ED) are not considered homeless by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Nationwide, as many as 715,238 homeless students fall into a bureaucratic gap between HUD and ED. This is because ED, HUD, and other federal agencies have different definitions of homelessness, which creates a this barrier to serving vulnerable homeless children/youth and their families. This fact sheet outlines the differences and explains how the U.S. Congress can close this gap between federal agencies by passing the Homeless Children and Youth Act (H.R. 32). The fact sheet also includes a state-by-state chart of the percentage of students who are considered homeless by ED but not by HUD.

Literacy is one of the most critical components of academic success, but the majority of students are leaving high school without the reading and writing skills needed to succeed in college and a career. According to ACT, fewer than 40 percent of black and Latino students are ready for college-level reading when they graduate from high school. This policy brief describes two state-led initiatives—the English language arts common core state standards, and comprehensive birth-through-grade-twelve state literacy plans—to help all young people attain the advanced literacy skills needed to succeed in the modern world. It concludes with a set of policy recommendations to invest fully in efforts to catalyze nationwide improvements in literacy achievement.

These state cards provide a statistical snapshot of high schools for each state in the nation and the District of Columbia. The cards include economic information, data on high school graduation and college completion rates, academic achievement, and states’ progress in building a longitudinal data system. Where applicable, statewide numbers are compared to the national average and include national rankings. Click here to access the card for your state or the District of Columbia. A national card is also available.

Nationally, millions of students in grades 7–12 are at risk of dropping out of high school because of low literacy skills, poor attendance, and class failure. The absence of a college- and career-ready education for these students is a civil rights and social justice issue that the federal government cannot ignore. Unfortunately, many of these students come from groups that are underserved and underrepresented, therefore failing to ensure that they receive a high quality education  will continue a cycle of poverty and disenfranchisement that the education system itself is intended to disrupt. This fact sheet provides information and policy issues for high school students of color and Native students in the United States, a group that makes up a significant portion of high school dropouts each year.

In November 2011, eleven states submitted applications to the U.S. Department of Education (ED) for waivers from key provisions of the No Child Left Behind Act. Although the waiver process presents an opportunity to strengthen college and career readiness among the nation’s high school students, this analysis by the Alliance for Excellent Education finds that many state applications could have the unintended consequence of weakening high school graduation rate accountability. High school graduation rates account for 14 percent to 30 percent of state accountability indexes. With graduation rates counting for such a small portion of the overall accountability indexes, schools could have an incentive to push out low-achieving students in order to increase overall scores on achievement tests and other measures of college and career readiness.

This report outlines how digital learning can connect middle and high school students with better teaching and learning experiences while also addressing three major challenges facing the nation’s education system—access to good teaching, tight budgets, and boosting student achievement. But simply slapping a netbook on top of a textbook will not lead to improvements. Effective educational technology strategies must link the “Three Ts”—teaching, technology, and use of time—with overall whole-school reform strategies and proven pedagogical practices to accelerate the pace of improvement and ensure that all students benefit from the opportunity that digital learning offers.

The nation's workforce is demanding ever more literate workers and citizens. As technology advances and the American economy grows increasingly knowledge based, individuals must be able to read, write, and communicate at higher levels in order to remain economic and social contributors. A student’s level of literacy is a critical determinant of success in secondary school and beyond. Currently, more than half of America’s secondary students struggle to read their textbooks and other course materials. Still, research demonstrates that adolescents’ literacy levels can improve with intensive, comprehensive instruction.

Nationally, only 27 percent of recovered dropouts are expected to complete a postsecondary degree after earning a high school diploma. This is an unacceptably low rate given that in today’s knowledge-based economy, a high school diploma just is not enough for workers looking to fill a job that can comfortably support a family. This state-by-state and national data builds on the Alliance's previous work that estimates the economic benefits if half of the high school dropouts from the Class of 2010 were to have graduated. This new data goes to the next level and illustrates the significant economic benefits that the nation and each state could see if 60 percent of those “new graduates” were to earn a degree beyond high school, meeting the national goal for postsecondary completion.