INSEPARABLE IMPERATIVES: Unlocking Academic Potential of Students of Color Key to Future of American Economy, New Alliance Report Finds: As students of color and diverse ethnicities rapidly become the leading population of public school systems in numerous states, closing educational achievement gaps and providing a quality education to all students can secure the United States’s future economic prosperity, according to a new report from the Alliance for Excellent Education. Noting that two-thirds of the U.S. economy is driven by consumer spending, the report, Inseparable Imperatives: Equity in Education and the Future of the American Economy, argues that raising individuals’ education levels will boost their purchasing power and increase the national economy.

WEBINAR: Experts Discuss Equity in Education and the Future of the American Economy: On November 26, the Alliance held a webinar on its new report, Inseparable Imperatives: Equity in Education and the Future of the American Economy. During the webinar, panelists discussed the nation’s shifting demographics and the moral and economic rationale for providing all students—especially students of color and Native students—with a quality education.

CATCHING UP TO COLLEGE AND CAREER READINESS: Performance Gaps Difficult to Close But Not Impossible, New Report Finds: Narrowing performance gaps for low-income students and students of color requires prevention interventions over remediation, a new report from ACT finds. The report, Catching Up to College and Career Readiness, argues it is essential for educators and policymakers to understand the difficulty of preventing and closing gaps to design effective interventions.

U.S. Department of Education Releases State-By-State High School Graduation Rates:On November 26, the U.S. Department of Education released four-year high school graduation rates for the Class of 2011 in forty-seven states  and the District of Columbia, revealing large graduation gaps between white students and students of color, as well as other student subgroups. The report marks the first time that states used a common, rigorous measure to determine high school graduation rates. 

A SYSTEM IN NEED OF REPAIR: Federal Student Financial Aid System Must Be Changed to Focus on Completion, Not Access, Says New Alliance Report: A new report from the Alliance for Excellent Education outlines serious problems with the current federal student financial aid system and calls on policymakers to simplify both the process and the programs and shift the system’s emphasis from simply access to providing the overall support resulting in postsecondary degree completion.

COUNTDOWN TO DLD 2013: Join the Wave of Innovation and Sign Up for Digital Learning Day 2013: On February 6, 2013, the Alliance will hold the second annual Digital Learning Day culminating in a national event webcast live from the Newseum in Washington, DC that will feature premier guests, speakers, and teachers from around the country, as well as state-of-the-art learning resources and tools.

Five States To Reimagine the School Day, Increase Classroom Time by 300 Hours: Five states—Colorado, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York, and Tennessee—will participate in a pilot initiative to extend teaching time by 300 hours over the school year under a $3 million collaborative with the Ford Foundation and the National Center on Time and Learning. Dubbed the Time for Innovative Matters in Education (TIME) collaborative, the effort will give select public schools in the five participating states the time, funds, and opportunity to re-envision a school day that meets the needs of twenty-first-century students, parents, and communities.

Happy Holidays from the Alliance for Excellent Education!:The Alliance for Excellent Education wishes you and yours a happy holiday season and best wishes for the new year!

STEPPING UP: Alliance Launches Major Effort to Inform School District Leaders About Decisions Affecting the Future of Education: While the U.S. Congress must confront crucial economic issues this month, every school, district, and state leader must make critical decisions in the next two years involving digital learning that will shape education for decades, according to a new report from the Alliance for Excellent Education. The report, The Nation’s Schools Are Stepping Up to Higher Standards, identifies four key challenges that public school district leaders must systemically address in the next two years and outlines the essential elements for developing a comprehensive digital strategy.

CALLING ALL DISTRICT LEADERS: Alliance Webinar Focuses on the Need for Systemic Technology Planning to Address Higher Standards: On Thursday, November 15, the Alliance held a webinar featuring early digital learning adopters Ryan Imbriale, principal of Patapsco High School (MD); Brian Lewis, chief executive officer of the International Society for Technology in Education; and Kecia Ray, executive director of learning technologies for Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools. During the webinar, Imbriale and Ray discussed how they are using digital learning in their schools and offered advice on how school and district leaders can help with the successful implementation of the Common Core State Standards in K–12 public schools.

“A SMALL PIECE OF THE STORY”: Schools Receiving School Improvement Grants Show “Positive Momentum and Progress,” New Education Department Data Reveals:While acknowledging that it is too soon to establish a clear connection between School Improvement Grants (SIG) and school performance, new data released on November 19 from the U.S. Department of Education (ED) shows “positive momentum and progress” in many schools that received funds through the SIG program. 

ON SECOND THOUGHT: While Less Positive Than 2008, American Public Believes Obama Can Improve Education in Second Term: Although President Obama was unable to shepherd a rewrite of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act through the U.S. Congress during his first term, he did encourage states to enact education reforms through the Race to the Top competition and provide additional flexibility under NCLB through waivers. However, even though Obama also made investments in education one of the key prongs of his economic plan, the percentage of Americans who believe he can improve education during his second term dropped slightly—from 71 percent in 2008 to 68 percent in 2012—according to a post-election poll by USA Today and Gallup.

FOCUS ON PEOPLE: Creating a Data-Driven Culture a Necessary Step for States, Leaders, New DQC Report Finds: States have made great strides in developing and implementing data systems in their school districts. Now that the technology infrastructure is in place, states need to take action to make the information gleaned from these data systems available and actionable for state and district leaders, educators, and education stakeholders, finds a new report from the Data Quality Campaign (DQC).

“When Is Homework Worth the Time?”: New Study Finds Positive Relationship Between Homework and Standardized Test Scores, but Not Course Grades: Although it found little correlation between the amount of time tenth graders spent on homework and better course grades in math and science, a new study identifies a positive relationship between homework time and standardized test scores. The study, “When Is Homework Worth the Time?” by Adam Maltese, assistant professor of science education in the Indiana University School of Education; Robert H. Tai, associate professor of science education at the Curry School of Education at the University of Virginia; and Xitao Fan, dean of education at the University of Macau, appears in the fall 2012 issue of the High School Journal.