Publications About Our Advocacy Agenda
Following is a list of all Education Trust publications arranged from newest to oldest. You can find publications archived by year in the box below left.
If you know the title of a specific publication but cannot find it, type the name in the Search box atop this page. To find a publication on a specific topic, go to the Filter Publications box and choose a topic or audience from the drop-down menu. Or you can click on one of the “tags” beneath a publication listed below to view all of our publications on that topic.
All Education Trust publications are available as free downloads. Publications marked with an asterisk (*) are available in print. Please contact rpitts@edtrust.org for more information.
Advancing by Degrees*
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“Advancing by Degrees” is designed to help college officials monitor and improve graduation rates by providing a framework of on-track indicators that reveal patterns among groups of students—including those who are struggling and need help to graduate. These data, in turn, can help drive changes in policies and practices that can boost the number of college graduates. The Institute for Higher Education Leadership & Policy produced the report in conjunction with Ed Trust.
Close the Hidden Funding Gaps in Our Schools
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“Close the Hidden Funding Gaps in Our Schools” shines a light on widespread and unjust district budgeting practices and offers Congress a straightforward legislative path: Fix the so-called comparability provisions of Title I.
Stuck Schools
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Schools often lumped together as “low performing” are not all alike. Some low-performing schools remain “stuck” year after year, while others that started as low performers are among the fastest improvers in their states. Tracking proficiency rates and improvement over time can help policymakers focus scarce resources on the neediest schools.
Opportunity Adrift: Our Flagship Universities Are Straying From Their Public Mission*
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Public flagship and research universities spend millions of dollars every year to aid wealthy students who don't need it, while providing inadequate support to low-income and minority students who do. Some flagships are stepping up to the challenge and focusing on access and success. An account of their performance and progress appears at the end of this report.
Gauging the Gaps: A Deeper Look at Student Achievement*
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Using state-level NAEP data, this brief illustrates the pitfalls in one-dimensional appraisals of achievement gaps. Analyzing the gaps from four perspectives is essential to gain a comprehensive, accurate picture of equity.
What States Can Do to Improve Teacher Effectiveness*
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Educators and policymakers understand that tinkering around the edges won't improve teacher quality and that a concerted effort is essential to create systemic change. To succeed, states must make rapid progress in four areas: (1) defining teacher effectiveness, (2) building better systems to measure teacher effectiveness, (3) basing milestones in the teaching career on measured effectiveness, and (4) establishing and enforcing a policy of equitable access to effective teachers and align other reforms to support this effort.
Fighting for Quality and Equality, Too*
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If state leaders invest resources and energy wisely, they don’t have to choose between excellence and equity. This paper outlines ten steps state policymakers and school district leaders can take now that hold the promise to make a difference in teacher quality and equitable access to the best teachers for low-income students and students of color.
Core Problems*
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Learn about how out-of-field teaching persists in key academic courses in high-poverty and high-minority schools.
Measures that Matter - Making College and Career Readiness the Mission for America’s High Schools
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This report is part of a joint, ongoing effort by Achieve and The Education Trust to provide strategic and technical guidance to states in creating a coherent set of policies designed to get all students college- and career-ready.
Counting on Graduation*
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This report shows how most state accountability systems still exhibit a surprising indifference toward improving the high school graduation rates—and thus, the life chances—of their young people. It provides information about what states are doing (and not doing) to boost graduation rates and provides specific recommendations for improvement.
