RD204 - Education Commission of the States’ 2008 Annual Report


Executive Summary:
Education in America is truly powered by “big ideas.” During 2008 and continuing in 2009, the Education Commission of the States began pressing forward on a number of big ideas:

+ Helping schools, districts and states benchmark to international standards
+ Providing guidance on the development and alignment of P-20 systems
+ Aligning education mastery and skills to workforce needs
+ Improving building-level leadership
+ Developing and implementing longitudinal data systems to inform instructional and policy decisions.

At the core of these “big ideas” is a desire to propel the nation’s students — including lifelong learners in the workforce and those sidelined by the economy — forward both in knowledge and application of skills. I believe these efforts will result in a more competitive America — better prepared to face our current global challenges.

To this end, ECS’ Postsecondary Education and Workforce Development Institute is working closely with policymakers, institution leaders, and business and community leaders to drive innovation and change across all levels of education to meet today’s challenges. Through a three-year $1.4 million dollar grant from the Lumina Foundation, ECS will be working on how to fully leverage postsecondary developmental studies programs as a critical tool in state efforts to increase college attainment rates.

ECS released "From Competing to Leading: An International Benchmarking Blueprint" at the National Forum on Education Policy. "The International Benchmarking Toolkit," released in early 2009, builds on the first report and is a unique resource for state policymakers, school district officials, principals and teachers looking to raise the bar in classrooms around the country.

Working in partnership, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and ECS convened governors in five states, to host the Governor’s Forum on Linking Ready Kids and Ready Schools — statewide events focused on deepening understanding and developing policy to support transitions and alignment across early learning and the early grades.