College & Career-Ready Policy Institute

Achieve, the Data Quality Campaign, the EducationCounsel, JFF, and the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices announced an unprecedented partnership to provide guidance, advice, and support to states through the College & Career-Ready Policy Institute. The Institute is supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Approach

The Institute is designed to help states put K-12 assessment and accountability systems in place that will ensure that all students graduate from high school ready for college and career success. In addition, the Institute will assist states in developing strategies for building the capacity of districts and schools so that all students successfully reach higher standards. The support to states by the partners will include multi-state gatherings where state teams will participate in cross-state leadership sessions.

Participating States

• Arizona
• Arkansas
• Georgia
• Louisiana
• Minnesota
• New Mexico
• Ohio
• Tennessee

The Institute states were chosen through a competitive selection process based on their strong leadership and commitment to a college- and career-readiness agenda as demonstrated by their success in raising academic standards and graduation requirements for all students. These states are now well positioned to tackle the difficult, but essential, task of ensuring that their assessment and accountability systems are likewise anchored in college and career readiness and that state education policies cohesively support this critical goal.

Specifically, the Institute will assist states in:

• Developing goals for improving high school graduation, college and career readiness, and postsecondary attainment rates;
• Putting in place a comprehensive state assessment system that is aligned with college- and career-ready standards and that measures student progress over time; 
• Establishing a coherent system of accountability that makes college and career readiness a central priority and that “incentivizes” proper actions, promotes accurate judgments, and drives effective supports and interventions;
• Designing a statewide system of supports and interventions to assist low-performing districts and schools and ensure continuous improvement for all schools and districts around the state; and
• Providing educational options and supports to boost the achievement of low-income students and other groups at high risk of not achieving college-ready standards and college success.

In addition to assisting the eight states in developing and implementing a comprehensive college- and career-ready policy, it is hoped that the lessons learned from these Institute states can assist other states also committed to the college- and career-ready agenda, therefore boosting the academic prospects for even more U.S. students.