Education Policy

Education Policy

Educators and policymakers need supportive policies to improve schools. We partner with states and districts to develop those policies and advocate their adoption at the district, state and federal levels. In papers, blog posts and presentations nationally, we highlight good policy practices.

Recent Education Policy Projects

Maryland

We partnered with Maryland as it undertook a comprehensive re-envisioning of both its assessment and accountability systems. The Center helped develop and coordinate a broad-based task force to help define policy priorities, which we documented in a comprehensive report that outlined clear recommendations to improve assessment and accountability.

National Assessment Governing Board

Scott Marion is one of three measurement professionals on the 26-member board that sets policy for the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), also known as the “Nation’s Report Card.” In this role, he helps support the technical quality of the assessment and advocates for strong policies to support it.

Policy briefs, blogs and webinars

We work to build support for federal and state policies to support high-quality assessment and accountability systems that ensure that all students have a fair opportunity to learn meaningful content and skills. Two short papers, “The Case for State Testing” and “The Case for Statewide School Accountability Systems,” are recent examples of this work.

Recent Education Policy Blog Posts and Papers

Teachers having a discussion while seated at three tables in a classroom.

Continuous Improvement in Education: A Resource Hub

These resources can help education leaders, practitioners and partners move continuous-improvement work from big-picture strategy to concrete action.
October 6, 2026
Students work on laptop computers while seated in rows of desks.

Why Do School Districts Protect the Test Pile?

Many districts conduct reviews to streamline their lineups of required assessments, but they resist eliminating tests. What’s behind that resistance?
September 30, 2026

2026 Reidy Interactive Learning Series

A collection of presentations on measuring career readiness, from the Center’s 2026 conference.
September 28, 2026
Children work together in a classroom.

Tilting at Windmills: Classroom Grading Practices That Won’t Go Away

Bad classroom grading practices persist, even though they’re based on technical quicksand. Here are four ways to improve them.
September 9, 2026
Students taking test in class

How Reading Lists Can Improve Assessments

Required-reading lists can be controversial, but they can help level the playing field for large-scale reading tests by reducing the transfer demand on students.
September 2, 2026
Six adults sit at a wooden table, looking at laptops and paper printouts.

Human-Guided Generative AI Across the Survey Lifecycle

In education, surveys are a crucial tool. Where can AI help in survey design, implementation, and reporting, and where is human expertise still essential?
August 26, 2026
Education leadership using assessment and accountability data to improve decision making

Leading Education Systems With Purpose in an Incoherent Environment

Education leaders are often asked to make coherent decisions in an incoherent environment. But decisions that fit together logically are important.
August 5, 2026

Rethinking Career-Readiness Measures

RILS 2026 grapples with measuring students’ career-readiness. It’s especially important now, with AI, shifts in the economy, and persistent skills gaps.
July 29, 2026
A teacher shows a book to a classroom of students seated on the rug.

How Can School Accountability Reflect the Purposes of Education?

To decide what accountability systems should measure, we must articulate the purposes of schooling. Then we can build systems that reflect them.
July 22, 2026
Fourth graders work together in a classroom.

Making Sense of Achievement Trends

We should pay attention to achievement trends, but recognize that trends rarely have a single, universal explanation.
June 24, 2026
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