Imagine you are about to end your senior year, but instead of sharpening your number two pencil and pulling out a scantron for a bubble test, you are putting the final touches on your portfolio of work showcasing your project,...
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To help grantees, educators, policymakers and colleague foundation leaders understand ways to create a strong start in math for early learners, the Heising‐Simons Foundation asked Education First to profile noteworthy early math efforts already underway and identify implications for change...
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The Heising‐Simons Foundation is especially interested in the role parents and family members can play as partners with educators to boost math outcomes for children aged 3–8, and it asked Education First to learn more. We reviewed existing efforts and...
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For the Heising-Simons Foundation in 2019, Education First examined challenges and opportunities for improving early math in California and suggested steps for state and local leaders and funders could take to boost student outcomes in this early. We reviewed dozens...
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In partnership with the Walton Family Foundation, Education First developed a comprehensive “State of State Assessments: Part Two” report summarizing the challenges and opportunities for developing and implementing innovative summative assessment systems. The report builds on a 2018 “State of...
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Rigorous and transparent open Request for Proposals (RFP) processes are one strategy grantmakers can use to source, vet and select high-potential grantees. Done well, RFPs can introduce funders to new ideas and grantees while fostering more equitable and effective grantmaking....
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This op-ed was originally published in The 74. More than 9 million children attend our country’s lowest-performing schools, the vast majority of them students of color. While we are familiar with the components of successful schools — attributes such as high expectations for...
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This essay was first published by Carnegie Corporation of New York. As the education laws came tumbling down from the statehouse, Alison Johnson’s head spun. New, more rigorous standards for student learning. New teacher evaluation procedures. New expectations for how teachers...
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Back in 2010, we joined many educators and advocates in supporting the implementation of the Common Core State Standards. We believe that these standards, which are clearer and more rigorous than nearly all other state standards, can help to set...
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As we’ve previously discussed, the federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) presents an important opportunity for states to design education systems that meet the needs of students in their communities. But states can only take advantage of that opportunity by...
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