Professional Learning: Three Key Actions

States can enhance their leadership of professional learning on college- and career-readiness standards by strengthening the use of data to drive continuous improvement

To help students master the college- and career-readiness standards that states have put in place of the last several years, educators must be experts in the rigorous academic content and aligned instructional strategies required by the standards. State education agencies (SEA), districts (or local education agencies, LEA), schools and educators rely on professional learning more than any other strategy to build educators’ expertise and capacity to teach the standards.

While state leaders shape their policies, programs and services in different ways based on a variety of factors, they can all invigorate their leadership and support for high-quality professional learning statewide on college- and career-readiness standards by focusing more on the use of data to drive continuous improvement. SREB’s recent report, Professional Learning: Trends in State Efforts, identifies three key actions that SEAs can take to strengthen the use of data to drive continuous improvement:

1. Evaluate state professional learning initiatives comprehensively.
2. Support comprehensive evaluation of professional learning at the local level.
3. Increase the shared accountability for excellence in professional learning between state and local leaders.