Focus Reports
Focus Reports
Often based on information requests from legislators and other policymakers, Focus reports examine specific topics and how states are addressing them.
Focus on Compulsory Attendance Policies
About Age or Intervention?
Over the past decade, SREB state policy-makers have focused on actions to reduce dropout rates and increase high school graduation rates. Some policymakers have suggested that raising their state’s compulsory attendance age (often called the dropout age) to require students to stay in school until age 17 or 18 is an important step.
Notes on School Finance
Selected Information on Funding for Low-Income Students in SREB States
How states use data about the number of students living in poverty to distribute state funding to public schools or to target programs to students from low-income families.
Charter Schools in SREB States
Critical Questions and Next Steps for States
Charter schools have grown from a novel educational experiment into a high-profile part of education reform. But research on charter schools is limited, so key policy questions remain about the effectiveness of charter schools, their impact on traditional public schools, appropriate funding policies, and performance accountability.
Notes on Selected Budget and Revenue Information
SREB States, 2010-2011
The various sources of state funding that support K-12 and higher education.
Focus on the School Calendar
The origins of the 180-day calendar, current instructional requirements in SREB states, opening and closing dates, and recent changes in school calendar flexibility — including the four-day school week and year-round calendar.
Focus on Governance in K-12 Education
Local-Level Models
A snapshot of what local K-12 governance looks like in SREB states.
Focus on Governance in K-12 Education
State-Level Models
In elementary and secondary education governance, the need to build an effective system of public education is the driving force behind the selection of a state’s key education leaders. This paper provides a snapshot of what state K-12 governance looks like in SREB states.