Topics
SREB resources on key education issues
SREB offers a concentration of programs, expertise and data in the areas below. Contact a staff member for assistance, research or membership in these resources.
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CTE and Career Pathways
SREB’s leadership in career and technical education spans decades and includes the nation’s largest school improvement network, turnkey curricula, research, and statewide policy recommendations. SREB helps states, districts and schools design and build career pathways for the critical transition from high school to postsecondary studies and the workplace.
Career pathways have the power to close critical credential attainment and skills gaps.
College Affordability
Affordability is a crucial component in students’ ability to earn college degrees. SREB offers data, reports recommendations and technical assistance to help states raise their college attainment rates and bolster their economic futures.
College and Career Readiness
Today’s workplace requires most Americans to have some form of education beyond high school. Yet more than half of high school students are not graduating well-prepared to be successful in credit-bearing, entry-level courses at two- or four-year colleges.
Increasing the percentage students who begin college without the need for remedial courses can reduce the cost of college and improve college graduation rates.
SREB’s recommendations and programs to help states improve readiness for all students center on five essential elements:
1. Statewide Readiness Standards in Literacy and Math
2. Junior-Year Progress Assessments
3. Senior-Year Transitional Courses
4. Postsecondary Alignment and Use of the Readiness Standards and Assessments
5. State-Level Accountability for Increasing Readiness
College Completion
Creating jobs is a top priority in the Southern states, and a better-educated workforce is an important strategy. SREB’s college completion initiatives urge states to adopt policies that will substantially increase the number of residents who complete a postsecondary credential each year.
Community Colleges
Pathways to Certificates, Degrees and the Workforce
Community colleges enroll almost half of U.S. undergrads. To help states increase college completion, SREB serves states with data for two-year institutions, policy recommendations, and programs to smooth the transition from high school.
Online, Distance and Personalized Learning
SREB brings states together to share online postsecondary programs and follows online teaching and learning from K-12 through college.
Educator Effectiveness
Policies to Promote Effective Teaching
The most important thing a school can do for a student’s education is to ensure he or she has a good teacher.
To do this, states and districts need systems and cultures of feedback, evaluation and support that help educators continually improve.
Governance & Finance
SREB reports on education governance and finance actions in member states and, by request, researches specific issues to help policymakers understand and compare practices in other states.
SREB-State Doctoral Scholars Program
Increasing Faculty Diversity
More than one-third of America’s college students are people of color. But racial and ethnic minorities make up only small fractions of college faculty. Nationwide, about 5 percent of faculty are African-American, about 3 percent are Hispanic and about 1 percent are Native American. The SREB-State Doctoral Scholars Program is working to change that.
The goal: more minority Ph.D. students who seek
careers as faculty on college campuses
Principals & School Leaders
Schools need instructional leaders who improve the learning and achievement of students and teachers in their schools. SREB offers school improvement, professional development and technical assistance to serve this objective.
Teacher Preparation
The teacher is the most important factor in a child’s education. SREB tracks legislation and summarizes policies for teacher prep programs, and an SREB commission will recommend ways to improve them.
Workforce
Trends, Readiness and Preparation
A thriving workforce is at the heart of SREB’s mission to improve education and help states build robust economies. We are committed to helping state leaders find solutions to the challenge of preparing children, youth and adults for a changing workplace. SREB commissions, school improvement programs and data focus how schools and colleges can prepare students for the world of work.