State Implementation of Reforms Promoted Under the Recovery Act

This report, based on surveys completed by all 50 SEAs and the District of Columbia (DC) during spring 2011, examines which states were implementing the key education reform strategies promoted by the Recovery Act in 2010-11, the extent to which implementation reflected progress since Recovery Act funds were first available, and states' challenges with implementation. Findings showed variation across the strategies assessed. Almost all SEAs provided guidance for choosing and implementing one of the four school intervention models ED recommended to improve low performing schools, while only two reported supporting teacher evaluation models that included the complete set of criteria (e.g., use of student achievement gains) that the Recovery Act promoted. Difficulty in measuring student growth for teachers of nontested subjects was the challenge reported by the largest number of SEAs.