ATLANTA — The Southern Regional Education Board is releasing a new report that provides its 16 member states with a comprehensive action agenda for educational improvement.
The action agenda, “From Goals to Results … Making It Happen,” outlines nearly 50 specific recommendations that states can follow to continue the momentum of education reform in SREB states. Included are steps that help get students ready for transitions to the next educational level; help close performance gaps among racial/ethnic, income and gender groups; increase resources; and hold schools and colleges more accountable for meeting state needs.
The action agenda is part of a full report that summarizes the most important education recommendations since SREB’s Challenge to Lead Goals for Education were approved by Southern Regional Education Board members four years ago. The report is being released as education leaders and policy-makers gather here for SREB’s Annual Meeting.
The report, From Goals to Results: Improving Education System Accountability, highlights states’ significant progress toward the goals and “sets SREB states on a future course toward far greater educational opportunities for everyone who lives in our states,” said SREB President Dave Spence.
It focuses especially on the Challenge to Leadgoal that every state “places a high priority on an education system of schools, colleges and universities that is accountable.” The report calls for states’ early childhood programs, K-12 schools, colleges and universities, and adult education programs to work together and help all students succeed as they cross each educational bridge in their lives.
“Our states cannot afford to have children unprepared for first grade, ninth grade, college and careers — the critical transitions,” Spence stresses in the report. “We can and must do better.” States can build on their progress by easing these transitions, closing performance gaps and linking resources to results.
The report addresses the importance of comprehensive, statewide education data systems that provide policy-makers with the information they need. It also shows where SREB states stand on the goal of providing real-dollar growth in per student funding.
For details, see From Goals to Results: Improving Education System Accountability, available on the SREB Web site. SREB policy experts are available to discuss this publication. Contact SREB Communications.
SREB, a nonprofit and nonpartisan organization based in Atlanta, Georgia, advises state education leaders on ways to improve education. SREB was created in 1948 by Southern governors and legislatures to help leaders in education and government work cooperatively to advance education and improve the social and economic life of the region. SREB has 16 member states: Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia. Each is represented by its governor and four gubernatorial appointees.
