Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

Ensuring Young are Ready to Learn Tops States' Education Concerns for 2015

  • 01/12/15

LEXINGTON, Ky.--Making sure all of a state's youngest students enter school ready to learn will be one of the top education concerns for state policymakers during the new legislative session.

"In 2015 state policymakers will look to target practices that ensure students enter school ready to learn and are engaged in an environment with high expectations for success for all students," said Pam Goins, director of education policy for The Council of State Governments. "Flexibility in instructional strategies, continuous assessment and accountability are vital to achievement and preparation for college and careers. State policy must set the foundation for these innovations to occur."

Being ready to learn, however, is not a simple target. To make the most of their time in the classroom, children should have mastered developmentally appropriate levels of language, literacy, motor skills, socialization, and scientific and mathematical thinking. As states look to measure and adequately prepare students for school, they will be looking at policies and practices that can be put in place for effective child care, Head Start and pre-kindergarten programs that promote high quality and efficient early learning programs for all children.

Goins said other issues will vie for a legislator's attention this year as they try to improve their state's economic future by ensuring workers have the skills required by local industries and businesses for growth. Those issues include ensuring students have the opportunity to explore experiential and work-based learning, creating effective strategies to help students at risk of failure, ensuring more students get a postsecondary degree or credential and creating an accountability system that accurately measures how well a state's schools and teachers are educating youth.

The Council of State Governments this week released its annual listing of top 5 issues legislators will face this year in education, energy and the environment, federal affairs, fiscal and economic development, health, international affairs, interstate compacts, transportation and workforce development.

Learn more about the Top 5 issues in education. For more information about these or any other topics, visit the CSG Knowledge Center.

Featured

  • Wisconsin District Breaks Ground on New Elementary School

    The School District of La Crosse in La Crosse, Wis., recently broke ground on a new elementary school that will consolidate the students and staff of two existing schools, according to local news. Funding for the school comes from a $53-million referendum approved in 2024.

  • University of Oklahoma Announces New Campus Master Plan

    The University of Oklahoma in Norman, Okla., recently announced that it will soon launch a new, comprehensive Campus Master Plan to guide the campus’ physical development during the next decade, according to a news release.

  • Full Sail University Announces First Student Housing Facility

    Full Sail University in Winter Park, Fla., recently announced that development has begun on its first student housing community, according to a news release. The university is partnering with Nvision Development for construction and long-term management of the facility, which will stand five stories and have the capacity for more than 570 beds.

  • University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Launches New Emergency Communications System

    The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC) recently deployed a new emergency notification and incident management system for its campus, according to a news release. The university partnered with 911Cellular to launch Safe@UTC, a smartphone app allowing university officials to communicate and respond during emergency situations.