Ideas at work

Local plans and initiatives

Achievement Plus
A holistic approach to school reform.
College Readiness Consortium
Helps students master the knowledge, skills and habits for success in higher education.
LearnMoreMN
Promotes discussion to identify solutions to ensure that more Minnesota children succeed in school and pursue higher education.
Minnesota Minority Education Partnership
Seeks to increase success of students of color in Minnesota schools, colleges and Universities.
Minnesota P-16 Partnership
Works to improve the student transition to postsecondary education.
Minnesota's Promise
Outlines a call to action from 25 current and former superintendents throughout Minnesota to transform public education in our state.
A new vision for Saint Paul Schools
A report of the Citizen League study to prepare all students for higher education.
Schools for Equity in Education (SEE)
Works to ensure that all schools funding is as equal as possible.

See Early Childhood ideas at work for early learning initiatives.

Research-based strategies

Listed below are proven, effective strategies linked to reports that provide data and information about how the strategies were implemented.

Alignment of curriculum, instruction, standards and assessment (2)
- Similar students, different results: Why do some schools do better?
  EdSource, October 2005
  Large scale survey of California elementary schools serving low-income students. Provides practices found to be associated with high performance.
- What works with low-performing schools
  AEL, January 2002, 26 pp.
  A research review reporting on what works in developing high-performing schools and what it takes to sustain them.
Career/college preparation and support (1)
- Effectiveness of programs to improve postsecondary education enrollment and success of underrepresented youth
  Wilder Research, November 2006, 31 pp.
  A literature review of the effectiveness of outreach programs to improve postsecondary education enrollment and success of underrepresented youth.
Challenging, rigorous curriculum (5)
- Smart investments in Minnesota's students: A research-based investment proposal
  Growth & Justice, October 2008, 32 pp.
  Shows how to apply what is known about cost-effective investments in education to address a looming shortage of educated workers that could undermine the state’s economic well being.
- Similar students, different results: Why do some schools do better?
  EdSource, October 2005
  Large scale survey of California elementary schools serving low-income students. Provides practices found to be associated with high performance.
- Inside the black box of high-performing high-poverty schools
  Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence, January 2005, 30 pp.
  Looks at high-performing, high-poverty schools in Kentucky to determine how they break the usual pattern of low achievement.
- First in America: Eliminating the black-white achievement gap
  North Carolina Education Research Council, June 2001, 8 pp.
  Effective research-tested steps to eliminating the racial gap in education, beginning with high-quality, academically-focused early childhood education.
- It takes more than testing: closing the achievement gap
  Center on Education Policy, April 2001, 47 pp.
  Provides educational stakeholders with information about how to close the achievement gap in education. Includes background information, analyzes the nature and extent of the achievement gap, and outlines leading strategies for closing it.
Early childhood education (2)
- Smart investments in Minnesota's students: A research-based investment proposal
  Growth & Justice, October 2008, 32 pp.
  Shows how to apply what is known about cost-effective investments in education to address a looming shortage of educated workers that could undermine the state’s economic well being.
- First in America: Eliminating the black-white achievement gap
  North Carolina Education Research Council, June 2001, 8 pp.
  Effective research-tested steps to eliminating the racial gap in education, beginning with high-quality, academically-focused early childhood education.
Early intervention (1)
- Smart investments in Minnesota's students: A research-based investment proposal
  Growth & Justice, October 2008, 32 pp.
  Shows how to apply what is known about cost-effective investments in education to address a looming shortage of educated workers that could undermine the state’s economic well being.
Effective leadership (1)
- What works with low-performing schools
  AEL, January 2002, 26 pp.
  A research review reporting on what works in developing high-performing schools and what it takes to sustain them.
Individualized instruction and/or alternative schooling (1)
- Smart investments in Minnesota's students: A research-based investment proposal
  Growth & Justice, October 2008, 32 pp.
  Shows how to apply what is known about cost-effective investments in education to address a looming shortage of educated workers that could undermine the state’s economic well being.
Mentoring/tutoring (1)
- State and local implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act: Volume I -- Title I school choice, supplemental educational services, and student achievement
  U.S. Department of Education, June 2007, 63 pp.
  Students in underperforming schools generally made statistically significant gains in math and reading after participating in supplemental educational services such as tutoring and remediation, per this study.
Parent-family involvement (3)
- Smart investments in Minnesota's students: A research-based investment proposal
  Growth & Justice, October 2008, 32 pp.
  Shows how to apply what is known about cost-effective investments in education to address a looming shortage of educated workers that could undermine the state’s economic well being.
- It takes more than testing: closing the achievement gap
  Center on Education Policy, April 2001, 47 pp.
  Provides educational stakeholders with information about how to close the achievement gap in education. Includes background information, analyzes the nature and extent of the achievement gap, and outlines leading strategies for closing it.
- Family involvement to promote student achievement : a "best practices" literature review
  Wilder Research, July 1999, 21 pp.
  This literature review discusses barriers to involvement, types of involvement that are linked to student achievement, and strategies for increasing family involvement in schools.
Small class size (3)
- Smart investments in Minnesota's students: A research-based investment proposal
  Growth & Justice, October 2008, 32 pp.
  Shows how to apply what is known about cost-effective investments in education to address a looming shortage of educated workers that could undermine the state’s economic well being.
- First in America: Eliminating the black-white achievement gap
  North Carolina Education Research Council, June 2001, 8 pp.
  Effective research-tested steps to eliminating the racial gap in education, beginning with high-quality, academically-focused early childhood education.
- It takes more than testing: closing the achievement gap
  Center on Education Policy, April 2001, 47 pp.
  Provides educational stakeholders with information about how to close the achievement gap in education. Includes background information, analyzes the nature and extent of the achievement gap, and outlines leading strategies for closing it.
Well-qualified teachers with development opportunities (2)
- What works with low-performing schools
  AEL, January 2002, 26 pp.
  A research review reporting on what works in developing high-performing schools and what it takes to sustain them.
- First in America: Eliminating the black-white achievement gap
  North Carolina Education Research Council, June 2001, 8 pp.
  Effective research-tested steps to eliminating the racial gap in education, beginning with high-quality, academically-focused early childhood education.