Is it possible to test how creative someone is? There are quite a few tests on the internet that claim to do so. Of course, there are also “tests” on the internet than can tell you which Star Wars character you are. We know the people designing those tests are creative, but what about your regular American student?

This week’s Deeper Learning Digest covers a new creativity test designed for U.S. fifteen-year-olds and their international peers. It will also explain why fifteen-year-olds and other adolescents are hard-wired to adopt social media and take up extreme sports such as skateboarding and snowboarding. Finally, it will examine the common, the controversial, and why March—and not December—could be the most wonderful time of the year.

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Are states shirking their responsibilities around two of the Every Student Succeeds Act’s (ESSA) most important provisions for historically underserved groups of students? A new analysis says yes. Federal Flash delves into the findings, plus a Senate education committee hearing on ESSA implementation and the latest on the bill funding the U.S. Department of Education. 

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The nation’s main education law, the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), is a civil rights law that ensures states provide all children with equal access to a high-quality education—provided states carry out the law faithfully. Unfortunately, many states are shirking their responsibilities around two of the law’s most important provisions for historically underserved groups of students, according to a new analysis by the Alliance for Excellent Education (All4Ed). All4Ed finds that twelve states do not include subgroups of students in school ratings, and sixteen states risk under-identifying schools with consistently underperforming student subgroups for targeted support. Is your state one of them?

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Research shows that the International Baccalaureate (IB) program can increase high school graduation rates for students from low-income families and better prepare students for postsecondary studies. At the same time, however, some schools chose to limit the IB program to students that they “think” will do well in it. Such a practice typically holds down participation among students of color and students from low-income families, compounding the problem that historically underserved students also attend schools that are less likely to provide access to Advanced Placement (AP), IB, and other advanced courses necessary to prepare them for college and a career.

Don’t get us wrong. We at the Alliance for Excellent Education (All4Ed) are big fans of the IB program, but there are important considerations that district and school leaders need to keep in mind when they implement the program.

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On Thursday, key members of the House and Senate Appropriations Committee reached a deal on the fiscal year 2019 funding bill for the U.S. Department of Education and several other agencies. Here’s a look at funding levels for some specific education programs.

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What happens when students feel that their voice matters? How does a sense of belonging contribute to student agency and the choices they might make in their approach to learning?

This week’s digest explores these questions and how EL Education is answering them through an inquiry-based learning approach. It also highlights a new documentary film on how communities can bring deeper learning to students, four key areas for leaders of project-based learning, and a new Design Studio event hosted by Jobs for the Future.

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This blog post is written by Susan Zeig, producer/director of The Long View.

One of the most common unifiers of people all over the world is the desire for a good education. Parents and guardians want this for the children in their lives, and young people want this for themselves as soon as they are old enough to appreciate its worth.

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Federal policymakers may be opening the door to more guns in schools. This episode of Federal Flash explains how.  It also provides an update on education spending and efforts to avoid a government shutdown later this month.

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In the fall of 2017, advocates from A+ Education Partnership, a nonprofit education policy and practice organization in Alabama, contacted the Alliance for Excellent Education (All4Ed) for help in ensuring that the state’s plan for implementing the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) would hold schools accountable for the performance of historically underserved students.

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What better way to kick off the school year than have students liven up the Federal Flash? This episode features Justice, a tenth-grade student at a public charter school and Elizabeth and Katie, both eighth graders in traditional public schools.

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