Giving Compass' Take:

• The Center for American Progress (CAP) released a report finding that student engagement strategies are an essential part of school redesign that help promote academic achievement.

•  How does social emotional and project based learning help promote student engagement?

• Read about how to create spaces that boost student engagement.

A new report released this week by the Center for American Progress (CAP) details four key elements for successful high school redesigns: student engagement, career and college ready coursework, student supports and a tracking system for student success.

More specifically, the report recommends career and technology classes, dual-enrollment college programs, project-based learning, social-emotional learning and grading systems that accurately gauge student success.

To accomplish these goals, the CAP report says state and local leaders should make redesigned schools a priority by providing funding for them with publicly funded grants, philanthropic donations and other financial incentives.

Less than half of all U.S. students who took the 2017 ACT failed to show enough mastery in English or math to do well in college. Furthermore, 40% to 60% of first-year college students require remediation in English, math or both, according to a separate CAP report on remediation.

These are alarming numbers that coupled with other statistics – everything from high school and college graduation rates to U.S. competitiveness on a global scale – serve as the driving force behind myriad efforts to reform public schools.

The CAP report spotlights schools and districts in Maine, Virginia, Washington and Maryland that have implemented successful redesign strategies. Redesign schools use what science and research say about how students learn. In doing so, they provide students with prompt feedback, additional time to practice what they’ve learned and real-world learning opportunities.

They also administer low-stakes testing and incorporate programs that allow students to learn at their own pace. In addition, like the schools mentioned in the CAP report, they often create small school settings and work closely with community partners to provide additional supports, services and learning opportunities.

Read the full article about student engagement by Lucy Hood at Education Dive