The Center on Education Policy (CEP) recently released two reports on the implementation of the federal School Improvement Grants program.

The Opportunities and Obstacles: Implementing Stimulus-Funded School Improvement Grants in Maryland, Michigan, and Idaho report examines the implementation of the School Improvement Grants (SIG) program by drawing on research conducted in three states, seven school districts, and 11 schools (including schools that were eligible for but did not receive a SIG award). The study looks at how the federal program requirements are working within the state and local context, the progress made during the first year of the three-year grant implementation, and the different approaches being used to improve student achievement in schools that received SIG funds compared to schools that were eligible for but did not receive grants.

The State Implementation and Perceptions of Title School Improvement Grants under the Recovery Act: One Year Later report is based on a winter 2011-12 survey of state directors of the federal Title I program. The report examines the first year of state implementation of the SIG program. It focuses on state processes for renewing the SIG awards made for school year 2010-11, state assistance to schools, and general perceptions of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) SIG program requirements. Forty-five states and the District of Columbia participated in the survey.