DENVER, CO -- Today the Education Commission of the States (ECS) goes live with three high school databases to assist state policymakers with questions about International Baccalaureate, student accountability, and student support and remediation. ECS also launches an updated database on promising local reform initiatives at the state and district level from around the country.

"These databases address emerging or peaking issues for state policymakers," ECS High School Policy Center Project Manager Jennifer Dounay said. "For instance, many states are concerned with dropout prevention and how to help young people drop back into the system after they've dropped out. The student support and remediation database helps policymakers assess what work is being done across the states to tackle this issue, along with a host of related topics."

While Advanced Placement has been on policymakers' radar for some time, Dounay noted that many states have only recently begun to consider establishing similar supporting policies for International Baccalaureate (IB), a program growing in demand in the U.S.

The IB database (www.ecs.org/hsdb-ib) is the only national database of its kind. It describes a framework of model supports for the program including where states provide additional funding to support IB course costs, teacher training, accountability incentives, test-fee subsidies and more.

A second database provides a unique view of how each state, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico holds students accountable (www.ecs.org/hsdb-sa). It updates policymakers on the upper compulsory school age for students along with policies that take advantage of students' desire to drive (no pass/no drive) and participate in sports as a "carrot" for attendance and school performance (no pass/no play).

The third database shows how state policies across the nation support early identification of students who have fallen behind in core academic areas (www.ecs.org/hsdb-ss). It features state policies that proactively support those at risk of dropping out as well as policies that support students who desire to drop back into a high school diploma program. This database also identifies states that require individual learning plans for students in need.

The local high school reform initiatives database (www.ecs.org/hsdb-li) highlights promising state- and district-level reforms that are producing outstanding results, most in place for at least three years. According to Dounay, these reforms are bold, innovative and can be replicated by other districts and states.

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About ECS
The Education Commission of the States (www.ecs.org) is a nonpartisan, nonprofit interstate compact created by the states and the U.S. Congress that helps governors, legislators, state education officials, business leaders and others identify, develop and implement public policies to improve student learning at all levels. ECS is the only nationwide interstate compact devoted to education. It was formed in 1965 and is located in Denver, Colorado.