#  Spring 2025: The New Era of State Leadership 

 





April 03, 2025

 

 

Dear CEPR community,

As I celebrate one year as CEPR’s Executive Director, I remain deeply inspired by the dedication and innovation our project teams display in addressing major educational challenges. Alongside our colleagues and partners nationwide, our staff continue to work tirelessly to continue our vital mission, work made more crucial than ever by the present moment.

Educational research institutions across the country face funding cuts, program uncertainties, and evolving challenges. We are witnessing the deterioration of essential systems that support research infrastructure and accountability. Yet students and teachers continue their work in classrooms every day. District and state leaders still require reliable partners to help them drive change and enhance student experiences. Our commitment to transforming education through quality research and evidence is unwavering.

Two CEPR projects are pushing our mission forward in exciting ways:

- In January, we launched our [**States Leading States (SLS) initiative**](https://cepr.harvard.edu/states-leading-states-sls-initiative-0), supported by a $10 million grant from the Walton Family Foundation. SLS ensures that proven, evidence-based strategies shape state-level policymaking, enabling states to learn from each other and drive meaningful educational reform. We are building a cohort of states dedicated to identifying and spreading effective education policies. We look forward to sharing more news later this spring.
- Now entering its third year, the [**Education Recovery Scorecard (ERS)**](https://educationrecoveryscorecard.org/), led by CEPR’s Faculty Director Tom Kane, has examined recovery outcomes for 43 states and 8,719 districts. This year’s report highlights that, nationally, students remain nearly half a grade level behind in both math and reading. However, individual districts across the country are achieving transformative change for their students despite this challenging national landscape.

We are grateful for your partnership and support in our endeavors. Exciting opportunities lie ahead, and we invite you to join us in laying the foundation for the next phase of CEPR’s transformative work.

Sincerely,

**Christina Grant**  
**Executive Director, Center for Education Policy Research**

### **Catch up on Spring 2025's research, resources, top stories, and engagement opportunities—**[**read the newsletter.** ](https://mailchi.mp/gse.harvard.edu/ceprdecembernewsletter-13590284)



 

 

 



 

 See also:- [ Newsletters ](/news-type/newsletters)
- [ 2025 ](/year/2025)
 
 

 Share on:- [     Facebook ](#)
- [     Twitter ](#)
- [     Linkedin ](#)