School climate is critical to school effectiveness, but there is limited large-scale data available to examine the magnitude and nature of the relationship between school climate and school improvement. Drawing on statewide administrative data linked with unique teacher survey data in Michigan, we examine whether school climate appeared to play a…

The federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) grants states more authority over their school accountability systems than did No Child Left Behind (NCLB). Hence, states have an opportunity to design improved school rating systems. Three of the most important improvements that states can make are to ensure that their accountability systems: (1)…

States use their accountability systems to identify low-performing schools, which can receive added support and are expected to improve. Alternative schools serve students whose needs are not met in a regular school. They often serve at-risk students who are struggling academically or behaviorally. Given this unique population, the Government…

This study builds on a 2019 Fordham Institute report that examined the relationship between charter school enrollment share--the share of students in a community who enroll in a charter school--and the average achievement of all the students in that community, including those in traditional public schools. Like its predecessor, this report seeks…

This article highlights a set of principles and guidelines, developed by a diverse group of specialists in the field, for appropriately including English language learners (ELLs) with disabilities in large-scale assessments. ELLs with disabilities make up roughly 9% of the rapidly increasing ELL population nationwide. In spite of the small overall…

This paper describes and discusses a number of conceptual approaches and models for determining the cost-effectiveness of educational programs. Section 1 first discusses a number of conceptual models and designs related to cost-effectiveness analysis in education and then describes several specific cost-effectiveness models that have been recently…

This report reviews policies, practices, and strategies that state departments of education are using to infuse equity and excellence into their ongoing science, mathematics, and technology systemic reform efforts. Lessons learned and discussed are primarily from state departments of education in Florida, Michigan, and South Dakota. In addition,…

The author describes the Content, Input, Process, and Product (CIPP) evaluation model as it was implemented in the Saginaw Public Schools in Michigan. As school superintendent in Saginaw, he describes how the CIPP model provided information to administrators for answering four basic questions: (1) what should we do? (2) how should we do it? (3)…

This paper describes the role of and planning process for networking conferences in the cluster evaluation of the Michigan-based science education projects funded through the W. K. Kellogg Foundation Science Education Initiative to improve science teaching and learning with a long term goal of improving the scientific literacy of Michigan…

This document, a report to the Michigan Council of Teachers of Mathematics (MCTM), contains the viewpoints and recommendations of a study group set up to determine the reactions to and implications of the Conference Board of the Mathematical Sciences National Advisory Committee of Mathematical Education (NACOME) publication, "Overview and…

This document discusses legal considerations in the identification of Michigan students with learning disabilities and suggests guidelines for meeting legal requirements in a systematic and consistent manner. An introduction outlines issues and problems related to the assessment of learning disabilities and provides a rationale for the importance…

A survey concerning peer observations of non-tenured teachers was administered in the Clarkston Public School District (Michigan). The goal was to obtain opinions about retaining peers to observe non-tenured teachers in the tenure receiving process. Of the 150 principals, tenured teachers, and non-tenured teachers surveyed, 86 responded. The…

This report discusses the 1997 amendments to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act that require states to develop alternate assessments for students with disabilities who cannot participate in large-scale assessment programs. The report also profiles five state alternate assessment practices that have been developed or are emerging and…

After explaining performance assessment, the article describes a Michigan staff development workshop to teach educators performance assessment, explains program content and methods for teaching program assessment, illustrates how performance assessment was taught to students, and presents recommendations for effective implementation of performance…

The Michigan Department of Education developed an operational model for career education which combined the elements of individual career development with career preparation accomplished through academic, vocational, and technical education programs. A third-party evaluation was conducted to determine to what extent the operational model has been…