This issue of "Assessment Update" presents the following articles: (1) Organizing for Learning Improvement: What It Takes (Andrea M. Pope and Keston H. Fulcher); (2) Editor's Notes: The Leadership Imperatives for Assessment Excellence -- Imperative #2, Attracting and Retaining Talent to Support Assessment Excellence (Stephen P. Hundley);…

This issue of "Assessment Update" presents the following articles: (1) Origins of the WASC Assessment Leadership Academy; (2) Editor's Notes: Parallel Paths to Progress in Assessment in Europe and the United States; (3) The Impact of the First Three Years of the WASC Assessment Leadership Academy; (4) Restructuring the Writing Program at…

This edition features current research, practice, and policy related to the Joyce Foundation's Shifting Gears initiative beginning with an interview with Whitney Smith, Manager of the Employment Program at the Joyce Foundation. Julie Strawn, Center for Law and Social Policy, presents a national perspective of basic skills reform efforts similar to…

Great leaders make great schools. The most successful school leaders create a school climate of high achievement and continuous improvement, give teachers a voice in decision-making, use data to drive curriculum and instruction, and assure students and parents that everyone at the school is focusing on student success. They know what is going on…

Educators and policymakers can address gifted underachievement through changes in classroom and systemwide practices. This Issue Brief summarizes the issues underlying promising practices for supporting the gifted and talented. It also offers a series of questions to ask when planning schoolwide improvement efforts that address the needs of gifted…