As voucher and tax-credit scholarship programs have expanded in recent years, another promising development has been the incorporation, into more such programs, of provisions that hold participating private schools to account for their students' performance. The newest and largest voucher programs, such as those in Louisiana and Indiana, have gone…

As researchers, decision-makers, and practitioners focus on continuous improvement in education, local-level change is gaining importance. Yet, many local school improvement efforts fail to be fully implemented. Even those that are fully implemented often fail to sustain improvements because the schools are embedded in systems that face multiple…

Across the country, states and districts are designing principal evaluation systems as a means of improving leadership, learning, and school performance. Principal evaluation systems hold potential for supporting leaders' learning and sense of accountability for instructional excellence and student performance. Principal evaluation also is an…

Across the nation, states and districts are in the process of building better teacher evaluation systems that not only identify highly effective teachers but also systematically provide data and feedback that can be used to improve teacher practice. The "Practical Guide to Designing Comprehensive Teacher Evaluation Systems" is a tool…

Raise the level of rigor in your school and dramatically improve student learning with the tools in this book. Each illuminating exercise is tailored to educators looking to spread the word on rigor and beat the obstacles to achieving it schoolwide. Formatted for duplication and repeated use, these tools are perfect for those who currently hold a…

Many school districts and high schools provide well-designed pathways that combine rigorous academic instruction with technical education and real-world experience into a career-themed program of study. This Linked Learning approach helps districts and high schools prepare all students for both college and career, not just one objective or the…

The content of this guide was derived from ongoing work of a working group on growth models coordinated and facilitated by the SLDS Grant Program's State Support Team. The Statewide Longitudinal Data Systems (SLDS) Grant Program was asked by several states to review current growth models with the goal of determining the impact of different models…

Across the nation, states and districts are in the process of building better teacher evaluation systems that not only identify highly effective teachers but also systematically provide data and feedback that can be used to improve teacher practice. "A Practical Guide to Designing Comprehensive Teacher Evaluation Systems" is a tool…

This "Practitioner's Guide to Growth Models," commissioned by the Technical Issues in Large-Scale Assessment (TILSA) and Accountability Systems & Reporting (ASR), collaboratives of the "Council of Chief State School Officers," describes different ways to calculate student academic growth and to make judgments about the…

State educational accountability models are in transition. Whether modifying the present accountability system to comply with existing state and federal requirements or anticipating new ones--such as the U.S. Department of Education's (ED) Race to the Top competition--recording the experiences of state education agencies (SEAs) that are currently…

Shows how a school writing program based on the National Writing Project model can be presented in the framework of a simple accountability system devised by Leon Lessinger. (FL)

Provides a systematic model for evaluating school boards that should be adaptable to many school systems. (WD)

This booklet for trustees of institutions of higher education offers guidelines for the creation of effective affiliated foundations. An introductory section notes the increased use of such foundations by public colleges and universities for institutional fund-raising and management of property and endowments. The booklet finds that successful…

States that accountability has led to an environment where program assessment is central to academic life, since government pressure calls into question the quality and efficiency of higher education. Presents a model of a hierarchy for mass communication program assessment methods and program component review. Concludes that effective assessment…

This report presents the results of a demonstration of the cost effectiveness of supervisory and management development training, and it outlines a model that will permit practitioners to conduct a definitive analysis of the financial value of training. The purpose of the study was to predict potential Return on Investment (ROI) and measure the…