In August 2010, the Smithsonian Science Education Center (SSEC) received a grant of more than $25 million from the U.S. Department of Education's Investing in Innovation (i3) program for a five-year study to validate its Leadership Assistance for Science Education Reform (LASER) model in three very diverse regions of the United States: rural North…

Guam Department of Education (GDOE) is a single unified school district consisting of Kindergarten thru 12 grade. Its 26 Elementary Schools, 8 Middle Schools, 6 High Schools, and 1 alternative school serves nearly 31,000 students, and is managed by the Superintendent who is the Executive Secretary of a 12-member Guam Education Board (GEB). This…

Educator performance evaluation systems are a potential tool for improving student achievement by increasing the effectiveness of the educator workforce. For example, recent research suggests that giving more frequent, specific feedback on classroom practice may lead to improvements in teacher performance and student achievement. This report is…

In August 2010, the Smithsonian Science Education Center (SSEC) received a grant of more than $25 million from the U.S. Department of Education's Investing in Innovation (i3) program for a five-year study to validate its Leadership Assistance for Science Education Reform (LASER) model in three very diverse regions of the United States: rural North…

Guam Department of Education (GDOE) is a single unified school district consisting of grades Kindergarten thru 12. Its 26 Elementary Schools, 8 Middle Schools, 6 High Schools, and 1 alternative school serves over 31,000 students, and is managed by the Superintendent who is the Executive Secretary of a 12-member Guam Education Board (GEB). In…

Guam Department of Education (GDOE) is a single unified school district consisting of grades Kindergarten through 12. Its 26 Elementary Schools, 8 Middle Schools, 5 High Schools, and one alternative school serves over 31,000 students, and is managed by the Superintendent who is the Executive Secretary of a 9-member Guam Education Board (GEB).…

Guam Department of Education (GDOE) is a single unified school district consisting of grades Kindergarten through 12. Its 26 Elementary Schools, 8 Middle Schools, 5 High Schools, and one alternative school serves over 31,000 students, and is managed by the 9-member Guam Education Board (GEB). Despite the operational and financial challenges the…

The Michigan Context and Performance Report Card measures school performance by adjusting standardized test scores to account for student background. Comparing schools using unadjusted test scores ignores the significant relationship between academic performance and student socioeconomic background--a dynamic outside a school's control. The…

The 2014 Michigan Public High School Context and Performance Report Card is the Mackinac Center's second effort to measure high school performance. The first high school assessment was published in 2012, followed by the Center's 2013 elementary and middle school report card, which used a similar methodology to evaluate school performance. The…

Guam Department of Education (GDOE) is a single unified school district consisting of grades Kindergarten through 12. Its 26 Elementary Schools, 8 Middle Schools, 5 High Schools, and an alternative school serve over 31,000 students, and is managed by the 11-member Guam Education Board (GEB). Despite the operational and financial challenges the…

Education policymakers and leaders often say that the opinions and observations of teachers are among the most important information to help explain and understand what is happening in schools. Teachers' voices can inject a sense of classroom and school-level realism into those discussions and add clarity and credibility to issues that are often…

This report addresses the reporting requirements of Public Law 26-26 and the provisions of "No Child Left Behind" ("NCLB") as described in the Guam Department of Education Board adopted "District Action Plan" ("DAP"). Public Law 26-26, Section 3106 states that "No later than thirty (30) days following…

This report addresses the reporting requirements of Public Law 26-26 and the provisions of "No Child Left Behind" ("NCLB") as described in the Guam Department of Education Board adopted "District Action Plan" ("DAP"). Public Law 26-26, Section 3106 states that "No later than thirty (30) days following…

In recent years, West Virginia high school students have improved their performance on the ACT exam and have been steadily approaching the national average on ACT composite scores. In 2001, the gap between West Virginia test-takers and the national average was eight-tenths of a point. As of 2005, the gap was at six-tenths of a point.…

This paper describes the processes that one school district, the Visalia Unified School District (California), went through in establishing a standards-based assessment and accountability system using multiple methods. First the district's standards-based assessment and accountability system and the methods used to establish it are described, and…