Increasingly, school districts, states, and teachers' unions are advancing evaluation reform through legislation and by negotiating changes to collective bargaining agreements. This has compelled education leaders and policy makers to grapple with difficult issues that have received lip service in the past: How can they help all teachers reach…

STEM--shorthand for "science, technology, engineering, and mathematics"--has been part of the school improvement discussion for more than a decade, as educational leaders and policy makers have underscored the importance of these areas in an internationally competitive, 21st-century economy. But building and implementing programs that…

The latest statistics from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) identify 34% of American adults as obese and another 33% as overweight. Since children tend to mimic adult behavior, adults not only hurt themselves when they practice poor eating and exercise habits, they also hurt their children. With only one-third of adults modeling…

The Department of Education has been under attack by people motivated by the perceived failure of the system to improve educational achievement on the elementary and high school levels or the desire to dramatically reduce spending and waste during troubled economic times. A new program introduced in four states seems to address competency and…

An evaluation is designed to judge the worth of a program in regards to whether or not it should be continued, modified, or eliminated. Program evaluations can be performed either by those inside or outside of the organization, and can occur pre-implementation, during implementation, or at the end of a time period. There are many models or methods…

Walking today through Somerville, Massachusetts' Winter-Hill Community School during school hours differs markedly compared with just a few years ago. Gone are the greasy potato chips and chocolate-chip cookies from the a la carte offerings in the cafeteria. Missing are the late morning fundraisers when children would fill up on cupcakes and other…