This paper is part of a nonpartisan project to identify specific state-level policy changes that could have a significant impact on teaching quality and be accomplished in a constrained fiscal environment. Of course, many aspects of California's teacher development system could be strengthened, better funded, or otherwise changed for the better.…

This Issue Brief, an update of "Authorizing Virtual Charter Schools: Rules of the Road on the Digital Highway" by Gregg Vanourek, is part of NACSA's Cyber series, which addresses issues in policy and practice that concern authorizing online schools and blended learning. It aims to improve authorizer understanding and oversight of online…

The Improving Teacher Quality (ITQ) State Grants Program is currently operating professional development grants for California teachers at 40 sites statewide. This is as large a cadre of projects as the California Postsecondary Education Commission has operated since the ITQ Program began with the passage of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001.…

The Teacher Education Accreditation Council (TEAC), founded in 1997, is dedicated to improving academic degree and certificate programs for professional educators--those who teach and lead in schools, pre-K through grade 12, and to assuring the public of their quality. TEAC accredits undergraduate and graduate programs, including alternate route…

Every year, the Improving Teacher Quality State Grants Program issues a Request for Proposals (RFP) to award funds provided annually from the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. In recent years, each RFP has focused on a specific objective tied to state priorities in teacher quality. Six grants were awarded in 2008: (1) Bell Gardens Science…

The Improving Teacher Quality Program recently concluded its 2007 competition to select grantees who will provide high-quality teacher professional development over the next several years. Teachers in grades K-2 were the focus of this year's Request for Proposals (RFP). As required in the last two rounds of competition, the selected projects must…

During 2002, the Australian Education Minister conducted a year-long review of tertiary education under the title "Higher Education at the Crossroads." The policy statement arising from that review was released on 13 May 2003. It incorporates a combination of new financial incentives on students and universities, potential expansion of…

A planning and discussion committee was formed at the University of Arkansas (Little Rock) to evaluate the role that faculty teaching assessment might take in a planned liberal arts teaching excellence project. The committee leader attended an Assessment Strategies Workshop conducted by Trudy Banta at the University of Tennessee. The committee…

Hong Kong has always been proud of its economic achievement of the past decades. However, the economic turmoil that swept over East Asia has revealed the weakness in its economy, which, in turn, urges Hong Kong to reform its education system to meet the challenge of this era of information technology. There are many problems in Hong Kong's…

This document summarizes the activities conducted under the National Institute of Education (NIE) planning grant for the new Center on Student Testing, Evaluation, and Standards and the conceptualizations that emerged from these activities. Chapter 1 presents a summary of the planning activities actually conducted under the award, including…

In December 1990, a project was begun at Mt. San Antonio College (MSAC) in Walnut, California, to develop a model accountability system based on the belief that educational quality is measured by individual achievement over time. This proposal for the Accountability Model (AM) presents information on project methodology and organization in four…

Background information is provided on the development and activities of Project Cooperation, a demonstration project to help institutions improve educational effectiveness by employing outcomes measures and assessment strategies. After highlighting the various activities of the project (e.g., a national survey, research on different plans and…

The purpose of the Teaching Research Assistance to Children and Youth Experiencing Sensory Impairments (TRACES) Project was to provide technical assistance to state and multistate projects to improve the quality of existing placements and services for children with deaf-blindness. Seven major objectives guided project activities: assist projects…

This digest of recent proposals for educational reform provides a reference guide for those who wish to study these proposals in depth. Reports included are: (1) "Academic Preparation for College" (College Board Project Equality); (2) "ACSA's Recommendations on Standards" (Association of California School Administrators); (3) "Action for…

The 2005 Task Force of the Chancellor's Consultation Council was created to recommend long-term strategies to identify access and service goals for California Community Colleges (CCC), the resources needed to achieve these goals, and ways to obtain needed resources. This technical paper provides the Task Force with forecasts of plausible scenarios…