Athena Swan was established in 2005 with the goal of advancing the careers of women in STEMM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and Medicine) subjects in higher education. Since then, it has expanded its remit in various ways and has generated some controversy. This paper explains how Athena Swan operates as a policy-scoring scheme,…

Accumulating evidence indicates that student attendance is closely tied to a range of educational outcomes, and yet millions of students are chronically absent each year. Under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), schools are now held accountable for their students' attendance at a scale this country has never before seen. As such, this is a…

Systems of accountability are "second order" ways of using evidence of the standard to which "first order" tasks are carried out for a great variety of purposes. However, more accountability is not always better, and processes of holding to account can impose high costs without securing substantial benefits. At their worst,…

While family-based placement prevention services, family reunification programs, subsidized guardianship, and aggressive adoption programs are reducing the numbers of children spending long periods of time in substitute care, a significant number of America's children will come of age in foster care. Agencies and policymakers should use research…

An administrative change in faculty hiring in a continuing education department was assessed in five ways, concluding that the adult education program improved, the number of scheduled courses increased, students evaluated teachers more highly, anecdotal information and a commissioned survey showed policy changes, and a campus poll reflected…

Providing information on the issue of merit pay for teachers, this booklet covers reasons for adopting merit-pay programs, examples of such programs now operating, definitions of types of programs, indications of why some programs have failed, and steps for developing a successful program. Noting the lagging pay of teachers and inadequacies of…

Chapter 1, Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, authorizes federal assistance for state and local programs of education for disadvantaged elementary and secondary school pupils. Its appropriation for fiscal year (FY) 1989 is $4.6 billion. Chapter 1 has been reauthorized and comprehensively revised by the 100th Congress,…

This issue brief examines the role of central office administrators in the reinvention process and what research and experience matters for expanding student learning. The brief includes examples from central office reinvention efforts currently planned or under way in Atlanta Public Schools, New York City Public Schools, and Oakland Unified…

The Duke University School Research Partnership (SRP) Office was developed with support from the Office of the Provost and the Center for Child and Family Policy. Begun in 2006 as the Duke Office for Research in Schools (DORIS), the SRP Office is an integral part of the work of the Center for Child and Family Policy. The SRP Office facilitates…

In response to recommendations by a task force on teaching and teacher education, the state of Wisconsin established the Teacher Incentives Pilot Program. The goal of the program is to plan, develop, and administer a series of pilot projects which model different types of incentives designed to attract, prepare, and retain competent teachers.…

Discusses the role of teacher achievement and recognition in job satisfaction, and describes a mini-grant incentive model that offers teachers opportunities and incentives for achievement and recognition through increased responsibilities and expanded opportunities for development. The application process, implementation phase, and evaluation…

This volume reports the results of an extensive study of state teacher policies and programs. It is based on the idea that the extraordinary level of state activity in recent years, if coupled with the interests and aspirations of teachers themselves, can be the foundation for a renewal of the teaching profession. Section 1 describes innovative…

Accountability and performance incentive plans in education are compromised by goal distortion, gaming, and corruption. Education policy makers who design such plans have paid insufficient attention to similar experiences in other fields. This paper describes institutions in health care, job training and welfare administration, and in the private…

Abstracts of college projects that were winners of the ninth annual Cost Reduction Incentive Awards Program are presented, including 47 programs that received monetary awards and 11 that received honorable mentions. One of the three top winners was Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis, which used an ultrasound device to detect…

Information on 28 programs supported by the Office of Higher Education Programs and three programs of the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE) are provided. In addition to a brief statement of the scope of each program, information is provided on eligibility, the budget and average award amount, and where to write for more…