A new teacher appraisal process involving 5 competencies and 163 indicators has been devised by the Provincial Government of Ontario, Canada. Principals are being held responsible for the appraisals, and the competencies and indicators are being imposed on professional practice. This paper suggests that a better approach to professional growth…

The goal of the Kentucky Education Reform Act (KERA) of 1990 was that all schools would be successful as measured by the Kentucky Instructional Results Information System (KIRIS). The Kentucky Distinguished Educator Program was created to promote the goal. The program sought to create a pool of distinguished educators who would serve in School…

This study was designed to determine the degree of use, level of client satisfaction of professional development and educational services, and to identify suggestions for improving services. Results from a mixed methodology approach indicated moderate to high levels of satisfaction in two program areas and moderate to high levels of…

This paper describes the development of a state initiative to improve the quality of induction programs for new teachers in Maryland. The Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) based its decisions about appropriate teacher induction programs on a variety of information sources from research and practice. The important steps in the creation…

The "Career Ladder Technical Manual: A Guide To Interpreting Your Scores. Teacher Edition, 1986," of the Tennessee Career Ladder Evaluation System, is reviewed. Intended as a guide for the teacher candidate to interpreting test scores, the manual explains the score report for a lay audience. Raw scores and standard scores are explained.…

Beginning in 1994, the Ohio SchoolNet Program has worked to place computers in the Ohio Public Schools, and the SchoolNet Plus Initiative has provided at least one interactive computer workstation for every five children enrolled in grades K-4. This study examined (1) whether there were any relationships among teacher computer access, student…

In spring 2004, more than 1,200 teachers and principals in Tennessee participated in online professional development as part of the state?s Reading First grant. The opportunity also allowed the state to investigate the possibility of using online professional development to help teachers meet high-quality teacher requirements. Staff at the…

The Tennessee Career Ladder evaluation system is a multiple-data-source system for evaluating teachers in order to provide them with merit status and benefits. This presentation is based primarily on data from 1983 through Spring 1986, and focus is on the functioning of the general education teacher appraisal system. Four of the 14 steps involved…

A study of participation in the Louisiana Educational Employees Professional Improvement Program (PIPS) by the administrators in two parish (county) school systems indicated that the program was very attractive and that a wide variety of university courses, workshops, conferences, and conventions were attended under the program. PIPS, made…

The California Library Association has established a mentoring program to assist new or reentering librarians in establishing themselves in the profession. At the end of 3 years, the Mentor/Protege program had over 50 participating pairs of experienced and novice librarians. The program is described, and suggestions are given for implementing a…

This research sought to determine and describe the impact of standards-based reform as a policy instrument by studying the ways in which state adoption of content standards affects local policy, programs, and practice. In 1992, the state of Delaware embarked on a plan to improve its public schools. While the state worked at determining what…

In 1984, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania passed the Information Technology Education Act, which created 14 Information Technology Education for the Commonwealth (ITEC) centers. The purpose of the ITEC centers was to assist teachers in using and improving their use of microcomputers in their own classrooms by training them in instructional uses of…

The Seashore Teacher Professional Certification Program developed by Seattle University, Washington, in collaboration with three school districts, is being implemented in several phases. Phase 1 consisted of mentor support for new teachers, and Phase 2 established a site-based support program. Phase 3 consisted of graduate program coursework for…

In 1992, Massachusetts's Department of Education established five regional alliances throughout the state to support middle-school restructuring and reform. The project began with 50 schools and colleges and grew to include 11 alliances comprised of more than 165 schools and colleges. A statewide case study that describes the alliances, the…

At a time of tremendous expansion of early childhood services, funds to train the needed work force are almost unavailable outside of the Head Start community. This problem is compounded by the limited amount of attention that the topic of early childhood teacher preparation and professional development has received from researchers and…