This pilot study investigated the relationship between principal preparation program (PPP) field experience structure and principal instructional leadership preparedness as measured by state certification exams and state-wide student assessment results. The researchers sought to determine if a statistically significant difference existed in…

The accreditation process and the federal role in shaping it are clearly of critical importance for ensuring all students have access to quality postsecondary options. And yet, due to the complexity of the relationship among the federal government, accreditors, and institutions, and the opacity of the accreditation process itself, there is little…

This article describes efforts in Massachusetts and the Multi-State Collaborative to Advance Learning Outcomes Assessment (MSC) to develop a statewide system for learning outcomes assessment that does not rely on standardized testing and that is designed to transcend the traditional tensions and boundaries between campus-based formative and…

This report is published as the result of a range of investigations and debates involving many universities and colleges and a series of meetings, presentations, discussions and consultations. Interest in a grade point average (GPA) system was originally initiated by a group of interested universities, progressing to the systematic investigation…

Approximately 30 states are now adopting teacher evaluation policies that include student learning objectives (SLOs), which are classroom-specific student test growth targets set by teachers and approved (and scored) by principals. Today state and district leaders are trying to determine the appropriate level of guidance and oversight to provide…

Using assessment data to determine student growth has become an integral part of the accountability movement, and researchers and educators are currently examining how new rules impact the academic assessment of gifted learners. In 2008, the Association for the Gifted's Annual Symposium at the Council for Exceptional Children Convention focused on…

Based on current research, many students in the middle grades (6-8) have not performed at their highest academic levels. In 2011, more than one-half of eighth graders in 16 Southern states scored basic or below basic on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). Alternatively, effective principal-leaders strategically demonstrated…

Standardized-test scores are increasingly important indicators of school success. But how robust are school-performance ratings when they are based on measures derived from these scores? In my thesis, using data from Houston Independent School District (HISD) and New York State (NYS), I examined the robustness of school-performance ratings across…

Proficiency-based or competency-based approaches to education are undergoing a resurgence in both K-12 and higher education settings, spurred in part by advances in digital learning technologies. These approaches allow students to progress at their own pace through a diverse range of personalized learning experiences aligned to students'…

The Department of Education (Education) created Race to The Top (RTT) under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 to provide incentives for states to reform K-12 education in areas such as improving the lowest performing schools and developing effective teachers and leaders. In 2010, Education awarded 12 states nearly $4 billion in…

Under the federal No Child Left Behind Act, schools were held almost exclusively accountable for absolute levels of student performance. But that meant that even schools that were making great strides with students were still labeled as "failing," just because the students had not yet made it all the way to a "proficient" level…

The Growth Model Pilot Project (GMPP) was initiated to allow states to experiment with adjustments to the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) status accountability system in order to improve the validity of AYP determinations by giving schools credit for students who are making significant growth. The pilot allowed states, districts, and schools to…

States participating in the Growth Model Pilot Program reference individual student growth against "proficiency" cut scores that conform with the original No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). Although achievement results from conventional NCLB models are also cut-score dependent, the functional relationships between cut-score location and…

A key intent of the NCLB growth pilot is to reward low-status schools who are closing the gap to proficiency. In this article, we demonstrate that the capability of proposed models to identify those schools depends on how the growth model is incorporated into accountability decisions. Six pilot-approved growth models were applied to vertically…

The U.S. Department of Education (ED) initiated the Growth Model Pilot Project (GMPP) in November 2005 with the goal of approving up to ten states to incorporate growth models in school adequate yearly progress (AYP) determinations under the "Elementary and Secondary Education Act" ("ESEA"). After extensive reviews, nine states…