This issue of "Assessment Update" presents the following articles: (1) Organizing for Learning Improvement: What It Takes (Andrea M. Pope and Keston H. Fulcher); (2) Editor's Notes: The Leadership Imperatives for Assessment Excellence -- Imperative #2, Attracting and Retaining Talent to Support Assessment Excellence (Stephen P. Hundley);…

The nation has made an unprecedented investment in community colleges to simultaneously increase college completion and stimulate economic recovery. One of the most substantial investments was the Trade Adjustment Act Community College and Career Training (TAACCCT) program of the United States Department of Labor (U.S. DOL). Beginning October…

The California Collaborative on District Reform convened in Oakland for a two-day meeting, "Integrating Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning to Advance Equity and Achievement." The meeting explored methods to support and integrate academic, social, and emotional learning in K-12 education. Implementation efforts surrounding the…

While occupying various academic leadership positions, the authors repeatedly encounter the use of the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) accreditation to influence decision making around engineering curricula. For instance, ABET criteria are commonly cited as the reason why particular changes to engineering programs, such…

High-quality care in the earliest years of life has been shown to relate to positive developmental outcomes for children, including improved early academic skills, social-emotional competencies, and cognitive functioning. Unfortunately, the early care experiences of many children are not always high quality; rather, research suggests that…

Many students are capable of reading a chapter, doing the end-of-chapter questions, studying a little bit, and passing the chapter test. Many teachers are in the habit of using a textbook as a crutch to fall back on when creativity is lacking. Others are capable of teaching incredibly creative lessons based on state standards but are bound by the…

The surge of high-stakes testing and accountability has been felt in Texas and all across the country. Every state is demanding to some degree or another that administrators and teachers increase their workload, alter their teaching, rearrange the curriculum, adjust professional development, and implement improvement programs in order to raise…

The purpose of this report is to provide descriptive information about educational technology practices related to the core objectives of the U.S. Department of Education's Enhancing Education Through Technology (EETT) program. The EETT program is part of the "No Child Left Behind Act of 2001" ("NCLB") and, like other elements…

There remains a lack of published empirical data on the substantive outcomes of higher learning and the establishment of quality processes for determining them. Studies that do exist are nationally focused with available rankings of institutions reflecting neither the quality of teaching and learning nor the diversity of institutions. This article…

THE PROGRAM'S PURPOSE WAS TO RAISE PUPIL'S ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT, INCREASE THE PROCESSIONAL GROWTH OF THE STAFF, DEVELOP PUPIL POTENTIAL, BRING ENRICHMENT TO BOTH CHILDREN AND THE COMMUNITY, AND DEVELOP A WHOLESOME, HARMONIOUS, AND INTELLIGENT RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE SCHOOL AND THE COMMUNITY. STAFF EVALUATIONS OF THE PROGRAM REVEALED DEFINITE…

Describes the results of a study of three programs successfully teaching basic skills. Characteristics of successful schools include careful alignment of curriculum and instruction and grade-level instructional planning. (Author/JM)

Each year staff members in the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, Division of School Improvement, conduct onsite visits to each of the most improved schools, K-12, as identified by the ABCs of Public Education. Using a structured-interview process, staff members talk with administrators and teachers to determine what strategies…

Many influential reviewers refuse to consider the central ideas and recommendations of Ravich and Finn in "What Do Our 17-Year Olds Know?" and Hirsch in "Cultural Literacy." One hopes this will not continue: the willingness of academicians to openly debate the problems and opportunities of improving our schools is crucial to…

Examination of about 300 Black and White first graders demonstrates that providing a great deal of instructional time and using high-quality, challenging materials are critical to student success in reading and that grouping students by ability within a class and then matching the pace of instruction to students' ability bolsters achievement. (BJV)

The Coalition of Essential Schools promotes the following principles: (1) personalized instruction; (2) student-as-worker, teacher-as-coach; (3) focus on adolescents; (4) focus on essential skills and knowledge; (5) teachers as generalists; (6) diploma by exhibition of mastery; (7) goals for all students; (8) tone of expectation, trust, and…