The goal of the "Closing the Achievement Gap for 21st Century Learners in West Virginia (CAG)" report, 3rd edition, is to update West Virginia educators to the status and improvement of student achievement in West Virginia which may then be utilized as a basis for determining future educational decisions. In order to enhance the quality…

The purposes of this study were to (a) identify how leadership in a successful rural school districts has helped raise student achievement levels beyond those of comparable school districts as measured by state and federal mandated test scores, (b) investigate the district leadership that aligns with identified effective practices, and (c)…

This paper examines the current academic and policy literatures concerning school evaluation in primary and secondary education within the OECD countries. First, it provides a typology of the existing systems of school evaluation across the OECD. It encompasses the diverse criteria and instruments commonly used to carry out schools evaluation, as…

This report summarizes Austin Independent School District's 2007-2008 state-funded program to assist students who are struggling in reading and math.

The data are clear: Too many students are not doing well in school. Too many are experiencing interfering barriers, most of which are not internal dysfunctions but are associated with neighborhood, family, school, and peer factors. If the situation is to change, schools must play a greater role in providing supports for students experiencing…

This study elaborates the "what works?" question by exploring the effects of variability in program implementation quality on achievement. Particularly, the effects on achievement of computerized assessment of reading were investigated, analyzing data on 51,000 students in Grades 1-12 who read over 3 million books. When minimum implementation…

This set of eight reports is a product of the Mathemagenic Activities Program (MAP) for early childhood education of the University of Georgia Follow Through (FT) Program. Based on Piagetian theory, the MAP-FT projects are comprehensive education programs for children (K - 3) from low income families that are designed to continually challenge…

Based on individual educational and instructional programing and goal-setting strategies, the Wisconsin Program for the Renewal and Improvement of Secondary Education has improved student achievement, attitudes, and attendance in Wisconsin high schools. The program has worked largely because of its adaptability to each individual school's needs.…

There is concern that low-income children might be coming to school without eating breakfast and still not be participating in the School Breakfast Program (SBP) for a variety of reasons, including a perceived stigma associating school breakfast participation with poverty. One approach to increasing participation in the SBP is to offer free…

The papers in this volume describe how states have incorporated academic standards into their education goals. As part of the National Education Goals Panel, this collection of essays describes how nine states have recently implemented these standards, discusses how textbooks and teaching could help students reach the standards, and provides…

Discovering the value of after-school programs to school improvement initiatives and student achievement, one school district implemented a parent involvement component. Goals identified for the program were: to provide opportunities for parents and school staff to work as partners, and to share information about parent involvement and assets to…

NovaNet is an individualized, computer-based instruction program that is used in the Wake County Public School System (WCPSS), North Carolina, for high school course credit, remediation, and enrichment. NovaNet was first used in WCPSS in 1996, and in 1999 WCPSS received a 3-year federal grant to expand the use of NovaNET to all high schools. In…

Success by Eight is a pilot program of the Fairfax County (Virginia) Public Schools for students in kindergarten through grade 2. The initiative is designed to provide a group of six pilot schools with training and additional resources in implementing a specific set of components to prepare students for the third grade. These components are: (1)…

This book chronicles practitioners' struggles in implementing information technology, identifies the existing barriers to implementation, and provides a set of frameworks from the current understanding of this process to support learning through information creation. The chapters are: chapter 1, "A Model for Organizational Learning: The…

This report presents findings on the implementation and impacts of Project Transition, a research and demonstration program implemented at Pulaski High School in Milwaukee (Wisconsin) during the 1995-96 and 1996-97 school years, and in Schlagle High School in Kansas City (Kansas) during the 1996-97 school year. The program was deigned to test the…