Following the passage of No Child Left Behind, there has been increased attention among researchers, policymakers, and practitioners on the emergence and implementation of standards-based education. Existing literature documents both the promise of standards-based education and the various potential obstacles to achieving success that teachers,…

This historical case study focuses on policy making at the state level by analyzing the development of a new policy for English language learners (ELLs) in Arizona. "New institutionalism" is used as a framework, with political culture and educational regimes acting as environmental factors affecting state policy choices. Key events…

Background/Context: Peer Assistance and Review (PAR), or peer review as it has historically been called, has existed in a handful of school districts since the early 1980s. In 1999, California became the first state to pass PAR legislation; at that time, a major district had not implemented the policy in over a decade. Setting: This is an in-depth…

Describes the structure and functioning of a state-supported system of teacher centers and compares it with others. (Editor)

This report, the second in a series of six, presents the findings of evaluative studies of six Level I Model Technology School sites which were conducted as part of Phase II of the California Educational Technology Assessment Program. The project sites are: Alhambra City School District (two schools); Cupertino Union Elementary District and…

Community collaboration for improving career guidance is an attempt to obtain cooperation from local agencies, organizations, and volunteering individuals to provide assistance to citizens whose career needs are not being addressed. This monograph is designed to motivate and provide initial orientation for community leaders who want to develop…

The major distinctions between evaluation and research are examined, the chief differences being the intent and type of criteria against which judgments are made. Conceptualization of the evaluation process in higher education is discussed on two levels. A collection of nine similes for understanding evaluation is examined in terms of major…