This is the tenth in a series of articles entitled "The Legacy Project." The Legacy Project focuses on the lives and actions of leaders who have forged our profession into what it is today. Members of the profession owe a debt of gratitude to these leaders. One simple way to demonstrate that gratitude is to recognize these leaders and…

For much of the last two decades, beginning with the passage of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) in 2002, the top political leaders have shown concern about children stuck in failing public schools. NCLB required districts to do something -- not enough, but something -- about those schools. Millions of children still languish in low-performing schools,…

This study examines administrators' perspectives of a state-developed principal evaluation model adopted by a majority of Indiana school districts after legislation mandated policy reform in educator evaluation. Feedback was gathered from public school superintendents (the evaluators) and principals (those being evaluated), with 364 participants.…

This 2015 annual report shares many of the accomplishments achieved by the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools in 2015 including the celebration of their 10th anniversary. Among other achievements, the report highlights: (1) At the end of 2015 Congress and the President agreed to an $80 million increase in support for the federal Charter…

This policy brief explores Senate Enrolled Act 001 (SEA 1), specifically the provisions for how teachers must be evaluated. After a short summary of SEA 1 and its direct changes to evaluation policies and practices, the brief reviews literature in teacher evaluation and highlights important issues for school corporations to consider when selecting…

Agricultural education begins with hands-on classroom and laboratory instruction. Because agriculture is such a broad topic, schools typically tailor agriculture class offerings to match the interests of the student population, needs of nearby businesses and industry, or topics relevant to their state's standard assessments. Within most…

This study examines teacher leadership within the framework of a specific school reform model, focusing on an empowered school culture, including teacher involvement in curriculum and instruction, school policy decisions, and professional development activities. Using a concurrent triangulation mixed methods design, data were collected through a…

In October 2010, WestEd's Strategic Literacy Initiative (SLI) won an i3 "Validation" grant to scale up and validate the Reading Apprenticeship (RA) model in three core secondary content area classes: U.S. history, biology, and English language arts. SLI's proposal stated two goals. Goal 1: To transform academic literacy teaching and…

With research indicating that upwards of 50 percent of all new entering postsecondary education students are placed into remedial education and that students placed into remedial education are less likely to earn a postsecondary credential, policymakers and postsecondary leaders alike have committed themselves to transforming remedial education in…

This project examines how eight state education agencies engaged the charge of improving their lowest-performing schools. The states examined are among the most active and intentional in this regard. In many ways, they are at the leading edge of what could eventually become 50 different experiments in performance management. By focusing on states…

Performance-based funding is a system based on allocating a portion of a state's higher education budget according to specific performance measures such as course completion, credit attainment, and degree completion, instead of allocating funding based entirely on enrollment. It is a model that provides a fuller picture of how successfully…

This article is the third of three case studies of successful implementation of experiential education at very different types of institutions. This case study discusses the use of David A. Kolb's Experiential Learning Model in the implementation of innovative graduation requirements in experiential education that began in 2008. Purdue University…

Human capital is the key to economic development. Without highly-skilled workers, states and territories cannot attract the productive businesses they need. That makes higher education a key element of any governor's growth strategy. But many public colleges and universities are struggling to produce more graduates. Overall graduation rates often…

Recent research suggests the need for more intensive clinically-based teacher preparation programs. Many institutions of higher education, in partnership with school districts and education reform organizations, are responding to these findings. This article focuses on the experience of administrators and faculty in one urban teacher residency…

Developing school leaders who are equipped with the knowledge, skills, and dispositions needed to effectively lead low-performing schools has become a critical goal for local school districts intent on dramatically improving student outcomes. Given the current criticism surrounding leadership preparation programs and the changing nature of school…