Recently, student outcomes have bubbled to the top of debates about how to evaluate teaching in community and liberal arts colleges, universities, and professional schools, but even more international attention has been riveted on how outcomes are being used to evaluate teachers and administrators K-12 (Harris, 2012; Rowen & Raudenbush, 2016;…

The Common Core State Standards Initiative seeks to prepare all students to graduate high school without remedial needs, to improve transparency across states' accountability systems, and to foster efficiencies in the development and distribution of educational resources. The reform was adopted in more than 40 states and has been described as…

All of the states in this study have recently been involved in school accountability system reform. Since 2011, the states have taken advantage of a federal program to give them flexibility around certain requirements of the "No Child Left Behind Act" of 2001 (NCLB), the most recent reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary…

The success of the United States in the 21st century will depend on the ideas and skills of its population. These have always been the nation's most important assets. As the world becomes increasingly technological, the value of these national assets will be determined by the effectiveness of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics…

Applying a Multiple Streams framework, the article documents the development and ultimate undoing of what became known as the national sales tax plan for education. The authors identify four factors that coalesced to lead the Nixon administration to propose replacing local property taxes with a federal value-added tax to finance K-12 education.…

U.S. educators and policymakers are concerned about the poor performance of the public schools, particularly schools that serve students from low-income families. Although education is primarily a state function, the federal government also has a longstanding interest in improving education for disadvantaged students, and it targets funding to…

These hearing transcripts present testimony on removing barriers that may impede the successful integration of Head Start with other programs that serve to prepare disadvantaged children for success. It begins with the prepared statements of Honorable Michael N. Castle, Chairman, Subcommittee on Education Reform, Committee on Education and the…

Needs of collegiate mathematics across the nation are considered, and suggestions are offered to the National Science Foundation (NSF) by a professor of Mathematics at St. Olaf College (Minnesota). Changes in mathematics content, scope, and applications have implications for the college curriculum. Problems and challenges are posed by: increased…

Research conducted by the General Accounting Office (GAO) indicates that the current system of multiple employment training programs requires major overhaul to reduce costs, streamline the bureaucracy, and improve results. The current system of 163 different federal employment training programs wastes resources and confuses and frustrates clients,…

Several recently commissioned Department of Labor reports and other publications examining youth employment and training (E&T) programs were reviewed, and the findings were synthesized into a proposed framework for reviewing current and recommended directions for youth E&T programs with consideration for available research on youth development. It…

This document contains 27 essays and 5 policy statements regarding creation of a comprehensive and unified federal employment and training policy for youth and adults. The following essays are included: "In Search of the American Way" (Wills); "Rethink the Demand Side" (Smith); "The Federal Government as a Change Agent" (Nathan); "Making Sense of…