This issue of "Assessment Update" presents the following articles: (1) SLO-Based Grading Makes Assessment an Integral Part of Teaching (Nagy N. Bengiamin and Christina Leimer); (2) Editor's Notes: Assessing Assessment's ROI (Trudy W. Banta); (3) Assessment Plans: A Tool for Sanity (Shannon M. Sexton); and (4) Lessons from…

This issue of "Assessment Update" presents the following articles: (1) Expectations for Assessment Reports: A Descriptive Analysis (Keston H. Fulcher, Matthew Swain, and Chris D. Orem); (2) Editor's Notes: A Surprising Reaction (Trudy W. Banta); (3) Getting SMART with Assessment: ACTION Steps to Institutional Effectiveness (Eric Daffron…

Council for American Private Education (CAPE) is a coalition of national associations serving private schools K-12. "Outlook" is published monthly by CAPE. This issue contains the following articles: (1) Historic Year for School Choice; (2) Above-Average Scores in Geography and U.S. History; (3) Early Learning; and (4) CAPE Notes.

Poor countries need development programs that are both effective and cost-effective. To assess effectiveness, researchers are increasingly using randomized trials (or quasi-experimental methods that imitate randomized trials), which provide a clear picture of which outcomes are attributable to the program being evaluated. This "Policy Insight"…

The first public schools established in America were originally created with the intent to give all children access to an education. An equal education for all meant that a child's parentage and social standing did not, theoretically, dictate his or her future. Today the American public school system has greatly expanded and diverged from the once…

Different educational approaches in China and India have been successful in stimulating economic growth. The two countries started building their national education systems under comparable conditions in the late 1940s; however, different policies, strategies, and historical circumstances have led them through different routes. China has…

Jordan has been paying increased attention to early childhood education in recent years. In particular, the government allocated unprecedented resources to the sector through its Education Reform for the Knowledge Economy (ERfKE) 2003/08. Funded by the World Bank and other donor agencies, ERfKE is designed to revamp the education sector starting…

States, districts and schools are now being offered unprecedented opportunities to develop programs that will improve student performance and turn around underperforming schools. An understanding of how reducing chronic early absence helps those efforts will go a long way to assure that innovative school improvement policies and practices will be…

This issue of "The Progress of Education Reform" summarizes recent research that may challenge conventional wisdom on how and where public resources for postsecondary education should be dedicated in an effort to increase college completion rates. Questions to be examined include: (1) How did changes in enrollments and the allocation of resources…

Researchers, policymakers, and education leaders agree that teacher quality is a vital factor in improving student achievement. Therefore, it is imperative that states and districts recruit, develop, and retain high-quality teachers to ensure that all children are provided with an adequate education. No Child Left Behind (NCLB) initially required…

GED (General Educational Development) learners are a diverse group--just like ABE (Adult Basic Education) and ESL (English as a second language) learners. For some, passing the GED tests closes the door on a history of defeat and failure and allows them to move ahead personally. Achieving the goal of passing all five GED tests is not easy for some…

A strategy used by many principals to gather classroom information and frame that interaction is the classroom "learning walk" or "walk-through." The walk-through can be defined as a brief, structured, nonevaluative classroom observation by the principal that is followed by a conversation between the principal and the teacher…

In this issue, we explore how community partnerships to support formal learning and development matter and how they can be created and sustained. In "Research Update," we discuss the results of a new report and poll on 21st century skills that affirms that every student needs a "basics plus" education that pushes beyond core academic knowledge to…

This issue celebrates Southwest Educational Development Laboratory's (SEDL's) history and touches upon new work. This issue includes an article on the need for educators to have access to relevant, high-quality research findings and to be able to apply those findings to their local settings. It also discusses briefly the three randomized…

Reflecting a common objective of ensuring quality Education for All, this book is a joint initiative of UNESCO and COL and jointly published. Lifelong Learning in Distance Higher Education brings together a diverse group of experts from many countries. The book provides a clear picture of the challenges, problems and potential of distance higher…