The Department of Education (Education) created Race to The Top (RTT) under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 to provide incentives for states to reform K-12 education in areas such as improving the lowest performing schools and developing effective teachers and leaders. In 2010, Education awarded 12 states nearly $4 billion in…

Under the federal No Child Left Behind Act, schools were held almost exclusively accountable for absolute levels of student performance. But that meant that even schools that were making great strides with students were still labeled as "failing," just because the students had not yet made it all the way to a "proficient" level…

The Growth Model Pilot Project (GMPP) was initiated to allow states to experiment with adjustments to the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) status accountability system in order to improve the validity of AYP determinations by giving schools credit for students who are making significant growth. The pilot allowed states, districts, and schools to…

In recent years, schools have been forced by rising costs and shrinking budgets to stretch their resources further than ever before in order to meet the educational needs of today's students. Energy costs continue to rise, placing unprecedented stress on limited funds. In fact, K-12 schools in the United States spend more than $8 billion every…

Federal education officials last week pledged that the economic-stimulus program's $650 million innovation fund will reserve the largest grants for schools, districts, and nonprofit organizations that want to finance programs with proven track records and are ready to grow. In the U.S. Department of Education's first substantial preview of the…

The U.S. Department of Education (ED) initiated the Growth Model Pilot Project (GMPP) in November 2005 with the goal of approving up to ten states to incorporate growth models in school adequate yearly progress (AYP) determinations under the "Elementary and Secondary Education Act" ("ESEA"). After extensive reviews, nine states…

As President Bush nears the end of his tenure, his administration is putting its final stamp on the No Child Left Behind Act and trying to lay the groundwork for the law's future. This article reports on the latest effort of President Bush's administration that will allow as many as 10 states to create alternative interventions for schools that…

This volume contains advocacy briefing papers presented at the 15th Annual National Indian Education Association (NIEA) Legislative Summit held February 15-15, 2012 in Washington, DC. The following papers are included: (1) Become a Powerful Advocate; (2) NIEA Legislative Priority for 2012: Reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education…

Section 9401 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), as amended, authorizes the Secretary of Education to grant waivers of ESEA requirements to state educational agencies (SEAs), local education agencies (LEAs), Indian tribes, and schools in order to assist them in increasing the quality of instruction for students and…

Describes projects funded under Part C, Title IV of the Elementary Secondary Education Act. Part C funds projects to develop new and creative approaches to education and projects that adopt the validated programs of other educational sources. Funded social studies programs include citizenship, consumer, environmental, law,…

Both process and product objectives are focused on in this evaluation report. The design for the process element centered upon the eight major areas of developmental activities, or components, defined for preparing and implementing the career education program: (1) Elementary School Program, (2) Middle School Program, (3) Secondary/Post Secondary…

This report discusses amendments offered by the Committee on Agriculture to H.R. 8, the Healthy Meals for Healthy Americans Act, which reauthorizes and improves the nutrition programs under the National School Lunch (NSL) Act and the Child Nutrition Act of 1966. The amendments deal with: (1) the amount of commodities provided to schools under the…

Systemic (top-down) educational reforms will remain limited unless they improve every teacher's methods and materials. Comprehensive or whole-school reform "scales up" effective schools until many more schools meet state and national standards. The federally funded Comprehensive School Reform Demonstration program provides a supportive…

This paper focuses on the National Sex Equity Demonstration Project, a joint effort of the University of Miami and the Broward County School Board funded by the Women's Educational Equity Act Program. The author concludes that the project made a modest, but important, contribution to the definition of educational equity. (Author/DWH)

These hearings transcripts present discussions on amendments offered by the Committee on Education and Labor to H.R. 8, the Healthy Meals for Healthy Americans Act of 1994, which will reauthorize and improve the national school lunch program and the child nutrition programs under the National School Lunch (NSL) Act and the Child Nutrition Act of…