On February 17, 2009, President Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). The law had a very simple mission: kick-start an economic recovery through strategic investment. Deep within the law were a number of key education initiatives, including Race to the Top (RTT), which was a way to invest in the nation's education system…

Schedule redesign is only one small part of the much larger approach to turning around low-performing schools. Even so, most states' No Child Left Behind waiver applications show a disappointing lack of detail on learning time. While they've done some careful thinking about schedule redesign, states must continue to think critically and…

The federal School Improvement Grants (SIG) program, to which $3 billion were allocated under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), supports schools attempting to turn around a history of low performance. School turnaround also is a focus of Race to the Top (RTT), another ARRA-supported initiative, which involved a roughly $4…

This technical brief responds to an Arizona Department of Education request to study academic performance in schools receiving funding through the federal Title I compensatory education program, the section of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 governing resources for schools and districts serving disadvantaged populations. The brief describes…

Across the United States, student achievement is a concern. The local district under study is not meeting adequate yearly progress (AYP), a standard initiated by the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), which schools are expected to attain to avoid sanctions. The district's students are performing lower than state average on the state's standardized…

This technical brief examines the 2008/09 reading and math proficiency levels among subgroups of Arizona public school students defined by students' race/ethnicity (American Indian, Asian, Black, Hispanic, and White), English language learner status (English language learner students and non-English language learner students), disability status…

Two schools in Idaho received ARRA SIG (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act School Improvement Grants) funds to enable them to implement improvement efforts. This paper describes the outcomes of these two ARRA SIG recipient schools: (1) Jefferson Middle School; and (2) Lakeside Elementary School. The experiences of this non-recipient school is…

Two schools in Michigan received ARRA SIG (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act School Improvement Grants) funds to enable them to implement their improvement efforts. This paper describes the outcomes of these two ARRA SIG recipient schools: (1) Phoenix Elementary-Middle School; and (2) Arthur Hill High School. The experiences of these…

Two schools in Maryland received ARRA SIG (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act School Improvement Grants) funds to enable them to implement their turnaround efforts. This paper describes the outcomes of these two ARRA SIG recipient schools: (1) G. James Gholson Middle School; and (2) Commodore John Rodgers Elementary School. The experiences of…

The "State ESEA ['Elementary and Secondary Education Act'] Title I Participation Summary Report for 2003-04" summarizes the participation data for the Title I, Part A (Title I), Grants to Local Education Agencies (LEAs) program. This program provides federal funds to assist eligible school districts and schools in supporting…

Today, 163 federal programs scattered across 15 federal agencies provide employment training assistance. Although they frequently target the same clients, share the same goals, compete for funds, and provide similar services, agencies maintain separate administrative structures that devote staff and other resources to administer, monitor, and…

Evaluation, as currently practiced in vocational education, may not contribute to program improvement; in fact, it may be counterproductive. Rather than asking how evaluations can be improved, it might be better to ask if a relationship does, in fact, exist between evaluation and program improvement and, if such a relationship exists, what new…

The Institute of Criminal Law and Procedure analyzes the merits, limitiations, and problems of various approaches to prison industry and recommends measures and programs to improve industries. Federal and State legislation affecting prison industries were examined, several prison industries were visited, and the literature of prison industries was…

The competencies of the nation's workers have been improving steadily. However, the improvements have not kept pace with the increased skill demands imposed by technological advancement and the shift toward a service-based economy. Academic and functional literacy problems can only be alleviated by balancing school improvement efforts with…

The "Higher Education Reconciliation Act of 2005" created two new grant programs for undergraduates: the Academic Competitiveness Grant (ACG) program and National Science and Mathematics Access to Retain Talent (National SMART) Grant program. The ACG program is intended to encourage students to take challenging courses in high school and thus…