Three studies are described in this article. Each is focused on a different aspect of the long-standing initiative that supports special education doctoral students. This initiative is one of the discretionary programs of the Individuals With Disabilities Education Improvement Act that is managed by the U.S. Department of Education's Office of…

Between 1979 and 2008, the number of school-age children (ages 5-17) in the United States who spoke a language other than English at home increased from 3.8 to 10.9 million, or from 9 to 21 percent of the population in this age range, according to the latest figures from the National Center on Education Statistics (NCES). The NCES also reveals…

This document presents the Indian School Report Cards for School Year 2008-2009. Data tables for each school are presented according to: (1) Enrollment; (2) Average Daily Attendance Rate, Graduation Rate and Dropout Rate; (3) Student Achievement; and (4) High Quality Teachers.

The purpose of this research is to ascertain whether or not there is a relationship between accreditation method and institutional performance as measured by the institutions' graduation rates and retention rates. More specifically, this research will provide empirical evidence of the relative performance of institutions that are Academic Quality…

The Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) Learning-Centered Leadership Program hosted its sixth Annual State Leadership Forum May 7 and 8, 2009, in Atlanta. More than 160 education leaders, district officials and policymakers from 25 states attended the forum to hear from practitioners who are getting results in student learning amidst…

"Straight A's: Public Education Policy and Progress" is a biweekly newsletter that focuses on education news and events both in Washington, DC and around the country. The following articles are included in this issue: (1) House Begins Work on FY 2010 Appropriations: Subcommittee Shoots Down Obama Proposal to Shift Title I Funds to School…

Social work doctoral education is essential to the continuation of the profession through its production of educators and researchers. Predicted shortages of educators give urgency to the problems of dissertation delays, lengthy time to completion, and attrition. Using Vygotsky's sociocultural theory of learning, in this article we review the…

Dropouts pay a steep price for leaving high school without their diplomas. In terms of wages, unemployment rates, and career mobility, the grim statistics have been lamented for decades. Society also suffers--more crime and welfare, fewer tax dollars, and lower voter turnout. Not every dropout faces a bleak future. But on balance, the…

When Superintendent Anthony Amato arrived in Stockton, California's 38,000-student district, he knew that three of its four comprehensive high schools had been labeled "dropout factories." Mr. Amato, who has led the Hartford, Connecticut, Kansas City, Missouri, and New Orleans districts, studied Stockton's data to form his plan. Then he…

The numbers of children with access to basic education in sub-Saharan Africa have increased substantially over the last two decades but many still remain out of school. Some fail to enrol at all, especially in fragile states, and many more start school but do not complete the basic cycle. Education for All (EFA) and the Millennium Development…

This article examines access to and exclusion from basic education in Ghana over the period 1991-2006, using data derived from the Ghana Living Standards Surveys. It uses the CREATE "zones of exclusion" model to explore schooling access outcomes within the framework of the household production function. Empirical findings indicate that…

New Zealand has one of the lowest reported higher education qualification completion rates in the OECD, significantly below Australia. Why do so many New Zealand students not complete their qualification? This paper looks behind some of the numbers in an attempt to understand better and assess New Zealand's performance compared with Australia and…

The U.S. Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) has measured various types of high school graduation, completion, and dropout rates for decades. In 2006, NCES was directed by senior managers in the Education Department to reduce use of its standard graduation and completion rate measures and instead promote the…

Using a probit and censored ordered probit model of school completion we identify some state-specific factors influencing primary and middle school graduation probabilities of male and female children in two north-Indian states: Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. We find that education of the parents, economic and social status of the household and the…

To spotlight effective practices, the Washington State Board of Education (SBE) is highlighting schools that are closing achievement gaps and performing at high levels. In 2009, the SBE partnered with the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) to create the Washington Accountability Index. The Index is a new way to measure schools'…