The executive summary of the first meeting of the National Advisory Council on Rural Development gives highlights of remarks and presentations by 16 speakers and discussions by subgroups on supporting state and local government (management and rural development roles), on new ways for rural development, and on financing rural development. Purposes…

Results are presented from the first two years of implementation of Detroit's Peer Teachers as Mirrors and Monitors Project. The data describe reading and mathematics achievement in grades 1-4 at two schools which participated in the project interventions, and one comparison school. Results indicate that: (1) teachers' appropriate use of time…

This first annual report on the "Condition of Education in Ohio 2004" provides in-depth data about the students who are served by Ohio's elementary and secondary educational system and how well they are performing. This report provides educators, policymakers and researchers with a comprehensive picture of Ohio's kindergarten through…

This document is a questionnaire designed for work-based learning providers. It is a diagnostic benchmarking tool developed to give organizations a snapshot of their current state. Following a brief introduction, there are instructions for filling in the questionnaire, which includes both open-ended response and scoring according to a…

For the twenty-seventh year, the Research and Theory Division of the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT) is sponsoring the publication of these Proceedings. Papers published in this volume were presented at the National AECT Convention in Chicago, Illinois. The Proceedings of AECT's Convention are published in two…

Each year, the Community College Survey of Student Engagement ("CCSSE") presents the results of its annual survey. These survey results help community colleges assess their educational practices so they can improve student outcomes in one of the most challenging and least understood sectors of American higher education. There are several…

Each year, the Community College Survey of Student Engagement ("CCSSE") presents the results of its annual survey. These survey results help community colleges assess their educational practices so they can improve student outcomes in one of the most challenging and least understood sectors of American higher education. There are several…

Education in the United States faces important problems in the large and increasing enrollments in secondary schools, in the wide variety of interests and the extensive range of capacities represented in the pupils coming to these schools, and in the peculiar needs by pupils of early adolescent age for advice and guidance on social, moral,…

Designed for use by postsecondary educators involved in teaching displaced workers, this guidebook provides an in-depth look at successful upgrading and retraining programs in colleges in diverse situations across the country. The rationale for a human resource emphasis in economic development and the role of the two-year college in economic…

The role of the elementary school principal is critical in determining school effectiveness. This study analyzes the thinking and language of 22 "effective change" elementary school principals to discover common patterns in decisionmaking processes. The method of grounded theory delineates implicit theories principals use to make…

This guide presents some of the best thinking about the difficult and puzzling work of improving student achievement. Taken as whole, it gives a complete picture of what it will take to close the achievement gap. It contains background, findings, and key policy recommendations from a 22-month study conducted by the Washington State School…

This summary outlines the key findings from a national evaluation of the first-year trials of the New Relationship with Schools (NRwS) carried out by a team at the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER). The trials took place in the period September 2004 to July 2005 and involved 93 schools in eight local educational authorities…

The convergence of two apparently opposite theories of urban educational reform is analyzed as it occurs in three middle schools in a New York City school district. The first theory, emphasizing small schools of choice, promotes close relationships between students and adults in distinctive school programs. The second--centralized, standards-based…

This research synthesis is the third in a series of reports to help local school, community, and family leaders obtain useful research-based information about key educational issues. This synthesis addresses diversity as it relates to student achievement and school, family, and community connections. This synthesis focuses specifically on three…

This module for a 1-semester Total Quality Management (TQM) course for high school or community college students covers the topics of benchmarking and the continuous improvement process. It includes the following components: (1) a narrative summary of the topics; (2) a discussion of benchmarking; (3) a benchmarking exercise (the "numbered ball"…