We study a California policy that loosened constraints on some local governments by lowering the share of votes required to pass school capital improvement bond referendums. We show that the policy change yielded larger tax proposals that received less support from voters, yet led to a doubling of approved spending. We show that this effect is…

Training school leaders in the key areas of policy and state laws, basic statistical literacy, assessment types and purposes, and value-added models is particularly important because ideas shaping teacher performance evaluation are being considered at the national, state, and local levels. The authors argue that providing school leaders with this…

With the passing of Act 82, the state of Pennsylvania has provided school districts with Danielson's Framework as a tool for principals to evaluate teachers. The purpose of this study was to determine the perceived professional development needs of Pennsylvania principals as they implemented the new educator effectiveness system. Three hundred…

In this article, the authors provide an overview of behavior screening tools available, including free and commercially available options. Next, the authors offer step-by-step procedures for (a) selecting, (b) scheduling, (c) preparing, (d) administering, and (e) scoring and interpreting behaviors screening tools. The authors conclude with…

This study describes how multiple-measure teacher evaluations were put into practice in a set of ten volunteering local education agencies (LEAs) in Arizona. After a key shift in state policy, five "pilot" LEAs implemented the new Arizona Department of Education teacher evaluation model in the 2012/13 school year, while five other…

If education in Indiana is to dramatically improve, the systems and policies that collectively shape the learning experiences for students must be re-imagined. In the spring of 2011, the Indiana legislature passed IC 20-28-11.5, a new law relating to the evaluation of all certified teaching staff and administrators. Prior to this legislation,…

The purpose of this brief is to understand the Illinois College and Career Readiness (CCR) Act in light of David Conley's college readiness model. Although not mentioned specifically by the Illinois statute, evaluation results gathered by the Office of Community College Research and Leadership (OCCRL) show alignment between a number of programs…

Every school district has policies and procedures for evaluating teachers that are shaped by state law and local collective bargaining agreements. As a result of No Child Left Behind and other accountability legislation many states modified requirements about the frequency of evaluation and now require the use of student achievement data as one…

Presents a consultation model that can serve to diminish the destructive impact of the adversarial process in child custody decisions. The process and procedures described are consonant with what most state statutes suggest as criteria for consideration in custody decisions and promote the best interests of the children. (JAC)

The study committee that compiled this report extensively reviewed articles analyzing research on personnel evaluation in Massachusetts' public schools. The report provides a definition and list of principles of evaluation, committee recommendations, a discussion of evaluation procedures in Massachusetts, examples of illustrative practices,…

Florida's Meritorious School Act provides monetary rewards for meritorious schools in each of the state's 67 districts when the schools are identified using approved procedures. The law calls for each district to develop its own plan for selecting winning schools. Each school must be selected in part by being in the upper quartile of district…

Parent involvement in New Mexico, and around the nation, is an essential element in the success of students and their schools. This simple point anchors the federal law known as the "No Child Left Behind Act of 2001" ("NCLB"). NCLB establishes state, district and school requirements designed to promote more effective parent…

The purpose of Project PRIMES (progress research in meeting elementary standards) is three-fold: to design and test a model for evaluating elementary schools by state standards, to develop a set of evaluation instruments, and to aid teachers and administrators in the application and interpretation of evaluation procedures. The project's major…

The educational reform movement of the 1980s forced superintendents and school boards to critically reexamine the rationale used for principal evaluation. The 1985 South Carolina Educational Improvement Act forced all administrators to objectively define and evaluate educational goals for both students and personnel. Consequently, the Abbeville…

This handbook was developed to assist Oregon parents in understanding the needs of gifted children and the important role parents have in their public school education. Information presented is in response to needs identified by Oregon parents. The handbook begins with an article by Gary Eisler titled "Playing TAG with Oregon's Future,"…