The need to address adolescent literacy, with a focus on English Language Learners, has created a growing realization that instructional practices need to change. Two recent studies conducted by the National Literacy Panel for Language Minority Children and Youth and the Carnegie Corporation of New York's Panel on Adolescent English Language…

This report was commissioned by the Connecticut Coalition for Achievement Now (ConnCAN) and focuses specifically on the performance of charter schools in Connecticut. Performance gains made by charter schools on standardized tests relative to gains made by traditional public schools are examined. Also, a brief analysis looks at the extent to which…

Staff at a Sandy Hook, Connecticut high school agreed that content standards are fixed learning goals specifying what a student should know and accomplish; performance standards describe student work products (criteria) to meet these goals. Forthright expectations increased students' accountability for quality work, improved grading objectivity,…

This study was organized for the purpose of determining the validity of any part or parts of a pre-selected battery of standardized tests as predictors of success in secondary school trade programs. The study was limited to the trade areas of machine shop and electrical wiring in 14 state vocational schools in Connecticut. A battery of…

For past two decades, there has been a growing national concern about teacher quality. This presentation discusses Connecticut's Beginning Educator Support and Training Program (BEST) and emulation of its assessment component by a medium sized department of education. The support component of BEST requires that all school districts provide…