This report assesses student perceptions of the Kentucky Education Reform Act (KERA). Individual and focus-group interviews were conducted with approximately 100 students in 6 schools in 3 geographically different school districts across Kentucky. In addition, a brief exit interview was conducted with principals to solicit feedback concerning…

Research was conducted to investigate how beginning teachers perceived the adequacy of their preparation for implementing primary school programs' critical attributes as specified by the Kentucky Education Reform Act (KERA). Although 89 out of 100 teachers reported their training programs contained information about KERA, 57% stated that most of…

The passage of the Kentucky Education Reform Act (KERA) in the 1990s made Kentucky one of the first states to initiate comprehensive education reform. It established a legislatively mandated goal that all public schools reach "proficiency" (100 of 140 points) on an accountability index by 2014. This paper tries to predict which schools…

The goal of the Kentucky Education Reform Act (KERA) of 1990 was that all schools would be successful as measured by the Kentucky Instructional Results Information System (KIRIS). The Kentucky Distinguished Educator Program was created to promote the goal. The program sought to create a pool of distinguished educators who would serve in School…

In response to well-documented concerns over America's educational crisis, Kentucky initiated the nation's most sweeping set of educational reforms with the 1990 passage of the Kentucky Education Reform Act. This report examines the accomplishments of these reform efforts since 1990 and makes recommendations for future action. Following an…

Investigates the effects on students' literacy learning of implementing recommended practices for primary programs, mandated in Kentucky's sweeping education-reform effort. Finds that students taught by four "high implementing" teachers outperformed students of "low implementing" teachers on every measure of literacy…

This study investigated beginning teachers' perceptions of, preparation for, agreement with, and implementation of Primary School Programs (PSP), one segment of the Kentucky Education Reform Act (KERA). In 1993, surveys were mailed to 630 first year primary teachers in Kentucky. The surveys asked about 15 critical attributes of PSP identified by…

This research summary says school-based management increases political activity in schools, but is time-consuming; many teachers evade SBM; less actively participating parents risk co-option by educators; and schools will not commit necessary resources. Academic achievement is not necessarily improved, and organizational implementation obstacles…

This report describes the attitudes of parents, the general public, school principals, and teachers across Kentucky about the implementation of school reforms based on the Kentucky Education Reform Act of 1990 (KERA). Data were gathered from random telephone surveys in the eight geographic regions of the state for each targeted audience based on…

The 1994-1995 study of the Kentucky Education Reform Act (KERA) Preschool Programs constitutes the fourth year of evaluation of the state-mandated preschool programs for at-risk 4-year-old children and 3- and 4-year-olds with disabilities. The report is divided into sections which discuss the methodology and the results (the bulk of the report) of…

This report details results of the 1995-96 study of the Kentucky Education Reform Act (KERA) Preschool Programs, the fifth such evaluation of the state-mandated preschool programs of at-risk 4-year-old children and 3- and 4-year-olds with disabilities. Following an executive summary and explanation of the methodology for the evaluation, this…

In order to examine trends in educational reform in Kentucky, two studies of student portfolio evaluations as perceived by Kentucky teachers were described and compared. Under the Kentucky Educational Reform Act, student portfolios can serve as a basis for official evaluation of school performance. The first study, conducted in the fall and spring…