This dissertation investigates the prevailing No Child Left Behind (NCLB) mandate as an effective platform to improve schools. The data compiled for use in this study represented 426 high schools in Pennsylvania and were retrieved from publicly accessible, state-sponsored sources. The statistical methodologies from the Pennsylvania Value-Added…

Over the last 30 years, there has been ongoing research and debate concerning the implementation and effectiveness of cooperative learning in the classroom. The problem is determining the fair assignment of individual grades while using cooperative work. Teachers have limited time to compile, equate, and convert group grades for each student. The…

As the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) law moves through the reauthorization process, it is important to understand the basic performance impacts of its central structure of accountability. In this paper, I examine the effects of failure to make Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) under NCLB on subsequent student math and reading performance at the school…

Ethiopia is a large country in the Horn of Africa. It has a diverse population of eighty million people who speak over thirty distinct languages. Approximately 80% of the population live in rural areas and rely on subsistence agriculture. Despite economic growth and an abundance of natural resources, it is a country with a per-capita income of…

Considerable research indicates that high-stakes accountability policies have the capacity to influence language arts instruction, particularly in urban, high-needs schools where pressure to increase test scores tends to be most acute. This article utilizes Cultural Historical Activity Theory to critically examine the constraints and affordances…

This paper focuses on accountability in school-based education in England. It explores notions of accountability and proposes a new framework for its analysis. It then identifies a number of types of accountability which are present in school-based education, and discusses each in terms of who is accountable to whom and for what. It goes on to…

School counselors are increasingly being held responsible for creating programs and services that promote school success and that interface with the academic goals of schools. These programs should help students develop skills to aid in the learning process. In addition, school counselors, who fully implement a comprehensive guidance and…

During the past two decades, performance-based accountability systems (PBASs), which link financial or other incentives to measured performance as a means of improving services, have gained popularity among policymakers. Although PBASs can vary widely across sectors, they share three main components: goals (i.e., one or more long-term outcomes to…

Technology-enhanced formative evaluation (TEFE) could enhance student achievement while diminishing the burden of formative evaluation for educators. The current study examined data from 360 randomly selected schools that either used a TEFE program for 1 year to 4 years 11 months, for 5 or more years, or not at all. Analyses of covariance found a…

Higher education institutions and their departments are facing increased demands to document the effectiveness and efficiency of their academic programs, research, and engagement. These demands arise from the various constituents who have vested but not always "compatible" interest in the quality of the work and outcomes of these institutions. The…

It has been suggested that one of the purposes of archival description is to establish grounds for presuming the authenticity of the records being described. The article examines the implications of this statement by examining the relationship between and among authenticity, archival description, and archival accountability, assessing how this…

This "Sixth Annual Report Card" reflects the progress that is being made throughout Boston's entire education pipeline. More than 77,000 school-age children live in the City of Boston. The vast majority, 93%, attend a school in the Boston Public Schools system, a Boston Charter public school, or a Boston Catholic school. The goal with…

When the Connecticut State Department of Education published its first district report cards in 2003, it was obvious that the Hartford Public Schools district was struggling. Fewer than half of its students were proficient on the state reading exam. Math performance was better, but 63 percent of 10th-graders and 43 percent of younger students…

In this article we introduce a "head and heart" approach to community-engaged scholarship. Through the literatures of Aboriginal scholarship and engaged scholarship we reflect on a community-university research and program development project undertaken in response to health and education concerns of Aboriginal people in Canada. We…

A hallmark of the US education system is the opportunity afforded to students to pursue education and career paths of their own choosing. This flexibility and autonomy, however, has drawbacks. Students must navigate a series of complex and often disconnected environments, as well as numerous decision points, before they attain a fulfilling career.…