How might policymakers and educators utilize the work already being done as states redesign their accountability systems? The 2015 reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), brought much needed attention to the performance of traditionally underserved subgroups of students. Supported by greater flexibility under ESEA…

Scaling of evidence-based practices in education has received extensive discussion but little empirical evaluation. We present here a descriptive summary of the experience from seven states with a history of implementing and scaling School-Wide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (SWPBIS) over the past decade. Each state has been…

This exploration into competency-based innovation at the school, district, and state levels suggests that competency-based pathways are a re-engineering of this nation's education system around learning--a re-engineering designed for success in which failure is no longer viable. This discussion draws on interviews and site visits with innovators…

This kit provides guidelines and materials to support a total statewide system for disseminating Promising Practices (PPs) through the Regional Coordinator network. As a resource, its intent is to provide ideas and processes for activities that support and enrich the program of work of the regional coordinator. Section 1 lists PPs currently in…

This four-document collection describes the implementation processes of dramatically improved literacy programs in elementary schools which are leading the move to restructure literacy education in the Northwest (Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington). The first document in the collection, "Strategies for Improving School-Wide…

In 1987, the Oregon Legislature passed House Bill 2020, the School Improvement and Professional Development Program. Designed to encourage innovation and professional development in a select number of Oregon schools, this act was intended to upgrade educational quality and create models for other state schools. Rather than evaluating program…

The purpose of the Promising Practices Diffusion Project, 1979-80, was to further develop, implement, and improve a statewide system for disseminating Promising Practices in vocational and career education. (Promising Practices are those exemplary projects which have met established criteria of quality.) During the first stage, a project base was…

The focus of a summative evaluation of the Promising Practices Diffusion Project was on soliciting descriptions and views of several different groups about project operation and merit and comparing the "ideal" model against what had taken place so far. Preliminary activities involved review of the project-developed Implementation Kit for…

The purpose of this study is to describe and analyze Oregon's efforts to provide equal access to education, training, and information services to its citizens using advanced communication technologies through ED-NET, an innovative state agency for distance learning. It is noted that creation of ED-NET in 1989 required the coordination of multiple…

The nature of educational evaluation and its interaction with policy in six state departments of education is examined. Case reports of research and evaluation units are presented for Virginia (by Gerald W. Bracey), Michigan (by David L. Donovan and Stanley A. Rumbaugh), Washington (by Alfred F. Rasp, Jr.), South Carolina (by Paul D. Sandifer),…

Nongraded primary education is the practice of teaching children of different ages and ability levels together, without dividing them or the curriculum into steps labeled by "grade" designations. Changing from graded to nongraded structure requires a major investment of time, energy, and commitment on the part of teachers and…

After reviewing the conceptual bases and practical application of precision teaching, this analysis traces its evolution as the Sacajawea Plan, reports on its implementation in central Oregon school districts, and details the costs and procedures of adoption. Developed by Ogden Lindsley from B. F. Skinner's work in operant conditioning and…