For two decades, Ohio's district and school report cards have been the linchpin to a transparent and accountable public school system and have highlighted student outcomes in the state's 3,000 plus public schools and 600 plus districts. Report cards offer key academic information about how students perform on the year's state assessments and how…

Home-school communication is fundamental to parent involvement and student success. This essay and discussion article outlines the broad range of opportunities currently available for teachers to communicate with parents and associated strategies. The most frequent one-way modes of communication used with parents are discussed (websites,…

Student grades that appear on assessments and report cards have no universal meaning and therefore require teachers to explicitly define and communicate the meaning in a clear manner to students and parents. Grading experts recommend the meaning to be student learning of academic standards, which requires teachers following this recommendation to…

The link between health and learning is clear: healthy, active and well-nourished children are more likely to attend school, be ready to learn and stay engaged in class. Yet far too many students--particularly low income students and students of color--spend their days in buildings with unhealthy air, have limited opportunities for physical…

California State University, Los Angeles (Cal State LA) has committed to becoming Los Angeles' premier educational anchor institution, forging meaningful partnerships that contribute to the overall well-being of the region. Cal State LA ranks number one in the nation for the upward mobility of its students (Chetty, Friedman, Saez, Turner, &…

Analyses presented in this report suggest that elementary school students' personal development skill ratings were fairly stable over time at the student, teacher, and grade levels. Students' personal development skill ratings also were positively related to students' achievement.

This article provides a historical interpretation of one of the defining features of modern schooling: grades. As a central element of schools, grades--their origins, uses and evolution--provide a window into the tensions at the heart of building a national public school system in the United States. We argue that grades began as an intimate…

A body mass index (BMI) report card is a tool to inform parents about their child's weight status. Body mass index notifications could curb childhood obesity by prompting parents to encourage their children to be more physically active and make better dietary choices, but they could also lower children's self-esteem and increase weight-related…

This paper describes daily report cards and the evidence relating to their use in schools for children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). This intervention typically involves teachers evaluating a student's behaviour at school against pre-determined targets and parents subsequently providing reinforcement at home for positive…

The article examines the status of leadership in two California public higher education systems: California State University (CSU) and the University of California (UC) from 2001 to 2009. Findings reveal that the representation of Latina/o faculty and administrators does not reflect the density in the Latina/o undergraduate student and general…

On September 12th, Ohio released school report-card ratings for the 2013-14 school year. This report compiles and analyzes the statewide data, with special attention given to the quality of public schools in the Ohio Big Eight urban areas: Akron, Canton, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton, Toledo, and Youngstown (both district and charter…

This paper describes a major initiative in the Commonwealth of Kentucky to develop a statewide, standards-based, student report card for reporting the learning progress of individual students at all grade levels (K-12). Led by a team of researchers with expertise in grading and reporting, 36 educators from three diverse school districts created…

The Early Childhood Advisory Council (ECAC) in Minnesota makes recommendations to the Governor and Legislature, and is responsible for fulfilling the duties required by federal and state statutes. The Council was created in 2008 by the Governor's Executive Order 08-14. The ECAC consists of 18 members, including the State Director of the Head Start…

Each state and jurisdiction that participated in the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) 2009 Grade 12 Reading and Mathematics State Pilot assessment receives a one-page snapshot report that presents key findings and trends in a condensed format. This report presents the results for Arkansas' student achievement in reading. In 2009,…

Each state and jurisdiction that participated in the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) 2009 Grade 12 Reading and Mathematics State Pilot assessment receives a one-page snapshot report that presents key findings and trends in a condensed format. This report presents the results for Connecticut's student achievement in reading. In…