Rural districts have long faced challenges in closing achievement gaps between subgroups of students. This brief report describes key decision points and considerations for decision-makers interested in identifying rural districts that have closed academic achievement gaps. Examining practices in these districts may suggest activities associated…

Federal policymakers have interest in three specific areas of postsecondary career and technical education (CTE): associate degrees and certificates awarded in CTE, skills and training obtained through noncredit courses, and industry-recognized certifications. Research and data are readily available on students earning degrees and certificates in…

Engaging students in the design, administration, and postelection analysis of an exit poll can be an excellent experiential learning activity. Lelieveldt and Rossen (2009) argue that exit polls are a "perfect teaching tool" because they provide students with a cooperative (rather than competitive) learning experience; help students…

Over the past two decades, community organizing has emerged as an effective force for school improvement. In the context of shrinking education funding, stubborn opportunity and achievement gaps between low-income and wealthy children and between children of color and White children, and polarizing debate on school reform, community organizing…

Methods and results are described of a study to determine if elementary classroom teachers in Colorado (1) have knowledge of the valuing education process; (2) have a preference for teaching values as opposed to values clarification, other valuing processes, or moral reasoning; and (3) can define the terms values and valuing. Ninety-two teachers…

The study was designed to isolate the perceptions and influences that relate to a student's decision whether to enroll in a vocational education course. A 42-page review of related literature is presented. The procedures used in obtaining data are discussed under the following topics: construction of the attitude questionnaire, development of data…

Qualitative research methodologies comprise distinct traditions, each of which is based on its own assumptions and discrete methods for collecting, analyzing and reporting data. This paper examines a distinctive approach to qualitative research that was employed in a recent study to open a gateway to understanding the impact of the shootings at…

The needs of students in the public schools of Colorado are reviewed in a report that contains two types of information: (1) descriptions of some educational outcomes commonly desired in Colorado, as found in statements of goals and objectives; and (2) descriptions of student performance on the assessment inventory given in the spring of 1971.…

To study the impact of school finance reform on minorities and the poor, researchers gathered data on educational revenues and spending, tax effort, district wealth and income, ethnicity, and urban location in California, Colorado, Florida, Michigan, New Mexico, and Texas. Their data analysis used various measures of educational equity and fiscal…

The school-to-work transition of high school and community college vocational program completers in 1990-1992 was examined by analyzing administrative records and employment and earnings data of vocational program completers from state education agencies in Colorado, Florida, Missouri, and Washington. A consistently high percentage of vocational…