In this policy brief, we use the case of California's Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) to provide policy makers and educators guidance on how to involve the public in goal setting and resource distribution decisions. We provide clarity around who is and is not participating, why, and what broader lessons we can draw for implementing federal…

The second year of California's statewide administration of the Smarter Balanced assessment allows parents, educators, and policymakers a second look at achievement and a first look at growth for K-12 students as measured by this standardized test. This report describes how California's students performed on the second year of the assessment…

Many local social studies specialists, reacting to local needs and interests, have tapped abilities that are unique to their locality and have developed model programs. Benefits to teachers and some constraints of local curriculum development are discussed. (RM)

The article summarizes and comments on the publication, "A Curriculum for All," of the National Curriculum Council of the United Kingdom. Teachers of students with special needs are encouraged to follow the booklet's guidelines to ensure access to the National Curriculum. Concerns about assessment and local management of schools are…

Compares the relationship between local or national control over curricular issues and the content of mathematics instruction in 15 national educational systems. Finds in systems with national control, teachers are more likely to teach the same curriculum and the amount of the mathematics curriculum actually taught is unrelated to student or…

Identifies problems plaguing social studies' future developments, including the content-process approach debate. Recommends a synoptic approach, based on meeting psychological students' needs and connecting ideas to learners. Argues against a uniform national social studies curriculum. Urges compromise among social studies teachers and researchers…

Reports on a study of the impact of attending restructured schools on the achievement and engagement of 8,845 eighth graders from public, Catholic, and independent schools. Finds modest, but consistently positive, effects on both achievement and engagement. Also finds that students attending smaller schools demonstrated more academic achievement.…

This publication is designed to help local administrators and teachers achieve the fundamental goal of the No Child Left Behind Act, that is, improved learning for all students. For administrators, it furnishes information useful for understanding the key issues that must be dealt with at the district, school, and classroom levels; provides a view…

Describes a wedding ceremony combining Canadian Native and Roman Catholic traditions that could be a model for Indian education. Asserts that Canadian natives must continue to gain control and autonomy over their own schools. Discusses responsibilities and interrelationships between the school and parents, students, and teachers. (CFR)

Describes the work of Mary Hunt and the Scientific Temperance movement to mandate teaching about the nature of alcohol and narcotics in the public schools. Examines the struggle over organization and planning within the public school system. Discusses organization in the Scientific Temperance movement's response to public school administration and…

Section 2 of the 1980 version of Pennsylvania's Long Range Plan for School Improvement (LRPSI) might be characterized as a "catch-all." The technical assistant faces the task of making connections both within this section, entitled "Management Planning," and among the remaining four sections of LRPSI. The following directives…

Summarizes data extracted from a national survey of Canadian provinces concerning educational policy towards arts education. Discovers greater centralized control in the more populous provinces with the remote areas ceding authority to local boards. Different provinces appear to conceive of the arts in significantly different ways. (MJP)

Interviews 50 primary school head teachers, 304 primary teachers, and 223 secondary department heads in England and Wales to evaluate the National Curriculum's impact. Reveals primary personnel's concern for increased assessment and recordkeeping and secondary heads' concern over language and science instruction. Discovers anxiety over curricular…