Since Congress enacted the Elementary and Secondary Education Act in 1965, the federal government has emphasized states' shared responsibility for improving student achievement. When Congress reauthorized the Elementary and Secondary Education Act in 2001 as the No Child Left Behind Act, it called upon states to provide technical support to…

Based on a review of state documents and interviews with state and local officials in six Midwest Region states, this qualitative study describes state education agency policy development and planning for response to intervention approaches to instruction. It also looks at the support provided to districts and schools implementing response to…

Based on a review of state documents and interviews with state and local officials in six Midwest Region states, this qualitative study describes state education agency policy development and planning for response to intervention approaches to instruction. It also looks at the support provided to districts and schools implementing response to …

"Education Matters" is the monthly newsletter of the Association of American Educators (AAE), an organization dedicated to advancing the American teaching profession through personal growth, professional development, teacher advocacy and protection. This issue of the newsletter includes: (1) How to Avoid Burnout (Kate Johanns); and (2)…

In this article, the author discusses Iowa's deference to local autonomy. Unlike most states, Iowa continues its long history of local independence by allowing districts to set their own goals. In the late 1990s, when the nation's governors and business leaders threw their weight behind the push for statewide academic standards, Iowa begged to…

In Iowa the number of handicapped school students is increasing even as total enrollments decline, probably because slow learners are being reclassified as "mildly handicapped" to make them eligible for special education funds and programs. As a result there may soon be more handicapped students than the state can afford. To avoid this,…

The study's primary task was to develop a definition for quality education in order to compare programs being offered in different sized rural school districts. Based upon the results, Iowa's smaller rural school districts deserve more political and educational attention and credit for offering quality educational opportunities. (Author/BR)

An analysis of the experiences of two states perceived as school choice innovators, Iowa and Nebraska, is presented in this paper. Three problem areas contributed to uncertainty are identified: classroom capacity, transportation, and funding. Recommendations include: limited parental choice; establishing enrollment loss ceilings; clear governance…

The quality of high schools--how well they prepare students for productive employment as well as active citizenship--has been part of the state and national agendas for several years. To help complete an action plan for addressing the issue of high school quality, the Iowa Department of Education and State Board of Education during the spring of…

This volume attempts to document ways in which several communities have dealt with the problems of declining school enrollments. Each case study outlines some type of public participation in the task of adjusting to population changes and fiscal pressures. The first chapter supplies an introductory overview of issues related to declining…

This comparative study was conducted for the Wisconsin Advisory Council on Vocational Education in an effort to identify strengths and weaknesses of program delivery and accomplishments of several States--Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, and Ohio--with a view towards making recommendations that would improve Wisconsin's total program…