Stewart Thorson, principal of New Century Technology High School in Huntsville, Alabama, develops plans for his school's professional learning in an environment restricted by state regulations. In Alabama's Title I and low socioeconomic status schools and through initiatives such as Blue Ribbon Schools and the State Department of Education's Plan…

In this No Child Left Behind era of renewed emphasis on the search for the "highly qualified" teacher, governors, legislators, and state department of education officials have an incentive to focus on improving teacher quality through teacher evaluation. While teacher evaluation practices have been traditionally problematic "based…

This paper reports on the analysis of state statutes and department of education regulations in fifty states for changes in teacher evaluation in use since the passage of No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. We asked what the policy activity for teacher evaluation is in state statutes and department of education regulations, how these changes in…

This paper reports the perspectives of county-level supervisors who have been important in advancing state-mandated school reforms in West Virginia. A chronological background on West Virginia school reform from 1982 through 1997 covers legislation related to the "Recht Decision," state reform initiatives, creation of the School Building…