In response to the need to develop leaders to guide the implementation of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), the Carnegie Corporation of New York provided funding to WestEd to develop a framework that defines the leadership knowledge and actions needed to effectively implement the NGSS. The development of the framework entailed…

Researchers have found that middle school students undergo developmental changes that require unique educational structures and support. As a result, experts have suggested a number of specific strategies for organizing middle schools in order to best meet students' needs. This Information Capsule summarizes middle school redesign initiatives that…

Given what system leaders must accomplish with limited resources, they must make bold decisions about their current investments to achieve high-priority goals related to implementing college- and career-ready standards. This workbook is designed to guide users through a five-step process of understanding what professional learning is available in…

This article responds to recent UK proposals on measuring and recording student achievement (Universities UK 2007) to highlight issues that are relevant across different higher education contexts, which are increasingly intertwined through the expansion of the Bologna process. Drawing from wide-ranging literature on assessment and sociology, this…

This report, released by The California Education Collaborative for Children in Foster Care, calls for a sharper focus on the educational outcomes for children in foster care and offers recommendations for strengthening the policies and systems that support them. The report describes the Collaborative's charge and products, briefly summarizes…

This paper discusses how educators can apply positive behavioral support (PBS) to students with and without disabilities and conduct functional behavioral assessments (FBAs). It begins by describing the challenges that educators face in educating an increasingly heterogeneous population of students, including students with external and internal…

A 1998 study conducted by researchers from the Centre For Learning and Work Research at Griffith Univ. and The Studies of Work, Education and Training, at Monash Univ. sought to evaluate the contributions of competency-based training (CBT) and assessment to Australian vocational education and training. "Introduction" (Stephen Billet,…

Achievement gaps have real consequences for students, particularly those facing the challenge of passing the California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE), now a requirement in order to receive a high school diploma in California. The combined 2005 CAHSEE passing rates reveal significant discrepancies between White and Asian students and their African…

This case study is part of a broader research project examining state policies and governance structures that span K-12 and postsecondary education. Florida has implemented some of the most sweeping education governance changes of any state; all levels of education are housed in the Department of Education, which is overseen by a commissioner who…

This case study is part of a broader research project examining state policies and governance structures that span K-12 and postsecondary education. Georgia was the first state to have state and regional P-16 councils, and its regents' office in the University System of Georgia oversees a variety of projects that focus on connecting K-12 and…

This case study is part of a broader research project examining state policies and governance structures that span K-12 and postsecondary education. Oregon has been a leader in K-16 reform through its development of the Proficiency-based Admission Standards System (PASS), which articulated postsecondary expectations and linked them with K-12…

This guidebook is intended as a road map to the Carl D. Perkins Vocational Technical Education Act of 1998 (Perkins III) for career-technical education (CTE) practitioners and policymakers in Illinois. The following topics are among those covered: (1) framework for Perkins III (national educational reform, Illinois provisions for quality CTE,…