There is a nationwide concern that too many students leave high school unprepared for college-level coursework and that students lack awareness of their level of preparation. Florida enacted Senate Bill 1908 creating a statewide program, the Florida College and Career Readiness Initiative (FCCRI), to reduce the need for postsecondary remediation.…

Although there have been any number of national reading reform efforts over the years, there is little evidence that such efforts have been sustained in schools over time. This study focused on addressing 2 questions: To what extent have Reading First schools in 2 states sustained the key elements of this reform over time? To what extent has…

The Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) is guiding and supporting the implementation of a new Teacher and Principal Evaluation (TPE) system in all school districts throughout the state. The system includes measures of both professional practice and student growth. Because the historical and current practice in Maryland is one of local…

In 2009, the federal government committed over $3 billion nationwide to help states and districts turn around their worst-performing schools. The U.S. Department of Education intended for the School Improvement Grants (SIGs) to spur dramatic change.This report looks at the results of a field study of the first-year implementation of those grants…

Reform advocates and policymakers concerned about the quality and distribution of teachers support proposals of alternative compensation for teachers in hard-to-hire subject areas, hard-to-staff schools, and with special knowledge and skills. The successful implementation of such proposals depends in large part on teacher attitudes. The current…

Many educators and researchers have proposed reforms for dealing with the ongoing adolescent literacy crisis. Progress in strengthening young people's literacy now depends on schools a) choosing appropriate programs and b) implementing them consistently and effectively. Yet the history of school reform is littered with reforms that were adopted…

American Institutes for Research (AIR) conducted an external evaluation of Vermont's Ed-Tech Program from January 2010-June 2011. The purpose of the evaluation was to provide feedback on the implementation and outcomes of the competitive grant programs that were active during this time. The findings of the evaluation are intended to help VTDOE…

This report presents trends on the implementation of Title I parental choice options from the National Longitudinal Study of No Child Left Behind (NLS-NCLB) and the Study of State Implementation of Accountability and Teacher Quality Under No Child Left Behind (SSI-NCLB). The report uses data from state-level interviews; surveys of a nationally…

Describes a survey of 17 Maryland community colleges conducted to identify the management strategies which had been most and least effective in support of lifelong learning. Discusses six successful and five less successful or untried strategies and provides eight recommendations for community colleges wishing to increase their emphasis on…

A study was conducted to determine factors that foster or impede the development of distance education (DE) programs. A review of the literature related to transformation in higher education, technology and learning, and DE was conducted and the history of DE in the Washington State Community and Technical College System was reviewed. In addition,…

Describes a project by the North Carolina Community College System to use a market approach to identify concerns of System personnel regarding distance-learning technology. Describes concerns related to access, training, adequate communication, leadership, innovation, implementation, and full-time equivalency. Suggests that the project can provide…

A survey of general education teachers, special education teachers, and building principals in Michigan assessed their agreement with the Regular Education Initiative (REI) goals and methods. Analysis of the 605 responses indicated general agreement with REI goals and procedures. Most educators believed that pragmatic factors posed the greatest…

This study investigated factors related to the implementation of the New York State curriculum for English as a Second Language (ESL) in secondary schools. It was hypothesized that three variable sets would relate to the implementation of the curriculum: the nature of the assistance provided the teacher (principal's support and inservice…

Since middle schools vary in their degree of implementation of middle school practices, this research was designed to compare the job satisfaction of middle school teachers with the degree of implementation of these practices. Six teachers from each of Colorado's 50 schools with the name "middle school" were randomly selected to serve as…

This report describes the findings concerning the implementation of the literacy component of the First Steps program, which provides additional support for development of literacy and numeracy among "at-risk" students, in English Language and Numeracy (ELAN) schools (those with a high proportion of aboriginal students) in Western…