Data and information are important components of school improvement. They show how schools are changing and how students are progressing. Providing and interpreting data is one of the critical functions of the Iowa Department of Education. The annual Condition of Education report provides valuable data about students, educators and school…

This mixed-methods study investigated the relationship between burnout and performing noncounseling duties among a national sample of professional school counselors, while identifying school factors that could attenuate this relationship. Results of regression analyses indicate that performing noncounseling duties significantly predicted burnout…

This report, based on a survey of a nationally representative sample of school districts in Common Core-adopting states, examines school districts' efforts to implement the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). The report addresses district leaders' views on the rigor of the CCSS and their impact on learning and instruction, progress on and…

Despite--or perhaps due to--the lack of consensus on its definition, there is abundant interest in and research on school climate. Researchers have determined that improving school climate is one way to increase academic achievement, school safety, school completion, teacher retention, healthy social interactions, and student well-being (Cohen,…

This policy profile on education in Germany is part of the new Education Policy Outlook series, which will present comparative analysis of education policies and reforms across OECD countries. Building on the substantial comparative and sectorial policy knowledge base available within the OECD, the series will result in a biennial publication…

The discussion on how to improve students' academic performance has a long and rich history in the U.S. Although it has been a national priority, the debate has centered on the best method to accomplish this goal. Bernhardt (2003) and Shen and Cooley (2008) recognized the importance of teachers, principals, and data, deployed together, as critical…

The growing attention given to intercollegiate athletics in recent years amid ongoing controversies highlights the importance of closely examining the implementation and impact of sports policy on college campuses. In an attempt to improve the academic performance and retention of student-athletes, the Academic Progress Rate (APR) was implemented…

Enrollment is rising across the nation's community colleges, but completion rates remain untenably low. Reformers are focusing on the importance of using comprehensive, high-quality data on student progress and completion to bring about change. A core tenet of Achieving the Dream: Community Colleges Count has been to embed a culture of…

Education has been under major reform since the passing of the 2001 No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). Under the NCLB Act states have set benchmark goals to measure whether districts and schools are making Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) toward ensuring that all children are proficient in reading and math by 2014. Lack of progress in reading has…

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) targeted substantial School Improvement Grants (SIGs) to the nation's "persistently lowest achieving" public schools (i.e., up to $2 million per school annually over 3 years) but required schools accepting these awards to implement a federally prescribed school-reform model.…

The federal Reading First grant project began with the 2003-2004 school year. Since then, many schools have entered the program to take on the challenge of improving their reading test scores. The Reading First model of instruction has been used to help promote school improvement efforts throughout the United States, so that students may reach the…

The purpose of this quantitative study, using the three-way repeated measures ANOVA, was to identify certain leadership styles used by effective and ineffective charter high school principals that impact the students' academic achievement. Principal ratings and school demographic characteristics were gathered from 19 charter schools. The study's…

This study inquires into support services in schools and their relationship to school effectiveness by using data from the National Center for Education Statistics 2007-2008 School and Staffing Survey (SASS). Students' ability to learn is impacted by their physical and mental health. It is more difficult to measure the influence of nonacademic…

The national focus of graduating America's students ready for college and a career has heightened the importance of and the need for school board members to rethink their purpose on what and how they spend their time. Improving the college and career readiness of K-12 students will need school boards that are willing to receive the training…

In recent years educators and policymakers have set a goal that students graduate from high school ready for college and careers. However, as a nation we are far from achieving this goal, particularly for low-income and minority students. For example, in states where all eleventh-graders take the ACT[R], only 27 percent of low-income students in…