Before awarding waivers from core tenets of the No Child Left Behind Act to 11 states, the U.S. Department of Education ordered changes to address a significant weakness in most states' proposals: how they would hold schools accountable for groups of students deemed academically at risk, particularly those in special education or learning English.…

College readiness is measured by the number and percentage of 12th grade graduates who complete all the courses required for entrance to the University of California (UC) and/or California State University (CSU) with a grade of "C" or better. Course completion represents only a portion of the entrance requirements for UC or CSU; not all…

Sourcing data from the National VET Provider Collection and the Higher Education Statistics Collection, this publication provides a summary of participation in tertiary education and training in Australia. It covers participation in Australian Qualifications Framework certificate I qualifications through to doctorates by research, as well as…

Recently, much attention has focused on the number of schools in the nation failing to make adequate yearly progress (AYP) in raising student achievement under the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). The Obama Administration has projected a dramatic increase in this number as 2014--the year when 100% of students are expected to score proficient on…

Despite Michigan's rich history of entrepreneurship and innovation, the state now trails most others both economically and educationally. This report documents the shockingly low performance of schools statewide. Although Detroit has the weakest scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) among the country's big cities, other…

This study examines Illinois school superintendents' perceived importance of the Illinois school superintendent content area standards and performance indicators. This study is significant because it provides an opportunity for rigorous reflection in identifying Illinois school superintendents' perceived importance of superintendent behaviors that…

This quantitative survey-design research study examined elementary school principals' perceptions regarding the effect of No Child Left Behind (NCLB). A primary focus of the study was to determine how elementary school principals feel about the influence of NCLB on their role as instructional leader. A sample of 133 elementary school principals…

This innovation configuration offers a set of quantifiable indicators of instructional excellence in mathematics. These indicators are related to improved achievement in mathematics and can be used to improve teacher competencies. The innovation configuration is offered as a means of evaluating and aligning teacher preparation and professional…

Early childhood is a critical period of rapid physical, cognitive, and psycho-social development of a child. The quality of care and education which a child receives at this crucial age will determine to a great extent the level of his/her physical and cognitive development in the future. In Nigeria, Early Childhood Care, Development and Education…

Higher education is a mainstay in the development and support of the economic, social and cultural development of the global society. Throughout history, academic institutions have sought to respond to the demands of endlessly changing and evolving environmental conditions. However, in the 21st century, a number of significant factors are changing…

Teach For America (TFA) selects and places graduates from the most competitive colleges as teachers in the lowest-performing schools in the country. This paper is the first study that examines TFA effects in high school. We use rich longitudinal data from North Carolina and estimate TFA effects through cross-subject student and school fixed…

This paper explores three influences on the effectiveness of teacher professional development for improving schools--the individual teacher, the learning activities in which teachers participate and the structures and supports provided by schools for teacher learning. It does so by relying on survey data collected for a national study of teacher…

Universal screening measures are an integral component of any tiered system of instructional delivery. Recent studies of screening measures have often excluded examinations of bias in predictive validity. The present study examined a common screening instrument for evidence of bias in predictive validity across the four disaggregation categories…

In 2005, the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA), Michigan State University, and the Australian Council for Educational Research took an important step in advancing the field of education by partnering to develop and implement the first international and comparative study of mathematics teacher education.…

The World Conference on Education for All (1990) stated that learning begins at birth. The Dakar Framework for Action (2000) included the expansion and improvement of early childhood care and education as the first of six global goals. A number of countries have launched a variety of efforts to meet their global commitment to the development of…