In this paper the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act, a top-down, one-size-fits-all coercive nostrum constructed by politicians purportedly to improve all American public schools that piddles with symptoms rather than deal with root causes, is first delineated and analyzed. Its departure from local educational governance to an accountability-focused…

For the last 3 years, more than 80% of the respondents to the "Annual Phi Delta Kappa/Gallup Poll of the Public's Attitudes Toward the Public Schools" have stated that they would rather see a school's performance measure based upon "improvement shown by students" than the "percentage passing the test" (Rose & Gallup, 2007, p. 35). If this were to…

The Atlantic Philanthropies has recognized both the great societal need for programs that serve older Americans and the important role that community colleges can play in meeting this need. Consequently, The Atlantic Philanthropies provided funding for the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) to conceive and implement the Plus 50…

This research brief describes an analysis of the reform efforts of four Arab region nations (Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates) in response to human capital challenges they face in preparing their people to work in a global environment. (Contains 3 tables.) [For associated report, see ED503118.]

Graduation rates have become a prominent feature in the landscape of high school reform and within the larger world of educational policy. Studies conducted over the past several years have repeatedly demonstrated that far fewer American students are completing high school with diplomas than had previously been realized. Whereas the conventional…

This publication provides background to inform the implementation of Programs of Study (POS) as required by grantees of funds authorized under the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Improvement Act of 2006. The report is a review of the evidence on the effectiveness of previous similar initiatives and an examination of the implications…

This study examines evidence about state- and district-level formative/diagnostic policies, programs, and practices of states in the Regional Educational Laboratory Southwest (REL Southwest). Using case study methodology and data collected through document analyses and interviews with state- and district-level representatives, researchers compared…

Dual enrollment programs enable students to take college courses and earn college credit while in high school. Once limited to high-achieving students, these programs are now seen as a means to support the postsecondary preparation of average-achieving students. Moreover, though dual enrollment programs typically have been reserved for…

The purpose of this study is selecting type of university that can create its competitive advantages in a changing world. The study analyzes 25 related experiential professors. The VIKOR-based methodology is used to tackle the ranking of four types of universities. The study found that the rank of the university types is: Research-Intensive,…

California has fallen behind on many key indicators of education performance, prompting policymakers to look for strategies to improve student outcomes. Among the policy options being considered is the possibility of expanding public funding for preschool education as part of a broader agenda of education reform. To provide a foundation for…

In the aftermath of the furor provoked by the 1983 blue-ribbon report "A Nation At Risk," the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) conducted a groundbreaking study to determine what America's seventeen-year-olds knew about history and literature. Administered in 1986, the tests revealed the disheartening answer: not enough.…

With the rapid growth and expansion of the Asian economies in recent years, there has been a continued rise of students in Asia who are studying outside their home countries. This study attempts to highlight the major strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of Hong Kong's higher education in relation to its potential of being a regional…

About 60 years ago India established a policy of providing free and compulsory education to all children and began transforming the elite education system inherited from its colonial past into a mass education program. The task became a race against a rapidly growing population, which outstripped the pace at which children could be enrolled and…

Education for All has focused international attention on the goals of universal primary education and improved education quality. However, national indicators related to these goals often mask significant differences among demographic and social groups, as well as among geographical regions within countries. This paper, based on a study…

This paper analyzes in sociological and historical perspective the changes involved in the Bologna process and the commodification of higher education in Africa. The resulting innovations lead to the internationalization of higher education and the provision of online courses, the development of joint programs, and the creation of franchised…