Developing a system of performance indicators is a critical facet in further implementation of the Illinois Commitment, the states higher education plan. The performance indicators are intended to measure how well the system of higher education is meeting the six major goals of the plan. This interim report presents information on the work of the…

This paper defends the idea that universities manufacture knowledge as a public good through the "creative destruction" of social capital. The idea is presented as contemporary restatement of the Humboldtian ideal of the unity of research and teaching: Research "creates" (i.e. concentrates) social capital, which is then…

The role of the superintendent has undergone numerous changes in the last century. Many report the job has become almost undoable and superintendents are becoming overwhelmed as new expectations are being placed upon them. No Child Left Behind has had a significant impact on the role of the school superintendent as they attempt to balance three…

One of the greatest challenges for those who study schools and their success in educating students is defining the characteristics of those organizations that are successful, and recognizing the variables that exist to support the actions of the members of the organization. In this era of assessment and accountability, school districts struggle to…

Scholars, advocates of various positions, and policymakers have fiercely debated whether the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program (MPCP), also known as the voucher or "Choice" program, has been a godsend or a scourge for the city's children. Wisconsin policymakers, concerned about that question, identified the School Choice Demonstration…

Many school accountability programs, including the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act are built on the premise that the threat of sanctions attached to failure will produce higher student achievement. However, the stigma associated with failing schools and the expected costs of possible future sanctions may lead experienced teachers to leave these…

The utility of value-added estimates of teachers' effects on student test scores depends on whether they can distinguish between high- and low-productivity teachers and predict future teacher performance. This article studies the year-to-year variability in value-added measures for elementary and middle school mathematics teachers from five large…

Bill and Karen are special education teachers who have entirely different knowledge and skill profiles. Bill is a special educator with 20 years of experience. He teaches reading to third-, fourth-, and fifth-grade students in a high-poverty elementary school resource classroom. His school is currently engaging in a schoolwide Reading First effort…

This article reports that special interest groups opposed to charter schools and high-stakes testing have hijacked Massachusetts's once-independent board of education and stand poised to water down the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) tests and the accountability system they support. President Barack Obama and Massachusetts…

Background: Although models such as the coordinated school health program (CSHP) are widely available to address student health needs, school professionals have been unconvinced that scarce resources should be allocated to improving student health. Concern that attention may be diverted from meeting academic accountability goals is often seen as a…

The Commonwealth of Virginia, as with other states, operates a panoply of programs whose objectives, either directly or indirectly, are to develop the state's workforce. Some programs enhance the skills of Virginians through training or formal education; whereas other programs, such as the Employment Service, attempt to facilitate the employment…

The impact of Florida's "A+" accountability program, which until 2006 included a voucher program for chronically failing schools, on public school performance has been extensively studied. The results have consistently shown a positive effect on academic outcomes in Florida public schools. However, no empirical research has been done on…

This paper presents the 2008 Maryland School Performance Report. It shows the academic performance results of the State and its 24 school systems. This report includes the results from the Maryland School Assessment (MSA) given in spring 2008, information about the Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) measures required by the federal No Child Left…

Since 2002, the Center on Education Policy (CEP), an independent nonprofit organization, has been studying state high school exit examinations--tests students must pass to receive a high school diploma. This is CEP's seventh annual report on exit exams. The information in this report comes from several sources: our survey of states that have…

The accelerated development of the information and communication technologies determined universities, companies and educational institutions to implement alternatives to the traditional teaching methods, thereby leading to the development of e-courses. New Information and Communication Technologies mediating learning represent an important…