Both state and local school systems, recognizing the strong and growing evidence of pre-kindergarten's effectiveness in closing achievement gaps, are implementing early learning programs as part of their education reform efforts. In low-performing districts, pre-k has emerged as a promising turnaround strategy, reaching children before they become…

For at-risk students who stand little chance of going to college, or even finishing high school, a growing number of districts have found a solution: Give them an early start in college while they still are in high school. The early college high school (ECHS) movement that began with funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation 10 years ago…

The first days, weeks and months of the school year can be a daunting time for new teachers and school counselors, especially those coming to teaching or school counseling from industry or other fields. So what can be done to support these teachers and school counselors, and how can educators help them start making connections within their new…

Ambitious student-achievement targets turn up the heat, as winners of the $4 billion federal grant effort push to deliver. Winners of the $4 billion Race to the Top jackpot committed to grand goals in using the federal grants to raise student achievement, as measured by higher test scores, narrowed achievement gaps, and increased graduation and…

Schools face the dual challenge of tighter education budgets and demands to raise achievement levels. Can this be done? The author argues that it can and has been achieved. The successful districts in some cases have transformed their strategic approach by focusing on costs; developing a new, more powerful school vision; identifying and allocating…

With the two-year pilot of "Getting Practical" drawing to a close, new ways to embed the key messages into existing CPD programmes are being sought. In "Embedding Getting Practical," the first author describes how she has been able to do this with the courses she is involved with. In "ASE Improving Practical Work in Triple Science LSN Network,"…

When reforming practices to help all students succeed, secondary school leaders face the unique challenge of aligning the efforts of educators from different disciplines. In addition, they know that few common measures capture student growth across these disciplines. If a school has a history of success, a deep examination of its practices may not…

The success of the United States in the 21st century will depend on the ideas and skills of its population. These have always been the nation's most important assets. As the world becomes increasingly technological, the value of these national assets will be determined by the effectiveness of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics…

The quest for school improvement is old. The demand for dramatic, immediate school improvement is new. Even as President Barack Obama and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan commit $4.3 billion to making 5,000 of the nation's worst-performing schools better now, few people know what that really looks like--or how it actually works. How do school…

What needs to be considered when establishing a writing center? Writing labs have a long history on college campuses, the main purpose of which is to assist students to become better writers. Although the information on writing centers at the high school level is at best, limited, the literature reported that the number of students using writing…

This article discusses an effort to improve training performance in a large corporate conglomerate in South Korea. In particular, focus is placed on a new instructional design (ID) model named the Cogwheel ID model. The cogwheel metaphor is used to illustrate the integrated processes within complex training organizations, including organizational,…

In 2011, the U.S. Department of Education invited states to apply for the Race to the Top--Early Learning Challenge (RTTT-ELC) to help states' efforts in supporting young children and their families through the development of more unified early learning systems, better information sharing among educators, and an increase in access to quality early…

The U.S. Department of Education's (ED) National Center for Education Statistics defines dropouts as "16- through 21-year-olds who are not enrolled in school and have not earned a high school credential (either a diploma or an equivalency credential such as a General Education Development (GED) certificate)." According to the feds, the…

When Valencia College became the first recipient of the Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence last month, an unsung sector earned uncommon recognition. Now that the speeches are over and the prize money has been awarded, the Aspen Institute is sharing early lessons from its yearlong effort to determine the top community college in the…

This article aims to share experience from a Swedish project on the introduction and implementation of Open Educational Resources (OER) in higher education with both national and international perspectives. The project, "OER--resources for learning", was part of the National Library of Sweden Open Access initiative and aimed at exploring, raising…