The purpose of this research study was to illustrate the ways in which out-of-level testing policies have changed over the three years from 2000-2001 to 2003-2004. In 2000-2001, 12 states were using out-of-level tests to measure student progress toward content standard proficiency. A detailed research study conducted at the end of 2000-2001 to…

Confused about how to start on your journey as an educator? This ultimate guide to getting hired and staying inspired is a must-purchase for any beginning elementary school teacher. Donna M. Donoghue and her coauthors have done the legwork for you and provide great tips, strategies, and tactics for getting your foot in the door and beginning a…

This document suggests changes to the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) in four targeted areas. Regarding Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP), The American Federation of Teachers (AFT) supports: (1) Setting challenging but demonstrably attainable student progress goals; (2) Judging school effectiveness by measuring progress of the same students over…

Social promotion has long been the normal practice in American schools. Critics of this practice, whereby students are promoted to the next grade regardless of academic preparation, have suggested that students would benefit academically if they were made to repeat a grade. Supporters of social promotion claim that retaining students disrupts them…

Today, less than one-third of America's high school students read or write at grade level. Literacy skills are alarmingly low even among those students who plan to go to college. Clearly, vast numbers of middle and high school students need help with their reading and writing skills. The question is: Whose job should it be to teach them? Among…

"Alabama Education News" is published monthly except for June, July, and December by the Alabama Department of Education. This publication, authorized by Section 16-2-4 of the "Code of Alabama," as recompiled in 1975, is a public service of the Alabama Department of Education designed to inform citizens and educators about…

The first few years of teaching are the most challenging. During these years, teachers are most likely to become discouraged and disillusioned. Yet these early years are also the time when teachers establish practices that last throughout their careers. This book focuses on new teachers' needs while emphasizing high-quality teaching through the…

Helping teachers envision how math standards can be integrated into the secondary classroom, this book presents engaging activities and ready-to-use lessons aligned with NCTM content and process standards. This user-friendly book by mathematics educator Timothy J. McNamara is filled with a generous collection of lessons for each of the ten NCTM…

English language learners (ELLs) were once expected to learn English before they learned critical content needed to succeed in school, but this is longer true, because now federal education laws require that ELLs be held to the same academic standards as other students. There are, however, requirements to assess and document progress on tests of…

The purpose of these hearings was to explore the problems that unaccredited, substandard colleges and universities, often referred to as diploma mills, pose to the Federal Government and to private-sector employers. The schools examined during these hearings practice a sophisticated form of deception and they charge students accordingly. All of…

This report provides suggestions for effectively linking priority health information in 12 core subject areas without increasing teacher workload. It also illustrates how current academic standards in these core areas can be met by linking the health-learning opportunities with subject area standards. Four sections include: (1)…

This lesson requires student teamwork to gather data and create a plan that describes the physical look of money in the future and how it will be distributed in the United States in the next millennium. To do this, the lesson states, students review present-day monetary policy, read about future suggestions for money, visit Web sites on these…

The No Child Left Behind Act requires standards-based accountability for school districts and schools receiving Title I funds. A major component of this policy is to report whether districts and schools are making "adequate yearly progress" (AYP) based on their performance goals. This paper raises questions for rural schools using the…

This curriculum framework represents a consensus about expectations for student learning in New Hampshire public schools in the arts. The introduction poses the framework and answers the following questions: What is the role of the arts in education? How do quality arts programs contribute to school environment? How do the arts develop workplace…

This paper reports on Children Achieving, a systemic reform program implemented in 1995 to improve the Philadelphia public schools. Children Achieving was the first attempt by an urban district to test systemic reform in practice. The first part of the report discusses the beliefs and values of the program's action-design component, which…