Bills passed by the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate in spring 2001 to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) reinforce and strengthen the education accountability provisions contained in the Improving America's Schools Act (IASA) of 1994. This paper evaluates the accountability provisions in this…

The passage of the No Child Left Behind Act marks the most significant shift in federal education policy in 35 years. It calls for a revolutionary change in the culture and values of the American educational system and a transformation in the U.S. Department of Education's (DE) accountability practices. In the coming years, the DE will lead a…

Less than a year after his inauguration, U.S. President George W. Bush secured passage of the No Child Left Behind Act, the cornerstone legislation of his administration. It was signed into law on January 8, 2002 and cost taxpayers $26.5 billion, the largest dollar increase ever in federal aid. No Child Left Behind is a revised version of the…

This study examined the role of school sub-city districts in determining the performance and efficacy of their member schools. A total of 846 low- and high-performing schools and sub-city districts were identified using a 3-year panel of data (1997-99) on New York City elementary and middle schools. These data were used to examine the differences…

The three issues of this 1997 research brief provide information about institutional programming and planning at St. Petersburg Junior College (SPJC) (Florida). Brief number 1 summarizes the 1996 Enrolled Student Survey and contains sections on student demographics, student satisfaction ratings, and open-ended questions about academic and support…

This paper describes the experiences of Colorado Springs School District Eleven in using multiple measures to determine if third graders were reading at "grade level." The use of multiple measures may be threatened by the rapidly increasing pressures about assessment and accountability in Colorado that teachers are beginning to feel that…

Uses of tests and assessments as key elements in 5 waves of educational reform during the past 50 years are reviewed. These waves include the role of tests in tracking and selection emphasized in the 1950s, the use of tests for program accountability in the 1960s, minimum competency testing programs of the 1970s, school and district accountability…

The progress of students and schools in California is examined by reviewing the state's recent test history and the state's progress in creating a sound, standards-based assessment system. The story about California is mixed. Overall performance on the Stanford Achievement Test, ninth edition (SAT-9) shows that the state average, overall grades…

School district accountability efforts have been challenged to develop procedures that determine the effects of their programs on student achievement within the typical implementation setting (i.e., nonrandom student assignment to nested school within program placements). Disentangling program effects from contextual and participant factors…

The annual report of the University System of Georgia identifies major commitments and activities, describes the system's seven-year plan and summarizes its financial status. The report begins with a list of members of the Board of Regents, messages from the chairman of the Board of Regents and the system Chancellor, and a list of system…

The implementation of corrective action to improve low-performing schools and school districts has varied across the nation from verbal reprimands to state and private takeover. Currently, 34 states have formal plans for corrective action. Although little evaluation of the effectiveness of these actions on improving student and school performance…

The number of children in foster care has nearly doubled in recent years. Despite reform efforts, the U.S. child welfare system is not increasing the number of children who get adopted. The federal government spends over $12 billion annually on child welfare programs, but the growing government bureaucracy has allowed the problems to worsen. The…

In response to trends toward greater accountability expectations for educational programs, a study evaluated the success of the implementation of Ohio's Individual Career Plan (ICP). The ICP is a document initiated by students no later than grade 8 that helps to outline initial career goals and educational plans to reach those goals. A core…

This report describes an evaluation of charter schools in Arizona. Eighty-two charter schools representing the 137 charter-school holders in the state participated in the study. The schools were selected to be representative of all state charter schools with regard to location, population density, grade level, and sponsoring agency. A total of 303…

This report seeks to further the debate about the overall reform impact of Colorado's charter schools. It focuses on the characteristics and performance of the first 32 charter schools in the state, ones that have been operating for at least 2 years as of the end of the 1997-98 school year. The document identifies promising trends: the performance…