States have been working to increase the rigor and effectiveness of career and technical education to both meet the needs of their students and to address the workforce needs of the state and the nation. This StateNote, while not exhaustive, highlights efforts in the states that appear to be "ahead of the curve" in state policy…

The statewide Utah Model for Comprehensive Counseling and Guidance: K-12 Programs (Utah State Office of Education, 2008) began implementation in 1988. Beginning with the 2004-2005 school year, data collection has been required for all schools collecting program funds. This article reviews research data from three Utah schools--one elementary…

Many Medicaid programs have either fully or partially carved out mental health services. The evaluation of carve-out plans requires a case-mix model that accounts for differing health status across Medicaid managed care plans. This article develops a diagnosis-based case-mix adjustment system specific to Medicaid behavioral health care. Several…

Within the City of Chicago, a wide variety of public and private programs are geared towards preparing adults and youth for the workforce. This report of workforce development programs provides an overview of federal, state, and city workforce development programs within the City of Chicago through a detailed inventory table of the programs…

Most state professional associations promote and fund at some level, an advocacy program. These advocacy programs usually aim to support or plead for a program, policy, or proposal. They can range from simple communication to complex strategies, from daily interactions to annual productions, and from position papers to onsite, legislative visits.…

This article features Mitch Landrieu and his contributions to the upliftment of Louisiana through libraries. After the onslaught of hurricanes Katrina and Rita, Landrieu said they realized how important libraries are. Now in his second term as lieutenant governor of Louisiana, Landrieu oversees the Office of the State Library along with the…

In 2004, Kuss Middle School became the first school declared "Chronically Underperforming" by the state of Massachusetts. But by 2010, Kuss had transformed itself into a model for schools around the country seeking a comprehensive turnaround strategy. Kuss is using increased learning time as the primary catalyst to accelerate learning,…

If education in Indiana is to dramatically improve, the systems and policies that collectively shape the learning experiences for students must be re-imagined. In the spring of 2011, the Indiana legislature passed IC 20-28-11.5, a new law relating to the evaluation of all certified teaching staff and administrators. Prior to this legislation,…

Since the 2004 reauthorization of the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), there has been a growing focus on improving the quality of programs for children with disabilities and measuring the results/outcomes of those programs. Across the country, IDEA Part C Programs for Infants and Toddlers and IDEA Part B, Section 619 Preschool…

The Mathematics Diagnostic Testing Project (MDTP) offers course-specific assessments that provide teachers with timely feedback on their students' strengths and weaknesses in mathematics, often returning feedback to teachers on individual students and the entire class within a week of testing. In this way, teachers can quickly act on what they…

Amid growing signs of America's weakening position in the global economy, federal and state policymakers and major foundations have set ambitious goals for increasing postsecondary attainment in the United States. Given changing U.S. demographics, it has become clear that these national goals are attainable only with vastly improved outcomes among…

The Early Childhood Advisory Council (ECAC) in Minnesota makes recommendations to the Governor and Legislature, and is responsible for fulfilling the duties required by federal and state statutes. The Council was created in 2008 by the Governor's Executive Order 08-14. The ECAC consists of 18 members, including the State Director of the Head Start…

The state's Race to the Top (RTT) application requires changes to the state's evaluation/accountability system. It requires a teacher effectiveness measure, district effectiveness measure, leader effectiveness measure. Regarding the teacher effectiveness measure, RTT requires linking the data of individual students to individual teachers as part…

This qualitative study was based on grounded theory and used purposive sampling for selecting participants. The sample for this study included 12 of the 16 superintendents in this region. This rural Appalachian region has historically outperformed the remainder of the southeastern state on reading and math achievement tests at the elementary and…

The purpose of this study was to describe my experiences as a campus principal in facilitating the use of participatory formative assessment (PFA) in an environment of accountability and high-stakes testing. The methodology I employed was autoethnography (Chang, 2008; Ellis, 2004; Reed-Danahay, 1997; Stinson, 2009). I kept journals over a period…