The Education Freedom Index measures the extent of government-subsidized or government-regulated educational choices offered to families in each state. The Education Freedom Index score is the average of four components: charter school choice, subsidized private school choice, home schooling choice, and public school choice. This paper analyzes…

In the debate on U.S. public education, there is one thing that every agrees is vital: great teaching. It is essential that teaching be improved, and it is necessary to change the way teachers are recruited and trained, and the way they are paid. Teachers must be paid more, and a pay system must be developed that rewards teachers not just for…

This paper describes what new Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) data can show about U.S. schools, states, and public education. All achievement data in this report are taken from school report cards available on state education agency web sites. Demographic data are taken from school report cards, school web sites, the U.S. Department of Educations…

Experience shows that mentoring has a positive effect on new teachers' professional lives. Quality induction programs promote greater teacher retention, breaking the cycle of attrition, which saves money for school districts and ensures that teacher shortages do not dictate hiring policy. These benefits are felt most in school districts with…

This paper presents findings of surveys completed by student teachers on their ability to prepare a teacher work sample, discussing potential program improvements arising from survey responses related to planning, assessment, and student learning, which are components of a teacher work sample, also sharing student teachers' perceptions of their…

As education policymakers have moved to reform K-12 public education, the roles of test publishers in assessment have expanded. In the last two decades these expanded roles have coincided with the movement of assessment to the center of education reform initiatives. The drive for improvement in public education has made the roles of test…

This paper attempts to conceptualize, sort, and analyze national and state policies that have affected teacher education programs during the last 30 years. If teacher recruitment, preparation, licensing, and professional development are situated at the ropes center, then who is winning the tug-of-war over teacher education policy making. The paper…

This paper discusses issues of assessment, accountability, and preservice teacher preparation using electronic portfolios (e-portfolios). It discusses criteria for portfolio design and trends in e-portfolio use to collect evidence of the competencies of preservice teachers that are related to teaching standards. The paper also discusses the…

This report examines the potential revolution in U.S. higher education public policies that require improved student learning. This revolution includes numerous teaching innovations activities that were initiated and sustained by external pressures and politically astute reformers. The report notes the criticism of U.S. elementary and secondary…

This paper is designed to initiate discussion about new educational accountability systems and the implications of these systems for educator preparation. Accountability systems are often developed with little regard to a clear definition of accountability, but once the systems are in place, and states are showing (realistic or political)…

The Barton County Community College Board of Trustees strives to emphasize: (1) outward vision rather than an internal preoccupation; (2) encouragement of diversity in viewpoints; (3) strategic leadership above administrative detail; (4) clear distinction between Board and staff roles; (5) collective rather than individual decisions; (6) the…

The Professional Development Leadership Academy supports states in transforming systems of professional development. This paper investigates accountability considerations that are necessary to determine the impact and results of professional development from a state systems perspective. The five areas of focus that comprise the Academy knowledge…

Problem-based learning (PBL) is an instructional strategy for preparing administrators whose basic unit of instruction is a project. Students are organized into teams and work on these projects to grapple with the problem and to achieve the learning objectives that are embedded in the project. In this PBL project, students design and prepare a…

In January 1997 the Institutional Research Council of the Connecticut Community-Technical Colleges was charged with developing a model for measuring system performance of the colleges. This document reflects Phase I of the process. Effective institutional research (IR) looks at resources, processes, and outputs for learners, programs, the…

Drawing on the collective experience of the researchers, their work with teachers and principals, and their previous research in urban schools where students are predominantly Mexican American, this essay outlines the ways in which the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS) harms the educational quality and opportunity of minority,…