Homeschooling is quickly becoming a significant educational phenomenon. According to the Indiana Department of Education, the number of Indiana homeschooled children has increased by 400 percent over the past eight years, with a current enrollment total of 22,403. Furthermore, this number likely understates the true number of Indiana homeschooled…

The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) is bolder than all previous federal education laws, setting ambitious goals for universal student achievement and authorizing severe remedies for schools not reaching them. In a nation where most youngsters are far from proficient in reading and mathematics and where innumerable efforts to boost learning levels…

American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) developed this report to promote greater understanding of underlying teacher education issues, in connection with continuing state-level activity and the pending reauthorization of the Higher Education Act. This paper offers a brief overview of five interrelated topics pertaining to…

Online assessment promises a faster and more useful return of data about student performance in states accountability assessments. The prospect of gaining quick access to such information is alluring, and many states are creating new assessments for an online environment in order to obtain it. This period of retooling presents a significant…

In April 2004, teams of policymakers and practitioners from eight Western states joined Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano and the National Governors Association (NGA) at "Leadership for Turning Around Low-Performing Schools: A Western Regional Roundtable," a two-day meeting that explored the connection between educational leadership and…

Viewpoints is a multimedia package containing two audio CDs and a brief, informative booklet. This volume of Viewpoints focuses on issues related to high school reform. This booklet offers background information explaining the issues surrounding high school reform with perspectives from research, policy, and practice. It also provides a list of…

Meeting the needs specified by accountability measures under the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 has provided the importance for schools to create innovative systems for curricular management. To meet adequate yearly progress, schools must be able to address standards and assessment changes in an effective manner. This case study chronicles one…

Private school regulation is a growing concern among school choice proponents. This paper uses a national survey of private schools to analyze the potential effects of various regulations. More than 1,000 schools answered questions about their willingness to participate in school choice programs if they had to comply with particular regulations.…

This final report from the National Longitudinal Survey of Schools examines the implementation of the Title I program in 1998-99 through 2000-01 based on surveys of principals and teachers in a nationally representative sample of Title I schools. (Contains 42 exhibits.) (Author)

Recognizing the universal importance of education, the federal government assumed a larger role in financing public schools with the passage of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) in 1965. Through subsequent reauthorizations, ESEA has continued to assist the states. In 2001, the reauthorization included "No Child Left Behind," which…

This 2004 report presents a synthesis of evidence on the implementation and outcomes of vocational education and of the 1998 Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Act (Perkins III). It examines questions about the effectiveness of vocational education in improving student outcomes, the consequences of new funding and accountability…

This book is a primer on board-member liability issues and is intended for both board members and school attorneys. The first chapter, "The Legal System," examines federal sources of legal authority, state and local sources of legal authority, and federal and state judicial structures. Liability under state tort law is the subject of chapter 2,…

These papers examine causes of the crisis in school leadership, offering an innovative proposal for a new kind of institution that will train school principals to be turn-around artists. The approach involves close collaboration between the new institution and entire school districts, combining face-to-face instruction with Web-based delivery. Ten…

The purpose of this study was to use data collected from a field research project to enable teachers and instructional leaders to understand and overcome the problems associated with high-stakes testing, especially as they relate to the narrowing of the curriculum. In spring 2001, 27 of the 48 teachers at a middle school in Texas responded to a…

This report, compiled by the College of the Canyons Office of Institutional Development and Technology, assesses the programs and projects of College of the Canyons as part of the Partnership for Excellence (PFE) Program. The report explains that the PFE Program is a mutual commitment by the State of California and the California Community College…