In most discussions of "what works" in education, the focus is on rules (such as class size limits) or on programs and their various components. These are clearly important. No matter what the reform, implementation is key. This article discusses five challenges to achieving and sustaining social and intellectual engagement in implementing…

The appropriate age for students to begin school is an issue of debate for educators, administrators, and parents. Parents worry that young children may not be able to compete with older classmates; schools worry that young students will not be able to meet rigorous academic standards associated with school accountability. Past literature is…

The Maryland edition of the National Council on Teacher Quality's (NCTQ's) 2009 "State Teacher Policy Yearbook" is the third annual look at state policies impacting the teaching profession. It is hoped that this report will help focus attention on areas where state policymakers can make changes that will have a positive impact on teacher…

NCTM Past President Cathy L. Seeley shares her messages on today's most relevant topics and issues in education. Based on Cathy L. Seeley's award-winning NCTM President's Messages, and including dozens of new messages, this must-have K-12 resource offers straight talk and common sense about some of today's most important, thought-provoking issues…

To give states the information they need to sustain hard-fought education reform effectively, Achieve conducted research on state education reforms that have been sustained successfully for over a decade or more. Funded by the GE Foundation, Achieve hopes this work will help other state leaders, wherever they may be on their road to reform,…

Online learning is growing rapidly as states and districts are creating new online schools, and existing programs are adding new courses and students. The growth reflects the spreading understanding that online courses and programs can serve a wide variety of students and needs. These include: (1) Creating opportunities for small and rural school…

This guide begins with background information useful to understanding Illinois' framework for implementation and evaluation of Programs of Study. It starts with a visual depiction of the relationships between activity at the federal, state and local levels that evolved to the creation of Illinois' Career Cluster Model. This Model, which is based…

In the chapters presented in this volume, leading experts describe some of the assessment challenges in greater detail and provide federal recommendations on how to address them. In "College and Work Readiness as a Goal of High Schools: The Role of Standards, Assessments, and Accountability," John Tanner of the Center for Innovative Measures at…

The "Core Indicators of Effectiveness Report" delineates the performance of Wyoming's community colleges as measured by the 14 indicators set forth by the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) and adopted by the seven Wyoming community colleges and the Wyoming Community College Commission. These indicators, while providing…

The Secretary of Education (Secretary) establishes requirements, definitions, and approval criteria for the State Fiscal Stabilization Fund (Stabilization or SFSF) program. The Secretary may use one or more of these requirements, definitions, and approval criteria in awarding funds under this program in fiscal year (FY) 2010. These requirements,…

This generation of young people is on track to be less-educated than their parents--for the first time in American history. This, at the same time the world and workplace are changing dramatically and rapidly--when students, more than ever, need high levels of skill in order to compete. Advance Illinois has developed this report "We Can Do…

A cost-effectiveness analysis was conducted of Gordon, Kane, and Staiger's (2006) proposal to raise student achievement by identifying and replacing the bottom quartile of novice teachers, using value-added assessment of teacher performance. The cost effectiveness of this proposal was compared to the cost effectiveness of voucher programs, charter…

"School-based management" (SBM) rose to become a prominent trend in educational reform in Western countries during the last few decades of the 20th century and has likewise been introduced into a number of Asian and African nations. A key component of SBM is the increase of internal accountability within the school with the aim of…

Since the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) legislation, education policy makers have focused on students at the lower end of the achievement spectrum, specifically those struggling to meet standards, particularly in reading and mathematics. However, those who are considered gifted have been increasingly underserved, at the expense of high ability…

This 2008 Annual Joint Report of the State Board of Education and the Tennessee Higher Education Commission identifies four joint priorities and nine associated goals addressing areas of need in both student learning and educator development for the advancement of education in Tennessee. The joint priorities and initiatives focus on points of…