From the halls of Congress to the local elementary school, conversations on education reform have tossed around the term "achievement gap" as though people all know precisely what that means. As it's commonly used, "achievement gap" refers to the differences in scores on state or national achievement tests between various…

In this article, the author provides a review and critique of key provisions in the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) and documents some major effects of the law, which have not been positive for arts education and other subjects not formally tested under the law. Because NCLB is scheduled for reauthorization in 2007 or 2008, the author offers a…

Background/Context: Recent research indicates that social studies is being "squeezed" from the elementary curriculum as instructional time is shifted to language arts and mathematics in response to state testing and the federal No Child Left Behind Act, especially in schools serving poor students and students of color. However, less is…

The number of teacher candidates with learning disabilities (LD) has grown over the past several years. Teacher education programs are accountable to produce quality teachers while providing reasonable accommodations that facilitate completion of a degree program. This study investigated accommodations provided to teacher candidates with LD in…

The purpose of this study was to identify principals' instructional leadership actions within a comprehensive teacher evaluation system in successful schools rated as recognized or exemplary by the accountability measures in place. The study followed a multiple case study approach. Participants included six school administrators within the same…

Equity in education relies on equal access to learning experiences and fair play during those experiences. Too often policy makers, voters and even some educators define equity only in terms of equal access. Equity is less about the same treatment for all and more about holding everyone to the same high standards and high expectations. All…

Policy decision makers, early educators, and early interventionists face numerous challenges as they develop and implement statewide accountability systems to evaluate and improve children's early intervention and early childhood special education outcomes. Kansas was an early adopter of the Child Outcomes Summary Form (COSF) developed by the…

Trends toward increasing federal involvement in higher education and the potential for additional federal mandated reporting are discussed. Areas where the relationship with the federal government has aided institutions are noted, as well as the possibility of harm to innovation and creativity. Historical developments in which government became…

This paper discusses key aspects of the British experience with school review and evaluation, which influenced the development of the South Australian framework for school evaluation. The discussion combines the requirements of accountability and development within a framework of quality assurance. The paper describes shortcomings of the internal…

School report cards can help focus the conversation about a school's long-range goals and how they might be achieved, and then provide the means to track progress from year to year. This document describes the characteristics of good report cards, the relationship of report cards to local decision making, and ways to link reports to school…

This digest discusses the development and implementation of performance indicators in higher education, focusing on the factors driving increased demand for accountability in higher education and the use of performance indicators. It discusses the public and political concern for increased emphasis on undergraduate education, productivity,…

With the growing interest in educational accountability and outcomes-based education, there is an increasing emphasis on testing. This paper proposes the development of school-achievement profiles as a tool to assist with the interpretation and implementation of test results for targeting instructional improvement efforts. The study employed test…

The New American Schools Development Corporation (NASDC), a private nonprofit corporation, was created in 1991 to fund the development of new designs for high-performance schools. Since 1993, the designs have been implemented at over 200 schools nationwide. This book presents the findings of a formative evaluation conducted by RAND Corporation for…

Presenting guidelines for student attendance accounting developed by the Chancellor's Office of the California Community Colleges, this manual provides an update to the original guide published in 1983. Chapter 1 explains general items such as the academic calendar, admissions policies, student classification by enrollment status, and conditions…

This paper contains executive summaries of the productivity-quality efforts of nine independent Illinois colleges and universities. The summaries typically include descriptions of the type of student population served, the type of campus, the institution's mission statement, and major areas in which degrees are offered. Specific initiatives to…