The No Child Left Behind Act requires standards-based accountability for school districts and schools receiving Title I funds. A major component of this policy is to report whether districts and schools are making "adequate yearly progress" (AYP) based on their performance goals. This paper raises questions for rural schools using the…

This report is designed to provide consistent reliable indicators to allow analysis of educational trends in each state over time and to provide high quality data to provide comparable information from state to state. The accessible indicator formats are designed for increased uses by a variety of audiences. The report contains two-page profiles…

This collection of research reports is intended to advance the understanding of schools through empirical study and theoretical analysis. The reports are as follows: "The Punctuated Equilibrium of National Reading Policy: Literacy's Changing Images and Venues" (Celia Sims and Cecil Miskel); "Productive Campus Leadership Responses to…

In the 2003 Grutter v. Bollinger University of Michigan Law School affirmative action case, Sandra Day O'Connor declared on behalf of the majority of justices that, "We expect that 25 years from now, the use of racial preferences will no longer be necessary." As this amounts to no less than a mandate that affirmative action for college…

The United States has a long record of ambivalence toward recent immigrants. Nowhere is this love-hate relationship more evident than in the public school systems of high-immigration states like California, where pro- and anti-immigration advocates have waged a long-running battle over "bilingual" education versus "English…

Colleges and universities face a variety of challenges that come from our use of natural resources (e.g., energy, waste production)--the sustainability challenge--and maintaining trust among stakeholders--the accountability challenge. Corporations are adopting standardized reporting to address these challenges. We submit that Institutional…

Universities are coming under increasing pressure to demonstrate accountability in operations that affect student enrollment and that contribute to the increased cost of higher education. Institutional researchers are responding by working to provide strategic data-driven decision support that enables managers to evaluate the benefit of dollars…

This paper reports on the range of methods used by state education agencies (SEAs) to report special education information to the public and the challenges related to this reporting. The report is based on a September 2001 survey completed by state directors of special education from 34 states. First, the paper summarizes reporting requirements of…

Indiana's Comprehensive Action Plan (I-CAP) provides a framework for program excellence, accountability, and continuous improvement in adult education. The action plan includes guiding principles and benchmarks for quality programs. Adult education programs are evaluated annually on these 10 established principles of program quality: educational…

Pennsylvania is the third most rural state in the nation. The recession of the 1980s devastated the rural economy, leading to a brain drain from rural areas. Nevertheless, there's much that's right about rural schools. Rural schools have pioneered the use of distance education technology. Staff remain in rural schools because they like the…

This study examines how the federal government and states prepare to implement the No Child Left Behind Act. Researchers reviewed states' consolidated applications for federal grants; conducted telephone interviews with officials in 48 states, the District of Columbia, and 8 school districts; and reviewed relevant research. The study addresses…

The topic of high-stakes testing (HST) is important because HST has direct and indirect effects on career-technical education (CTE) programs and timely because HST increasingly enters public discussion and has produced a large body of research and practice that generalizes to CTE. A review of HST has identified two persisting dilemmas: policy and…

This report assesses the current situation of girls' participation in elementary education, suggesting approaches that may help increase girls' retention. It reviews research findings and conventional wisdom on constraints affecting girls' schooling and examines initiatives that have attempted to increase girls' retention. Chapter 1,…

Controversy surrounding the accountability movement is related to how the movement began in response to dissatisfaction with public schools. Opponents see it as one-sided, somewhat mean-spirited, and a threat to the professional status of teachers. Supporters argue that all other spheres of the workplace have accountability systems and that the…

This digest discusses strategies for providing students with disabilities with access to the general education curriculum. It begins by presenting educational principles that need to be accepted to ensure successful student access, including: (1) responsibility for learning outcomes of special education students should be equally shared by the…