Critiques the Bush Administration's "America 2000" education initiative, in particular the call for national testing as a major tool for student assessment and education reform. Discusses the difficulty of designing accurate instruments, the drain on resources for other needs, and the ineffectiveness of testing as an agent for reform.…

Traditional assessment, grading, and student-recognition practices are partly responsible for the low levels of student effort pervading American schools. Two improvement-focused systems for student accountability and recognition that have been field tested are presented: The Incentives for Improvement Program (Baltimore, Maryland) and the Windham…

This article provides an overview of policymaking in relation to state and local district testing and accountability and concludes by identifying continuing policy issues and strategies for local implementation of standards-based secondary education that aligns with current testing and accountability policies. Governance models for curriculum…

This study examined the effects of personal accountability and personal responsibility instructional treatments on elementary-age, urban, at-risk physical education students. A multiple treatment (ABAD, ACAD, ADA, control) behavior-analysis design was implemented across four distinct matched class settings to determine the separate and combined…

Recent economic events and constantly-shifting priorities continue to challenge the traditional hallmarks of community colleges: responsiveness, adaptability, and flexibility. Institutional leaders are increasingly questioning whether the comprehensive community college model and, more importantly, open access, are still sustainable in today's…

Principals are increasingly held accountable for student achievement. Why shouldn't schools, like other institutions, be judged on how successfully they perform their mission? Yet school leaders have a good reason to resist contemporary accountability programs. Instead of articulating the mission of schools and then holding leaders accountable for…

This article examines the need for preparing highly qualified teachers and the challenge of preparing future generations of citizens. Examining the historical antecedents of "highly qualified," beginning with the 1954 "Brown" decision, I ground my position on the role of schools and colleges of education in preparing educators…

Despite small steps of progress, issues of legitimacy and worth are still barriers inhibiting systemic change in physical education. Even with the call for reform in physical education (Rink, 1993), few comprehensive school reform efforts have included physical education, for at least two reasons. First, physical education is not considered a core…

This paper explores the range of ways in which school districts are using Title I funds for early education through kindergarten and examines how the implementation of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) has impacted those investments. It also makes recommendations for local education agencies (LEAs) interested in creating Title I-funded early education…

To expand knowledge about young immigrant populations and to document how the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) affects the education of English language learner (ELL) and limited English proficient (LEP) students, the Urban Institute was funded by the Foundation for Child Development to undertake a series of reports. This policy brief draws on this…

The Student Experience in the Research University (SERU) Project is a collaborative effort of academic scholars, IR staff, and academic and administrative leaders at each of the UC (University of California) undergraduate campuses and at UCOP (University of California Office of the President). The objective is to develop new types of data and…

"Straight A's: Public Education Policy and Progress" is a biweekly newsletter that focuses on education news and events both in Washington, DC and around the country. The following articles are included in this issue: (1) NCLB Redux: House Committee Releases Draft Language on NCLB Reauthorization, Includes Significant New Programs for…

This volume illuminates the most pressing challenges faced by urban schools, teachers, teacher candidates, and teacher training programs and offers a range of insights and possibilities for urban teacher education and teaching. Covering issues spanning the broadly theoretical to the urgently practical, it goes beyond the traditional discourses in…

The "State Teacher Policy Yearbook" examines what is arguably the single most powerful authority over the teaching profession: state government. This Illinois edition of the National Council on Teacher Quality's (NCTQ's) "State Teacher Policy Yearbook" is the first of what will be an annual look at the status of state policies…

The "State Teacher Policy Yearbook" examines what is arguably the single most powerful authority over the teaching profession: state government. This Maine edition of the National Council on Teacher Quality's (NCTQ's) "State Teacher Policy Yearbook" is the first of what will be an annual look at the status of state policies…