"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) House Subcommittee Passes Education Funding Bill: Appropriations Bill Would Provide Large Increases for Title I and…

This report focuses on published research about performance pay for teachers in Australian schools. This report falls into three main sections. The first provides an overview of current pay arrangements and collective enterprise bargaining agreements for Australian teachers. Within these arrangements, the report gives particular attention to…

In this report, three specific questions guide the analyses that follow: (1) To what degree has the School District of Philadelphia upgraded the teaching credentials of its teachers? (2) How well has the district succeeded in reducing teacher attrition and increasing the experience level of its workforce? (3) Have district efforts since the state…

"The Condition of Education, 2007" summarizes important developments and trends in education using the latest available data. The report presents 48 indicators on the status and condition of education and a special analysis on high school coursetaking. The indicators represent a consensus of professional judgment on the most significant…

Background: This study involves 50 participants from a rural county in S.W. Georgia and examines the conditions and settings that existed at the target school as to the increase in student attrition at the alternative school. Purpose: To take a closer look at the student attrition problem in the target school and make contributions to begin to…

The "2004/06 Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study (BPS:04/06)" is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education to respond to the need for a national, comprehensive database concerning issues students may face in enrollment, persistence, progress, and attainment in postsecondary education and in consequent early rates of…

The Academy for Teacher Excellence (ATE) at the University of Texas at San Antonio and San Antonio College is proposed as a comprehensive model whose overarching goals include: (1) creating a learning ecology that values diversity and prepares teacher candidates for work in diverse communities; (2) increasing the number of Latino students pursuing…

Predictors of persistence previously found useful in distinguishing successful from unsuccessful distance learners were assembled in a 60-item survey. The survey was completed by 259 learners enrolled in associate's, bachelor's, or master's level distance learning courses in accounting, business administration, information services, criminal…

How can we avoid the "why new teachers cry" phenomenon and the high dropout rate for beginning teachers? Start teacher preparation with an introductory foundations class that is experience based and allows students to study themselves and their preferences for teaching styles, learning styles, and classroom management by living through case…

This study examines second-term and second-year persistence of 19,489 freshmen at American River College (ARC), a large, urban, public community college near Sacramento, California. Academic and non-academic characteristics are compared between first year dropouts and those students that enroll one year after the first fall term at ARC for two…

Curriculum developers and faculty working with American Indian students in traditional Eurocentric higher education institutional settings face many challenges. These include the development of culturally responsive, community-based programs that meet students' needs, encourage and support student persistence and retention, and integrate…

The U.S. Department of Education predicts that more than 2.2 million teaching positions in kindergarten through 12th grade will need to be filled over the next 10 years. Given the demand for classroom teachers, 48 states and the District of Columbia have created alternate route (AR) teaching certification programs to recruit individuals who have…

This article reports on an exploratory study of the factors perceived by school personnel to contribute to success in high-performing, high-needs (HPHN) rural schools. It is based on earlier research in HPHN schools that identified 4 key components of success (leadership, instruction, professional community, and school environment) and explored…

This study tested the effect of college student employment on students' levels of social and academic integration, professional and institutional commitment, and academic achievement and persistence. The survey model developed for the study included both the interactions between the student and the institution, the "fit," and the…

All first-year students enrolled in diploma and certificate programs in the Saskatchewan Institute of Applied Science and Technology (SIAST) were surveyed to determine factors that influence student persistence. A questionnaire was mailed to 2,822 students in October 1991; 1,557 completed questionnaires were received and analyzed. A follow-up…