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…

The first article, "The Cost of English Acquisition Programs: Arizona Department of Education English Acquisition Cost Study" contains excerpts from a study (Phases 1 and 4) conducted for the Arizona Department of Education on the costs of various English-acquisition programs. Six successful but varied English-acquisition programs for…

This document discusses Santa Fe Community College's (SFCC) (Florida) five accountability measures. The type of data available provided on these measures is as follows: (1) District High School Enrollment Report and Retention and Success Rate Report; (2) Associate of Arts Degree Transfer Performance in the State University System; (3) Licensure…

This publication offers school counselors and school staff a 5-phase planning model for implementing national standards for school counseling programs. The process involves the examination of current school counseling programs; identification of student needs; and selection of activities, strategies, and services to ensure that students achieve…

The Indicators Project on Education Organizing was designed to examine the role of community organizing in school reform. For over 2 years, researchers documented the education organizing of five urban groups. This report presents an education organizing indicators framework that highlights strategies and accomplishments of education organizing.…

This report describes Austin, Texas' Austin Interfaith, which connects community institutions that can support families (e.g., schools, congregations, and civic organization) and builds the capacity of family members to participate fully in the economic system. Viewing schools as key neighborhood institutions, Austin Interfaith works directly with…

This report presents summaries of five case studies from the Indicators Project on Education Organizing, which was designed to examine the role of community organizing in school reform. For over 2 years, this action research project documented the education organizing of five urban groups. The research developed an Education Organizing Indicators…

The purpose of this study was to take an initial step toward developing sound and versatile predictive instruments (i.e., benchmark measures) in reading, writing, and math that can be used to assess high-school students' academic performance in a manner that will not only predict scores on high-stakes tests but will also be amenable to repeat…

This study investigated the influence of accountability on teacher learning and the capacity of districts and schools to support instructional practices that bolster student performance, examining: state policy regarding incentives, sanctions, rewards, recognition, and assessment required for high stakes accountability, and professional…