The issue and commentary papers in this "Perspectives" column address one use of assessments--speaking and writing proficiency assessments based on the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL, 2012) Proficiency Guidelines--as a means for establishing and maintaining one important competency standard for world…

This study compares school-wide Annual Yearly Progress (AYP) results in Indiana schools earning the Recognized ASCA Model Program (RAMP) designation (n = 75) with a sample of control schools stratified by level and locale (n = 226). K-12 schools earning the RAMP designation in 2007, 2008, and 2009 comprise the experimental group. Findings indicate…

Being a good board member is a tough responsibility these days. Boards are under increased scrutiny in the wake of recent events regarding inappropriate oversight. Organizations send board members an ever expanding volume of material to facilitate informed decision-making. There's mounting pressure for governing boards to be strong and effective.…

Public officials are increasingly contracting with the private sector for a range of educational services. With much of the focus on private sector accountability on cost-effectiveness and student performance, less attention has been given to shifts in democratic accountability. Drawing on data from the state of New York, one of the most active…

The call for school psychologists to demonstrate accountability in the evaluation of services at the individual, group, and system levels comes at a time when school districts nationally are pursuing personnel evaluation models that link teachers' instructional practices to student achievement. School psychologists have an opportunity to take a…

Monitoring, evaluation, and quality assurance in their various forms are seen as being one of the foundation stones of high-quality education systems. De Grauwe, writing about "school supervision" in four African countries in 2001, linked the decline in the quality of basic education to the cut in resources for supervision and support.…

This study examined the patterns of parental involvement and parenting styles of a particular sample of academically successful African American males who attended and graduated from historically Black colleges or universities. More specifically, investigated was the presence of any relationships between parental involvement, parenting styles,…

The purpose of this study was to determine whether or not a significant difference existed in the overall academic performance of athletes when compared to non-athletes at one rural high school in Wisconsin. The study was important to the field of educational leadership because in the current environment of accountability, educational leaders need…

High-stakes assessments have been a major factor in education reform and student success in the 21st century. Assessments are used to measure a student's ability to transfer classroom learning to formalized assessments. In the state of Texas, legislative policy was implemented to ensure that all fifth and eighth graders are prepared for proceeding…

We use a natural experiment to show that the presence of an external examiner has both a direct and an indirect negative effect on the performance of monitored classes in standardized educational tests. The direct effect is the difference in the test performance between classes of the same school with and without external examiners. The indirect…

As the 21st century progresses, the role of the building-level school administrator has become more and more complex. With the demands of the No Child Left Behind Act, changing demographics, instructional leadership, and state accountability systems, the need for principals to feel a sense of efficacy toward their jobs is critical. There is a body…

Scientific discoveries repeatedly confirmed the importance of brain growth during the first 5 years of child life. To support early childhood development, California voters passed Proposition 10 in 1998 to collect a 50 cent per pack tax on cigarettes and other tobacco products. Kern County Children and Families Commission (First 5 Kern) was…

Educators face significant changes today that affect their daily work lives. Chief among those changes is the national expectation that every student will graduate from high school, college and career ready. Common core state standards adopted in 46 states, as well as college- and career-ready standards established in other states, define what…

The purpose of this study was to extend the research on textbook effectiveness to a situated investigation of a single large urban school district in which middle schools were given a choice in selecting from three textbooks for mathematics instruction: a reform textbook, a commercially produced textbook developed in response to mathematics…

A book that draws equally on Richard Lee Colvin's deep acquaintance with contemporary education reform and the unique circumstances of the San Diego experience, "Tilting at Windmills" is a penetrating and invaluable account of Alan Bersin's contentious superintendency. Between 1998, when Alan Bersin became superintendent of the San Diego…