Hugh Burkett, director of The Center for Comprehensive School Reform and Improvement, recently was asked to give the keynote speech at On the Right Track 4, an annual school improvement symposium for California school practitioners. In this month's newsletter, Dr. Burkett shares highlights from his remarks. He sets forth six things that should…

This report identifies and analyzes legal, regulatory, and policy barriers to redesigning high schools in California. In an effort to identify legal, regulatory, and policy barriers to the creation and successful operation of redesigned high schools in California, the Center on Reinventing Public Education (CRPE) staff interviewed high school…

This report examines two components of federal legislation to enhance teaching quality by improving the training of prospective teachers and the qualifications of current teachers. One component provides grants, and the other (the accountability provisions) requires collecting and reporting information the quality of teacher training programs and…

During this 18-month study, researchers spoke with and listened to over 1,600 parents, teachers, and experts about the needs of Hispanic American students. Results indicate that Hispanic Americans had significant vitality, desire, ambition, and determination, and want to provide opportunities for their children. However, Hispanic students are far…

The consequences of not graduating from high school are increasingly serious for both individuals and society as a whole. As a result, state and federal accountability systems now require reporting of more detailed graduation and dropout data. The federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) requires states to report disaggregated…

The Perceptions Of School Culture (POSC) instrument was designed to measure the perceptions of a school staff regarding various dimensions of school culture contained in a hypothesized model of school cultural change. Specifically, this model posits that the development of a high-performance learning culture is influenced by school vision and…

Recognizing the vast disparities in academic achievement throughout Arizona's public schools, the Arizona Department of Education (ADE) has recently started pushing for tougher standards and demanding for more school accountability. This study analyzes the ranking system implemented by the ADE that categorizes all public schools according to…

This report serves as a progress report on the implementation of the Commission's longitudinal student data system. Recent data submission by the University of California and the California State University, along with the community college data already in-house, will make it possible for the Commission to conduct studies on time-to-degree,…

The goals and measures identified in this report provide insight to policymakers, higher education analysts, and parents and students throughout the nation. They are tools to understand the trend of nationwide standards so that California can make informed decisions about holding its postsecondary institutions accountable for the quality of…

This paper is a description of the development of a new educational leadership program at Austin Peay State University. From inception to implementation, the program used Interstate School Leaders Licensure Consortium (ISLLC) standards, a tool for assessing programs in educational administrator preparation. The goal of the program was to embed the…

This paper reports on a study of three states (Maryland, Massachusetts, and Texas) that investigated their policies and practices imvolving standards, assessment, accountability, teaching quality, and public engagement. It focuses on common conditions contributing to success in raising achievement (consistency, consensus, and comprehensiveness);…

The Research and Planning (RP) Group for the California Community Colleges (CCC) supports the Partnership for Excellence (PFE) effort to improve student success as measured by the goals, yet the RP Group sees the goals as limited in scope regarding the full work of the CCC. In addition, the RP Group is realistic about the political forces at work…

This digest summarizes potential benefits of standards-based reform and areas of concern for schools serving American Indian and Alaska Native students. Content standards may benefit Indian education by creating a more common curriculum, providing a focus for improving teaching and learning, and promoting a more holistic, active-learning sort of…

There is plentiful discussion about the importance of accountability, but much needs to be done to translate it into a manageable and credible system of ongoing feedback. In this book, evaluative inquiry is used in a way that balances attention between the investigation process and its purpose. The book is divided into three parts. Following an…

This report includes state summaries of the annual dropout rate used in the accountability system, along with state attrition rates. It offers a series of longitudinal secondary school completion/student status rates. Out of 1,794,521 students attending Texas public secondary schools during 1999-00, 23,457 dropped out, a decrease of 15.0 percent.…