The purpose of this study was to examine middle school principals' and teachers' perceptions of the current issues in middle school reading education and to identify the sources of information that these educators use and find helpful to keep informed reading issues. Participants were employed in the 14 middle schools of the Knox County School…

In January 2000, the National Institute for Literacy (NIFL) published "Equipped for the Future Content Standards: What Adults Need to Know and be Able to Do in the 21st Century." Since then, people in states and adult education programs across the country who are using the 16 Equipped for the Future (EFF) Standards have been looking forward to the…

This report argues that evidence exists for the case that the charter school movement is largely a failed reform. The report puts the charter school movement in the context of dissatisfaction with public schools and the public sector in general. It then describes the claims for charters made by the early charter school advocates, emphasizing the…

In this chapter the authors' primary aim is to describe the general workings of the system of adult literacy and learning as it exists in the United Kingdom today. To better illuminate that system, they take a little time delving into its past--that is, showing how it arrived at its current state of operation. A secondary aim is to compare and…

In early January 2003, "Education Week" released a new report on the status of teaching in the United States and concluded that many states are taking steps to recruit and retain skilled teachers, but few efforts focus on the schools where these teachers are needed most. Drawing upon a large national database, "Quality Counts…

Over the past several years, high school graduation rates in the United States have come under intense public scrutiny fueled by a renewed interest in high school reform as well as higher public school accountability requirements. At this time, two issues dominate the debate over high school graduation rates: First, there is a need for a common…

The focus of this hearing is to review Federal and State oversight of child welfare programs and systems designed to prevent abuse and neglect of children, including those under State protection. The purpose being to provide subcommittee representatives the opportunity to learn what Federal, State, and local officials should be doing to ensure…

The South Carolina Commission on Higher Education (CHE) serves as the coordinating board for South Carolina's 33 public institutions of higher learning and is responsible for serving a dual role within state government acting both as an advocate for higher education as well as an oversight entity on behalf of the General Assembly. The agency's…

This non-regulatory guidance updates and expands upon the "LEA and School Improvement Non-Regulatory Guidance" issued on January 7, 2004. The revised guidance addresses new issues raised by State and local officials in light of their experiences in administering and carrying out the "School Restructuring" provisions authorized…

This article addresses the problem of inept, ineffective, and mediocre governing boards at America's colleges and universities. It maintains that substandard governance can almost always be traced to one of two culprits, or both: (1) most boards are orchestras of soloists; and (2) many boards tend to either lionize or trivialize the president.…

The Committee on Education and the Workforce, to whom was referred the bill (H.R. 27) to enhance the workforce investment system of the Nation by strengthening one-stop career centers, providing for more effective governance arrangements, promoting access to a more comprehensive array of employment, training, and related services, establishing a…

Educators often overlook the largest body of evidence of student performance: student work. With careful and deliberate examination of various sources of student work, teachers can gather a wealth of information about student achievement and about their own instructional practices. Examining student work is not about grading or scoring papers. It…

This article encourages college presidents and trustees to prepare for public relations challenges by tracking issues through four distinct stages: fringe, emerging, getting hot, and white hot/too late. "Fringe" refers to, for example, people discussing an issue at conferences, in professional publications, or among a few concerned…

The U.S. Department of Education set the following six goals as measures of their annual performance: (1) Creation of a Culture of Achievement; (2) Improvement of Student Achievement; (3) Development Safe Schools and Strong Character; (4) Transformation of Education into an Evidence-Based Field; (5) Enhancement of the Quality of and Access to…

The Data Collaborative Model (DCM) assembles assessment literacy, reflective practices, and professional development into a four-component process. The sub-components include assessing students, reflecting over data, professional dialogue, professional development for the teachers, interventions for students based on data results, and re-assessing…