The Race to the Top (RTTT) federal grant program was an initiative that targeted improving Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education. However, the evaluation of the program reported only student outcomes for mathematics and reading/language arts. The purpose of this study was to estimate the effects of RTTT program on…

To obtain a better understanding of country-specific policies, a country-specific literature review was undertaken. The search entailed key-terms focusing on relevance and the three higher education relevance dimensions. The main outcomes of the country-specific literature review are discussed in this chapter. We do so by analysing the typically…

As states continue movement toward ambitious attainment goals, many are calling increased attention to post-graduation outcomes--including workforce development and graduate impact on a state's economy. Along with state initiatives and task forces, an increase in workforce development legislation highlights a movement toward codifying progress.…

Under the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, states created statewide systems of support, in collaboration with existing agencies, to deliver targeted assistance to districts and schools identified as in need of support. With limited personnel and resources, state education agencies partnered with outside agents to address the needs of a growing…

Three Higher Education Act (HEA) student financial aid programs--the Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG) program, the Federal Work-Study (FWS) program, and the Federal Perkins Loan program--collectively are referred to as the campus-based programs. Under the campus-based programs, federal funding is provided to institutions…

Chronic absenteeism is a measure of how many students miss a defined number of school days for any reason--excused, unexcused, suspension. Many states define chronic absenteeism as the number and percentage of students missing 10 percent or more of their school days in a year. The purpose of this Brief is to provide information about chronic…

Schools in the United States serve a linguistically diverse population of students. The U.S. Department of Education estimates that 9.1 percent of public school students in the United States were English learners (ELs) in 2014-2015. These are students who meet the federal definition of English learners, referred to in the Individuals with…

Federally mandated standardized testing (i.e., in core subject areas and certain grade levels), as an element of educational accountability, began in 2002 with the No Child Left Behind Act. With that step, large-scale assessments came to serve as one of the foundations of accountability-based systems and policies not only for districts, schools…

2018 is the fifth year that state policymakers have taken concerted legislative action on education data use and privacy issues. Across the country this year, 42 states considered 300 bills and 25 states passed 59 new laws governing the collection, linking, use, access, and protection of education data. With the passage of the Every Student…

The use of service dogs within the United States is growing (Walther et al., 2017). At the same time, the functions performed by these dogs are expanding. Schools are microcosm of society. As a result, school personnel are often confronted with the task of determining the extent of access a service dog and handler have to school buildings in…

Health care is one of the economy's biggest industries, so it is natural that the health care industry should play some role in the teaching of introductory economics. There are many ways that health care can appear in such a context: in the teaching of microeconomics, as a macroeconomic issue, to learn about social welfare, and even to learn how…

The present study examined the attitudes of California-based school psychologists toward transgender-identifying students and assessed their efforts and roles in supporting this student population in light of recently passed legislation in California (AB 1266; 2013), which requires public schools in the state to provide transgender students with…

The aim of the current study is to assess school leaders' perceptions and practices in the context of a new policy that emphasizes teacher evaluation. The study draws from survey data of 606 K-12 school leaders in the USA in a state implementing a new teacher evaluation model under Race to the Top. Findings illustrate that school leaders spent…

This article explores the role that higher education has in ethical compliance to Title IX and the Clery Act. The discussion includes a curious look at common practices as potential future approaches to consent and sexual assault education. Articles and research are included to ground understanding in the current context, while examples from a…

This chapter provides a summary of the history of the Clery Act and reviews the latest developments of the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act. In light of this legislation, campus collaboration should occur to ensure students' safety and institutional legal compliance regarding mandatory reporting requirements.