In this report, the National Council on Teacher Quality evaluates key features of 67 undergraduate institutions elementary, secondary and special education teacher preparation in the state of Texas. The authors apply 25 standards that bear directly on the capacity of those programs to attract talented individuals and prepare them to teach…

This study examined teachers' attitudes and beliefs in one over-performing urban/suburban high school of the state-mandated curriculum framework under conditions that I label a continuously uncertain reform effort or a top-down mandated curriculum involving constant mixed-messages as to its content, accountability demands, and future existence.…

According to current research, mental health issues are the leading health problem for Canadian children. Surveys also indicate that fewer than 25% of children are receiving care (Waddell, McEwan, Shepherd, Offord, & Hua, 2005); thus, schools play a key role in assessment, access to services, and possible referral to appropriate outside…

This paper is one of a collection of papers written by the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges (ASCCC) to support the use of content review as the basis for establishing communication and computation prerequisites. "Student Success: The Case for Establishing Prerequisites Through Content Review" was adopted at the Fall 2010…

The extent to which funds under the Title I of the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) should be expended on training services has been a topic of discussion by Congress, which is considering reauthorization of WIA. This paper describes a policy initiative by Illinois that requires Local Workforce Investment Areas (LWIAs) under Title I of WIA to expend…

This study examines principal mentoring practices in Wisconsin. Particular attention is paid to practices deemed promising in the literature on mentoring for improving principals' capacity for instructional leadership. The implementation of Wisconsin's policy for teacher and administrator mentoring (PI 34) is also examined. Wisconsin's…

Proponents of school choice policies assume that such policies will create competition between schools for nearby students. This paper discusses the differences between choice and competition in education and why the existence of choice does not necessarily translate to competition. Vouchers and charter schools have been the twin pillars of school…

In this policy brief the author shows that contracts negotiated by local teachers' unions and district administrations allow for more flexibility than conventional views suggest. CBAs (collective bargaining agreements) are quite varied in their contents, and many school boards and unions have used the flexibility inherent in contract negotiations…

Each year, considerable resources are spent on professional development to build teacher knowledge and skills. Yet not much is known about its impact on student achievement. Research confirms that professional development can affect teacher practice, but research has yet to confirm if those changes in practice improve student learning.…

In a nationwide study of state legislative Web sites, Narro, Mayo, and Miller found that the communication tools (i.e., weblogs, electronic newsletters, online polling) that state legislators offer vary more from state to state than legislator to legislator. Taking their information into account, this article addresses regulations put on…

Legal gaming on Indian reservations has increased dramatically since the 1987 landmark decision by the United States Supreme Court in "California v. Cabazon Band of Mission Indians." In this case the Supreme Court upheld by a 6-3 vote the right under federal law for Indians to run gambling operations without state regulation in states…

In the Rio Grande Valley of south Texas, the Pharr-San Juan-Alamo Independent School District has achieved a startling success over the last two years: it has recovered and graduated over 600 dropouts and put them on a clear pathway to college. Just a few years ago, low graduation rates, struggling high schools, and poor staff and student morale…

Since 2002, the Center on Education Policy (CEP), an independent nonprofit organization, has been studying state high school exit examinations--tests students must pass to receive a high school diploma. This is CEP's ninth annual report on exit exams. The information in this report comes from several sources: CEP's survey of states that have…

This paper provides information about Alaska High School Graduation Qualifying Exam (HSGQE), a comprehensive standards-based exam. Its purpose is to meet a state mandate. A bill to remove the HSGQE as a graduation requirement by July 1, 2011 was presented to the state legislature as SB 109. However, it did not pass both houses of the legislature.…

The Delaware Department of Education, in collaboration with the Delaware Academy for School Leadership at the University of Delaware, has been the recipient of Wallace Foundation funding since 2000 as part of the foundation's initiative to develop and share ideas for strengthening education leadership. The grant has enabled the state education…