The U.S. Department of Education recognizes the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) as an accrediting body for colleges and universities that prepare educators for P-12 schools (Leibbrand, 2006). To receive NCATE accreditation colleges and universities must meet each of NCATE's six standards for high quality educator…

This publication shares the argument that communities should "blur the lines" between learning that happens inside the school and out in the community, during and outside of the school day. Important reform and system-building efforts are focused on 1) building more connected and aligned learning experiences inside schools; 2) creating extended…

In a three-year study, RAND researchers examined the relationship between reform-oriented instruction and student performance in mathematics and science. At the end of the study, students who had been exposed to more reform-oriented teaching performed better in both math and science than those who had experienced less, but the differences in…

How does brain research support the recommendations from Breaking Ranks? There was a great deal of information about specific schools that have implemented recommendations from Breaking Ranks. Although many of the articles described specific types of data used to inform decisions, none was available on how brain based research was used or how it…

Education in the 21st century must respond to the needs of an increasingly diverse school community and all of its stakeholders. Changes in both the United States and the broader global society call for updated knowledge and new skills. The primary goal of school community relations is to create an understanding among everyone in a community…

A modern understanding of the cell and its functions has been translated into learning goals for K-12 students by Project 2061's "Benchmarks for Science Literacy" and by the National Research Council's "National Science Education Standards" ("NSES"). Nearly every state has used these national documents to develop…

Most Americans actually understand the importance of an education rich in arts, science and humanities. But what they may not realize is that their children are not getting enough. Each day more and more of the arts and humanities are being drained from our nation's school curriculums. Studies have shown that the arts play a stimulating role in…

This report is the fourth and final paper in the research series by the Commission on the nexus between postsecondary education and workforce development. Prior reports have reviewed the overall context, considered employers' concerns with whether postsecondary education is doing enough to ensure California has a competitive workforce, and…

Background: The 2 institutions that hold great promise in mitigating the negative cyclical relationship between poor health and educational readiness are schools and school-based health care facilities (SBHCs). In partnership with schools, SBHCs could have a profound effect on learning outcomes, which include, but are not limited to, poor…

With the advent of wireless technology, new tools are available that are intended to enhance students' learning and attitudes. To assess the effectiveness of wireless student response systems in the biology curriculum at New Mexico State University, a combined study of student attitudes and performance was undertaken. A survey of students in six…

Teachers, and those who prepare them, struggle to balance test-centered legislative mandates and conscientious professional practices. Increasingly, professional judgment may be at variance with federal testing guidelines. Present federal testing requirements, if strictly followed, will retain a significant number of students in grade resulting in…

This report summarizes the activities and findings of the external evaluation of the "Science: It's Elementary" (SIE) program during the period from July 2008 through June 2009. The SIE program is managed by ASSET Inc. and overseen by the Pennsylvania Department of Education. SIE is an initiative aimed at improving elementary science…

To give states the information they need to sustain hard-fought education reform effectively, Achieve conducted research on state education reforms that have been sustained successfully for over a decade or more. Funded by the GE Foundation, Achieve hopes this work will help other state leaders, wherever they may be on their road to reform,…

Tu Tran, Robert Baker, and Margo Pensavalle present e-portfolio technology as an effective tool in teacher preparation. Because e-portfolios chronicle students' learning outcomes, they provide a picture of students' development that can be used in response to increased demands for assessment of student teachers and increasingly standards-based…

The aim of this research is to examine how social learning is connected to the acquisition of knowledge and abilities. One hundred and nineteen "A" grade students (60 boys and 59 girls) attending public primary school participated. The collection of data was carried out according to: (1) the "Athina" Test (AT) and (2) teachers'…