At least 36 states have made some changes to their teacher policies by passing more than 100 bills to strengthen preparation and licensure standards and provide additional funding for teacher mentoring and professional development. The National Commission on Teaching and America's Future (NCTAF) has been a catalyst in bringing teacher policy…

The purpose of this guide is to serve as an informational resource for educators and other interested professionals in planning and developing bicycle safety education programs. The guide examines 15 existing bicycle safety education programs in the United States and one from Canada. (Author)

This study examined students' perceptions of teacher burnout in relation to the occurrence of disruptive student behavior and teacher competence to cope with this behavior. It also examined whether three survey instruments could be adapted to enable students to report on their teachers' psychosocial wellbeing. Participants were students in their…

This report summarizes research on the effects of class size reduction, outlines lessons learned from large-scale class size reduction initiatives in California and Wisconsin, and draws out implications of the research and lessons for class size reduction in North Carolina. The evidence that smaller classes promote increased learning is strongest…

This report examines Maryland's role in setting and measuring higher standards; holding schools, districts, and students accountable for results; strengthening teaching and helping schools and districts build capacity to implement reform; and sustaining public support for standards-based reform. A review team analyzed written documents regarding…

In 2000, researchers conducted surveys on teacher preparation and qualifications, measuring change since 1998. Respondents were 5,253 K-12 teachers nationwide. The survey repeated some indicators of teacher quality examined in 1998 and explored new issues. Virtually all teachers held bachelor's degrees, and nearly half held master's degrees.…

This report describes an effort to enhance the effectiveness of teacher educators. The endeavor, which is in its early stages, is a work-in-progress initiated by the Association of Teacher Educators (ATE). The goals of the initiative are to reach consensus on standards for teacher educators; develop rigorous, fair, and feasible assessments related…

The field of career and technical (CT) education does not have just one universal set of procedures for licensure or certification of postsecondary teachers. Procedures differ widely from state to state. Most postsecondary CT educators are not required to complete a teacher certification program and then be awarded a license to teach from the…

This pilot study examines the influence of a diagnostic and post-test format as a continuous diagnostic tool to help one cohort of elementary preservice teachers address their mathematics content area deficiencies in a proactive way. Fifty-four percent of the preservice teachers in the cohort were persons of color, and 96 percent were female. The…

Graduating more students and increasing the quality of their learning are national priorities. Every college and university can improve in these areas by focusing on the educational conditions that matter to student success. Decades of research studies show that a key factor is student engagement--the time and effort students devote to their…

In the spring of 2000, Alberta Education (previously Alberta Learning) appointed the Review Committee on Outcomes (RCO) to consult with Albertans to find out what they expected from the K-12 education system and how these expectations are being met. The committee consisted of stakeholder, as well as a parent and a member at large. This committee…

This paper examines the extent of current or future shortages of qualified U.S. elementary and secondary teachers. Data come from the 1987-1988 and 1990-1991 waves of the Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS), a nationally representative study by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). The SASS includes four sets of integrated…

This paper describes the Beginning Teacher Survey Study's rationale, design, theoretical framework, research questions, and findings. The study was designed to: develop a survey that would gather information from beginning teachers about their preservice and induction learning experiences; develop theoretically and empirically based constructs of…

This paper presents the results of a benchmarking, validity, and generalizability study of the use of teacher work samples to assess the ability of preservice and inservice teachers to meet program and state teaching standards and to impact the learning of the students they teach. The assessment approach builds upon the Teacher Work Sample…

This report summarizes findings from a study of Americans' attitudes toward teaching, educational opportunity, and school reform, examining: what Americans feel must be done to ensure that all schools become what they should be, teachers' roles in fulfilling the quest for higher student achievement, and how well current and proposed reform efforts…