This annual report complies with the requirements of Tennessee's Public Education Governance Reform Act of 1984, which directs the State Board of Education and the Tennessee Higher Education Commission to prepare a report on: (1) the extent of duplication in elementary-secondary and postsecondary education in Tennessee; (2) the extent to which…

This annual report assesses the strategic planning effort of the 12 colleges that make up the Connecticut Community-Technical College system. Section 1 details the planning and assessment process. The first phase of this strategic planning process--the development of performance indicators--has been completed. Colleges identified their goals…

This report builds on the analyses reported in "Knowledge and Skills for Life" by examining results from all of the 43 countries that participated in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2000. This report presents the distributions of performance in each country, not only average scores. In addition, it uses…

There is no excuse for the failure of most public schools to teach poor children. All children can learn, as the principals and schools profiled in this book have demonstrated. These schools and administrators have overcome the bureaucratic and cultural obstacles that keep low-income children behind in most public schools. The 21 high-performing,…

This report provides an overview of the Department of Education's (ED) progress toward four main goals: (1) help all children reach challenging academic standards; (2) build a solid foundation for learning for all children; (3) ensure access to postsecondary education and lifelong learning; and (4) make ED a high-performance organization. The…

This paper presents an overview of the institutional accreditation process, focusing especially on how student assessment fits into accreditation. There are two important reasons for accreditation: first, student financial aid programs at all levels require accreditation; and second, public or private institutional funders require it as a standard…

Using multiple longitudinal data from Chicago, Illinois, public elementary schools, this study identifies correlates of student achievement through multiple linear regression. The study combines the approach taken in large-scale correlational studies of school achievement with a study of the variables identified in effective schools research. It…

For many African American children from low-income backgrounds, cognitive performance can be enhanced in contexts thematically characterized by aspects of Afro-cultural ethos. This report presents and describes the results of six experimental studies (two studies on each) of three cultural themes of primary interest: movement, communalism, and…

The annual student performance information released in Indiana reports information on many different criteria and treats the data as if all comparisons should be the same. However, Indiana needs to set performance expectations that require all, not just some, students to improve. The Indiana Statewide Test of Educational Proficiencies Plus…

Cross-domain relations of self-efficacy, task-value, and achievement goal orientations were examined among 424 Korean middle and high school students using confirmatory factor analysis. All motivational constructions demonstrated strong subject-specificity in both age groups. Strengths of between-domain associations differed substantially by…

This study attempted to provide insight into the condition of one Mississippi school district that has engaged in a comprehensive effort toward instructional improvement centering around performance task instruction by examining how teaching with performance units affects several aspects of the instructional program. In the district studied, the…

This paper discusses the outcomes of a study that investigated the effects of substance dependency on the reading decoding and comprehension of 497 adolescents (ages 12-18) involved in an inpatient drug and alcohol rehabilitation program. The first part of the study involved the formal assessment of reading decoding and reading comprehension…

Canada is experiencing a dramatic growth in interest in and implementation of the middle school concept. Currently needed is information on the specific characteristics of the middle school as it develops in Canada and information validating the practices that are accompanying restructure efforts. This study investigated the relationship between…

Within the congenitally deaf population there exists a sizeable number of individuals who are considered to be traditionally underserved. These individuals are characterized by severe communication deficits irrespective of modality (e.g., speech, sign language, reading, writing). Unfortunately, until now there has not been a comprehensive…

A comparison of student and supervisor ratings of high school business education teachers revealed that both types of evaluation are needed to present a complete analysis of teaching performance. (MF)