Australia is a high performing but low equity country with regards to educational attainment. Low socio-economic background students and schools with large numbers of these students perform less well than higher socio-economic background students and schools. Yet some schools are turning around student learning outcomes despite the impact of…

"Write in the Middle: A Workshop for Middle School Teachers" is an eight-part professional development workshop designed to help teachers learn effective practices and strategies to use with middle school students in writing instruction. Through classroom footage of excellent teachers modeling successful strategies and interviews with teachers,…

This paper explains that today's teacher preparation programs must meet the needs of tomorrow's teachers. They must be practical, experiential, and effective, and must produce educators who practice personal reflection, ongoing professional development, and lifelong learning. The Professional Development School (PDS) model addresses these needs.…

"A Focus on Professional Development" is the fourth in the Research-Based Practices in Early Reading Series published by the Regional Educational Laboratory (REL) at Pacific Resources for Education and Learning (PREL). Because reading proficiency is fundamental to student achievement across all subjects and grades, the preparation of the teachers…

Long before the onslaught of Hurricane Katrina or the chaos of evacuation, New Orleans' social infrastructure was failing. News coverage of the overcrowded Superdome and the city's flooded streets exposed the poverty and vulnerability of many residents, especially African Americans. As New Orleans begins to rebuild, can the city avoid the mistakes…

This paper describes participant reaction to an informal field test of the Identifying Changes, Exploring Possibilities, and Developing Technology Skills (ICED) Professional Development Model. The theoretical framework for the ICED model is drawn from three sources: (1) literature review of the change process, specifically the adoption of…

These three journal issues contain the following articles: "Japanese at Mimosa Elementary School" (Azusa Uchihara); "A Successful Keypal Project Using Varied Technologies" (Jean L. Pacheco); "Promoting a Language-Proficient Society: What You Can Do" (Kathleen M. Marcos and Joy Kreeft Peyton); "Journal Reflections…

Improving education achievement in Luxembourg is a priority for strengthening productivity growth and enhancing residents' employment prospects in the private sector, where employers mainly hire cross-border workers. Student achievement in Luxembourg is below the OECD average according to the 2003 OECD PISA study, with the performance gap between…

For past two decades, there has been a growing national concern about teacher quality. This presentation discusses Connecticut's Beginning Educator Support and Training Program (BEST) and emulation of its assessment component by a medium sized department of education. The support component of BEST requires that all school districts provide…

A discussion of current second language testing trends and practices in Australia focuses on the use of performance assessment, providing examples of its application in four specific contexts: an occupational English test used for to assess job-related English language skills as part of the certification procedure for health professionals;…

This volume presents a collection of papers on teacher education reform, discussing the impact of standards and assessment on teacher education. Targeting policymakers, researchers, and teacher educators, the volume describes seven teacher education institutions that have used standards and assessment to guide their reform. Part 1, "The Role of…

This report proposes an agenda that business leaders can use to help improve education. It is the result of the 1999 National Education Summit at which business leaders, governors, and educators pledged to improve the quality of teaching with significantly increased investments in teachers and accountability for results. Recommendations were…

This report summarizes a study of Americans' attitudes toward teaching, educational opportunity, and school reform. Surveys of 2,501 adults nationwide indicate that Americans unequivocally support the guarantee of free public education and consider improvement in fundamental areas of student behavior and academic performance essential. Greater…

This fastback explains that better teaching is the key to higher student achievement, and improving the quality of both teachers and their teaching is an important challenge for departments of education and schools nationwide. The fastback focuses on: "Enhancing Teacher Quality" (content knowledge, licensure and certification, and…

This document describes the context in which colleges and universities prepare teachers to work with children with disabilities, presenting a vision for a system of teacher preparation conducted through partnerships between higher education and P-12 schools. It offers perspectives, ideas, and examples that may help those who are engaged in and…