Aggressive intervention by a school-choice coalition and supportive elected officials turned back threats to the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program (MPCP) posed by burdensome state regulation of private schools. MPCP continues to expand, studies report academic gains, parents are satisfied and involved, and public support has grown. Supporters of…

This report represents the response of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System (MnSCU) to a 1998 legislative directive to assess the feasibility of doctoral degree programs at MnSCU institutions. The report makes recommendations in four areas to be considered by the Board of Trustees: authority, parameters and guidelines,…

A growing movement to ground school curriculum in locally relevant material--often called place-based education--is capturing the attention of many rural educators. Some see this approach as a way to address the decline of rural communities, including the outmigration of youth, by preparing students to live productive and fully engaged lives in…

As states move toward higher expectations for student learning and stringent consequences for results, many school districts are demanding "reciprocity"--a level of resources and support they believe is needed to do the job. These demands are forcing policymakers to struggle with a difficult question: What kind and amount of resources does it take…

This report revisits several key questions examined in a 1999 report, "Title I Midstream: The Fight to Improve Schools for Poor Kids," investigating whether all states have: set standards for student performance; measured attainment of standards with assessments that meet Title I requirements; and developed accountability systems…

This report presents six core principles of inclusive assessment and accountability systems with a brief rationale and specific characteristics that reflect each principle. The principles are: (1) All students with disabilities are included in the assessment system; (2) Decisions about how students with disabilities participate in the assessment…

This document explores the changes the 21st century will impose on community colleges and discusses the need for colleges to alter their objectives. It offers five points that colleges should consider in redesigning their organization: (1) change must be mission-driven, containing the element of accountability; (2) the new process must be owned by…

This document is the strategic plan for the Foothill-De Anza Community College District, which consists of two community colleges: Foothill College and De Anza College. The report begins with a summary of the district's past successes and a statement of the desire to evolve according to social demands. Major issues are identified as follows: the…

In this speech, Chancellor Thomas J. Nussbaum defends the existence of local governing boards for community colleges and offers suggestions for improving the current weak governance structure. He argues that doing away with local governing boards would: (1) create a greater inconsistency between the mission and the governance of the colleges; (2)…

This document consists of articles 23-45 published in the electronic journal "Education Policy Analysis Archives" for the year 2001: (23) "La Participacion de las Minorias Nacionales dentro de Sistemas Educativas Pre-Modernos: El Caso de los Garifunas de Guatemala" (Carlos R. Ruano); (24) "'Alexander v. Sandoval': A…

This handbook presents state guidelines for alternative education in Mississippi, which is designed to serve as a learning alternative placement for students who have had difficulty with the regular classroom environment or who have experienced disciplinary problems in the classroom or school. The handbook contains the following sections: (1)…

This brief examines issues raised by the No Child Left Behind Act critical to long-term success of states' reforms. These issues include building a coherent testing program (lead with standards, not tests, and ensure the quality of all tests, particularly their alignment with state standards); managing trade-offs between high expectations and high…

This report documents a study of charter schools in Alberta, Canada. The purpose of the study was to examine the academic achievement of the 10 charter schools in the province. Data were collected from test scores in language arts, math, science, and social studies of third-, sixth-, and ninth-graders; reviews of various documents; and interviews…

Each year, the U.S. Air Force Academy, the U.S. Military Academy, and the U.S. Naval Academy combined spend tens of millions of dollars to operate preparatory schools that provide an alternative avenue for about 700 students annually to gain admission to the service academies. The Department of Defense (DOD) requested that the General Accounting…

This paper aims to present a methodology for assessing within-state regional needs for community college services, and describe the policy tools and strategies available to policymakers who intend to address these needs. The paper builds on work that the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems (NCHEMS) prepared for the National…