The rise of accountability policies during the early 1990s coincided with an increase in the achievement gap between white and minority students, reversing decades of steady improvement in outcome equity. This article explores the policies that helped to reduce the achievement gap before 1990, the effects of the subsequent shift toward…

The current high-stakes accountability environment has created strong incentives for educators to systematically collect and use data to inform instructional decisions. This article examines the strategies employed by three urban school districts to promote data use for instructional improvement and their effect on administrator, principal, and…

In September 2006, the U.S. Department of Education amended the regulations governing programs administered under Title I, Part A of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), as amended by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB), related to both the assessment of, and State, local educational agency (LEA), and school…

To raise the achievement of every student, Maryland designed "Achievement Matters Most," a plan for public schools that sets goals in the areas of achievement, teaching, testing, safety, and family involvement in schools. Achievement Matters Most supports Maryland schools' efforts to meet the goals of the federal No Child Left Behind…

"Straight A's: Public Education Policy and Progress" is a biweekly newsletter that focuses on education news and events both in Washington, DC and around the country. The following articles are included in this issue: (1) Miller Time: Committee Chairman Outlines NCLB Improvement Priorities; Sets September Goal for House Reauthorization…

In search for the practical relevance of accountability systems for school improvement, we ask whether practitioners traveling between the worlds of system-designated high and low-performing schools would detect tangible differences by observing concrete behaviors, looking at student work, or inquiring about teacher, administrator, or student…

School systems aspire to provide equal opportunity for all, irrespective of socio-economic status (SES). Much of the criticism of recent school reforms that introduce accountability, autonomy, and choice emphasizes their potentially negative consequences for equity. This report provides new evidence on how national features of accountability,…

The University of California's census survey of undergraduates, UCUES [University of California Undergraduate Experience Survey], presents an opportunity to measure both disciplinary and institutional differences in students' academic experience. Results from nearly 60,000 responses (38% response rate) from the 2006 administration found greater…

As part of its work in developing a performance accountability framework for higher education, the Commission conducted an analysis of student performance on standardized tests at the high school and middle school levels. National test results show that California is behind most other states in giving its students a high school education of the…

Analysis of Wake County Public School System (WCPSS) End-of-Grade (EOG) performance results indicates that WCPSS students with the most difficulty reaching accountability standards are those with more than one of the following characteristics: are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch (FRL), have disabilities (students with disabilities, or…

This report describes the postsecondary enrollment trends for students in the Austin Independent School District graduating Classes of 2002 through 2006.

The modern character education movement emerged in the 1980s as a consequence of growing parental and public concern for moral drift, or what sociologist James Davison Hunter referred to as "the death of character." This public anomie was captured in these words from Sanford McDonnell, chairman emeritus of McDonnell Douglas and chair of…

In this article, the authors present Edwin Diaz, superintendent of California's Gilroy Unified School District and discuss the common challenges and strategies among those education leaders who take on--and succeed at--the role of change agent and reformer. When Edwin Diaz became superintendent of California's Gilroy Unified School District in…

The Equity Scorecard, a nationally recognized and widely used organizational learning process designed to foster institutional change through the identification and elimination of racial disparities among college students, is described in this chapter. The effectiveness of this process and its potential impact are also discussed.

Debate about teacher supply, demand, retention, and attrition has been renewed in recent years by an increased concern about the reduced numbers of prospective teachers entering teacher education programs, the high attrition rate of beginning teachers, and the resulting teacher shortages. U.S. schools are experiencing teacher shortages, especially…