This article discusses the Mapping CSAP (Colorado Student Achievement Program) project, an extension of a grant-funded programme that sought to show the importance of a geographic perspective on public policy decision-making at the state level. In this programme, high school students were asked to grapple with current state issues in Colorado,…

In this paper we examine the contention that many schools and school boards use funding generated from testing and coding of students with special needs as a means of augmenting general operating revenues. As a result, students with special needs do not receive the full benefit of the monies received for individualized programs. The article draws…

In hundreds of schools across the U.S., cooperative learning has helped administrators and teachers increase academic achievement and equip students with the ability to speak and work across lines of race, class and gender. Cooperative learning encourages education in a democratic environment. Student interaction at every level of school fosters…

This qualitative study examined the effects of a high-stakes, standardized test on teachers' instructional planning at a rural school. The research addressed this question: How do mandated curricular standards affect teachers' instructional planning and content selection? Ethnographic interviews (Creswell, 1998) examined four secondary teachers'…

Today's instructional leaders face disparate accountabilities. On the one hand, they are accountable for use of research on literacy education that has evolved to be understood as holistic literacy instruction based on an integrated use of semantic, syntactic, and phonemic strategies. On the other hand, leaders must meet requirements of current…

In times of budget shortfalls and ever increasing demand for transparency and accountability for use of tax dollars in the public sector, it is clear that the use and influence of performance measurement has increased. "Performance measurement" is a "fairly inclusive term that may refer to the routine measurement of program inputs,…

This article focuses on the limitations and possibilities of teaching as a research-based activity in the current context of further education (FE) practice. The article argues that research can deliver real improvements in the quality of teaching and learning in further education. To enable this improvement to take place, the article suggests…

The language in recent education policy equates academic achievement with reading proficiency for English language learners (ELLs). In response to federal and state accountability efforts focused on reading, California high schools began to substitute reading intervention programs for English language development (ELD) curricula and instruction.…

Researchers randomly selected Pennsylvania public middle level schools to identify significant relationships between principals' instructional leadership behaviors and student achievement, with school socioeconomic status (SES) as a secondary variable of interest. For each participant school, four teachers and the principal were asked to complete…

The Norfolk, Va., Public Schools began to close the gap with powerful learning, new instruction, and support.

Despite common moves in a number of countries to raise the quality and visibility of early childhood services (for example, through the introduction of curricular frameworks), both professionalisation policies and understandings of the professional role remain distinctly variegated across Europe and beyond. Whereas early childhood systems with…

The intent of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001 is to hold schools accountable for ensuring that all their students achieve mastery in reading and math, with a particular focus on groups that have traditionally been left behind. Under NCLB, states submit accountability plans to the U.S. Department of Education detailing the rules and…

The intent of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001 is to hold schools accountable for ensuring that all their students achieve mastery in reading and math, with a particular focus on groups that have traditionally been left behind. Under NCLB, states submit accountability plans to the U.S. Department of Education detailing the rules and…

The intent of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001 is to hold schools accountable for ensuring that all their students achieve mastery in reading and math, with a particular focus on groups that have traditionally been left behind. Under NCLB, states submit accountability plans to the U.S. Department of Education detailing the rules and…

The intent of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001 is to hold schools accountable for ensuring that all their students achieve mastery in reading and math, with a particular focus on groups that have traditionally been left behind. Under NCLB, states submit accountability plans to the U.S. Department of Education detailing the rules and…