Under the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), every school is subject to the controversial mandates for annual test score gains contained in the federal law. The law represents a profound change in the relationship between the federal government and state and local education agencies regarding who controls education and has direct implications for…

The article presents information on overhauling and regulating schools set up by migrants in the Pudong New District of China. As the number of migrants has risen sharply in the Pudong New District in recent years, so has the number of migrant children. An overall investigation of the fifty-nine schools set up by migrants was conducted and the…

This article discusses the different problems of public school systems in Hawaii. Hawaii's schools face many challenges. They have one of the highest rates of private school attendance, in the U.S. at about 33%, while schools in the single, state-wide public school district, the Hawaii Department of Education (HIDOE), are seriously under-funded.…

Portuguese schools in urban areas became multicultural during the 90s. Some students are quite distanced from the school culture. Many repeat grades. The curriculum emerges as a means of (re)organizing school practice, so that it is designed to foster inclusion. It is a tool for social mediation between the culture and knowledge of teenagers, and…

Since its inception in 1965, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, now known as No Child Left Behind (NCLB), has directed billions of federal dollars toward low-income students. Title I, Part A of NCLB is designed to equalize educational opportunities and resources for disadvantaged children. This analysis examines whether the current…

California continues to widen access to local child care and preschool programs--albeit in fits and starts--for a variety of families. About 65% of all four year-olds statewide now attend a preschool center. Government spends $3.6 billion on early care and education programs statewide, including a three-fold increase in state spending since 1996.…

In 2007, the Local Government Association (LGA) commissioned the NFER to review the best evidence on what works in narrowing the gap in outcomes for vulnerable groups across the five Every Child Matters areas. The review aimed to underpin the Narrowing the Gap Programme, a major development programme being implemented by the LGA and the DCSF. …

This study examines the impact of 2 professional learning community (PLC) classroom practices on the English Language Arts achievement of California's most at-risk subgroups between selected higher- and lower-performing elementary schools in a southern California school district. The conclusions from this study agree with the body of research,…

This book presents a review and synthesis of the early care and education system in the United States -- a system that now faces increasing enrollment, an underpaid workforce, and limited budgets. A substantial number of trained early care and education professionals are projected to leave the field over the next 10 years due to noncompetitive…

This issue of "Focus On" examines where boys are underachieving and some possible reasons for their under-achievement, including biological and environmental factors. It also offers strategies that teachers can employ in their classrooms in order to address the educational needs of boys. Books in Brief; Web Resources; and Related ERS Resources are…

For young people who have dropped out of school, are out of work, or lack connections to family or other caring adults, there are often no easy answers. Their hopes for a better life are frequently no different than those harbored by their more advantaged peers, but their path to adulthood is rendered more difficult by tangled combinations of…

The National Comprehensive Center for Teacher Quality (NCCTQ) was launched in 2005 as part of a comprehensive system of content-based technical assistance to support states in implementing the priorities of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act. NCCTQ's mission is to support Regional Comprehensive Centers (RCCs), states, and other education…

This study examined the influence of perceived parental, peer, and cultural factors on Black American adolescent attitudes toward substance use. One-hundred-eight Black American youth (grades 9-12) from economically disadvantaged urban neighborhoods of New York, completed self-report measures on: (a) parent-child involvement, parental supervision,…

The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) has ushered in an era of increased accountability and assumed universal proficiency at a time when there is significant variability in children's abilities as they enter kindergarten. Despite NCLB's emphasis on the use of evidence-based practices to improve students' achievement, it explicitly recommends grade…

The Chattanooga (Tennessee) public schools are building a national reputation for the work they are doing to improve the city's schools. The Edna McConnell Clark Foundation, which has promised substantial grants for the reform of urban middle school education in Chattanooga, asked the Southern Education Foundation, through its Focused Reporting…