Teacher accountability has gained attention since the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, also known as, No Child Left Behind (NCLB), enacted in 2002 by then President George W. Bush. Research shows a strong correlation between effective teacher instruction and student achievement, yet the area of feedback to teachers on…

Families are the primary clients of public schools, but they are one of many constituencies who have a say in how schools actually operate. In all the technocratic fervor around "education reform"--the broad effort to implement standards and accountability, reform teacher tenure and evaluation, and increase parental choice--it is easy to…

This report, the first in the series, points out that, while urban families increasingly have access to a variety of school options--including charter schools--many rural families have just a single school option. There are numerous examples of rural charter schools that have done great things for students while also benefiting the larger…

This report uses international benchmarking as a common metric to examine and compare what students are expected to learn in some states with what students are expected to learn in other states. The performance standards in each state were compared with the international benchmarks used in two international assessments, and it was assumed that…

The purpose of this technical assistance paper is to provide a description of the procedures used to determine school improvement ratings for alternative schools and ESE centers for the most recently completed school year. School improvement ratings are part of Florida's school accountability system, which originated with the Florida Legislature's…

The Common Core is at a critical juncture. While many surveys show that support for the standards themselves remains strong, implementation has not been without major challenges. "State Accountability in the Transition to Common Core," a new policy brief from the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, provides cautionary advice about what key…

The "Delaware K-12 & School Choice Survey" project, commissioned by the Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice and conducted by Braun Research, Inc. (BRI), measures Delaware registered voters' familiarity and views on a range of K-12 education topics and school choice reforms. The author and his colleagues report response levels…

The "Oklahoma K-12 & School Choice Survey" project, commissioned by the Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice and conducted by Braun Research, Inc. (BRI), measures Oklahoma registered voters' familiarity and views on a range of K-12 education topics and school choice reforms. The author and his colleagues report response levels…

The American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA) is leading the charge to return "higher" to higher education. We are challenging the status quo to restore academic freedom, academic rigor, and real accountability to higher education. And, we are doing so with an ever-widening network of supporters and partners.

The purpose of this document is to support States in writing the narrative for Phase I of the State Systemic Improvement Plan (SSIP). It provides an outline for States to use in organizing their narrative content to ensure that all required components are addressed. The outline includes considerations on information States might include in their…

Pursuant to State Law, the Colorado Department of Education, Office of Blended and Online Learning is required to prepare an annual summary report for submission. The passage of a later State House Bill repealed the annual requirement for the Summary Report and also the annual reporting mandates that were required of all online schools and…

This policy analysis project focused on state-level education policy which lacks evaluator training as well as on requirements for research-based best practices. Due to federal mandates and funding as well as accountability to all stakeholders, states are adopting more rigorous evaluation systems. These high-stakes evaluation systems are putting…

Introduced to the British education system under the Education Act 2002 and later enshrined in the New Labour government White Paper "Higher Standards, Better Schools for All" (DfES, 2005), the Academies policy was set up to enable designated under-performing schools to "opt out" from the financial and managerial remit of Local…

The research reported here examined the impact of the Government Performance and Results Act on accountability and evaluation activities in two state Cooperative Extension Systems. Accountability was examined using five dimensions from Koppell's (2005) framework. Findings indicated both Extension systems transferred accountability activities to…

This study was designed and conducted in an educational climate in which school and teacher accountability for student learning is increasingly connected to students' performances on standardized tests. The participants in this study, 5 middle school English language arts teachers, each rejected their district-sponsored data-driven instruction…