Since the passage of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (2002), there has been increased interest in using student achievement data (through standardized tests) to evaluate teacher effectiveness. Two U.S. Department of Education secretaries, Secretary Spellings and Secretary Duncan, have expressed interest in growth models and the need to…

The Bright Futures Scholarship (BFS), Florida's lottery-funded, merit-based scholarship program, has been a source of both praise and criticism since its 1997 inception. Proponents of the scholarship assert the program has achieved the desired goals of making college more affordable for state residents and encouraging the brightest students to…

Across the country, high school graduation rates are bemoaned with regularity. Many states and districts aren't even tracking the rate for the fastest-growing population of students, or if they are, they aren't telling the public how many English-language learners (ELLs) are leaving school with a diploma. The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act was…

The Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) funds schools located on 63 reservations in 23 states across the nation. Of the 183 schools, 59 are Bureau operated and 124 are tribally controlled. One-hundred and sixteen schools provide instructional programs, 55 provide instructional as well as boarding services and 12 peripheral dormitories provide only…

What does the geographic distribution of state spending look like? Are there regions of the state that receive more than their "fair share" of state funds? How is a region's "fair share" defined and calculated? This report examines the geographic distribution of state spending across nine regions: the San Francisco Bay Area,…

The pilot study in this article identified facilitators and barriers to implementing the Massachusetts Model for Comprehensive School Counseling Programs. The Concerns-Based Adoption Model served as a framework to understand how school counselors perceive the Massachusetts Model's impact on their professional roles, and how those perceptions…

From 1981 to 1986 South Carolina implemented a federally mandated desegregation plan designed to: (1) enhance the State's public historically black colleges; (2) desegregate student enrollment at the State's baccalaureate degree granting public colleges and universities; and (3) desegregate faculties, staffs, and governing bodies of all public…

Using hierarchical linear modeling, student standardized test scores are analyzed to determine the impact of mentoring first- and second-year teachers on their students' achievement. The contrasting group used for comparison consists of experienced teachers in matched schools, grade level, and content area. The study contains data from 300…

Early childhood is a critical time for cognitive, social, and behavioral development. Many states have invested in comprehensive early childhood care and education systems that offer a wide range of supports and services to families from the prenatal period through school entry. Home visiting programs are an important component of state early…

The Connecticut Coalition for Achievement Now (ConnCAN) kicked off 2010 with its legislative campaign, "Our Race to the Top." This campaign resulted in the passage of a slate of progressive education reform bills. During the summer months, it ran the "Vote for Ed" campaign, which put the issue of Connecticut's struggling public…

There are now nearly four million children born in the United States who have undocumented immigrant parents. In the current debates around immigration reform, policymakers often view immigrants as an economic or labor market problem to be solved, but the issue has a very real human dimension. Immigrant parents without legal status are raising…

Through the "Strengthening Statewide College/Career Readiness Initiative" (SSCRI), Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) has collaborated with states on state policy goals and actions needed to improve high school students' academic readiness for postsecondary study and reduce the need for remedial work. SREB created and implemented…

This letter is submitted to comment on the U.S. Department of Education's (ED) proposed revisions to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act's (ARRA) State Fiscal Stabilization Fund (SFSF), as published in the September 23, 2011, Federal Register. Overall, the Data Quality Campaign believes the proposed changes strike a sensible balance: they…

Most public elementary and high school teachers are covered by health insurance provided by their employer while they are employed. In most cases, these health plans are managed at the state level. At retirement, teachers with sufficient years of service are allowed to remain in the health plan. Retiree health plans for teachers vary widely across…

During the past year, the state of Michigan has made noteworthy changes in the accountability system used for NCLB. Partly as a result of these changes, the number of schools identified for restructuring has changed since the previous year. In addition, the state has continued providing various types of assistance to schools in restructuring. This…