This newsletter addresses various supports that districts are utilizing to help keep students in school and on the path to graduation. Described herein are three districts that have been particularly successful in raising student achievement--even though they differ in their specific strategies, fund allocation, and demographic composition. A…

This document presents a summary of changes made to the 2008 Mathematics Standard for grade 8. The table presented in this document offers a summary of the: (1) Removed Performance Objectives (POs); (2) POs Moved to a Different Grade Level; (3) POs Moved within the Grade Level or from another Grade Level; and (4) New POs.

"The Learning Principal" is an eight-page newsletter published eight times a year. It focuses on the important and unique work of school principals. This issue includes: (1) A Learning Community Is Built on Trust (Valerie von Frank); (2) School Leadership: Q & A: Turnaround Doesn't Have to Take Years, Just Solid Leadership (Valerie von Frank); (3)…

The Collegiate Learning Assessment (CLA) is a measure of how much students' critical thinking improves after attending college or university. This report illustrates how institutions can set their own standards on the CLA using a method that is appropriate for the CLA's unique characteristics. The authors examined evidence of reliability and…

Although the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Programme is offered by many high schools in the United States and considered to be challenging and rich in content, the curriculum has not been analyzed to determine its alignment with college readiness standards or state educational standards in the U.S. The research methodology employed by…

The call for "algebra for all" is not a recent phenomenon. Concerns about the inadequacy of math (and science) preparation in America's high schools have been a steady drumbeat since the 1957 launch of Sputnik; a call for raising standards and the number of math (and science) courses required for graduation has been a part of countless…

It is imperative that to transform the national education agenda so that each and every child may succeed. Members, thought partners, and staff of CCSSO, have worked in collaboration to identify four areas of focus that will lead the systems change necessary for a true transformation of teaching and learning. Those areas are Next Generation…

This supplemental report examines AISD parent survey responses by student ethnicity. A separate full report on AISD parent survey results also was published. [For the full report, see ED628083.]

This paper describes quality enhancement (QE) focused response to the 2006 National Student Survey (NSS) by a post-1992 Higher Education Institution. Recognising the increasing importance of the NSS to a wide range of stakeholders, the University established a task team to explore, from a QE perspective, why the institution received particular…

Drawing from the surge of anti-bilingual education sentiments at the turn of the millennium, Ron Unz and the program he initiated, English for the Children, promoted Proposition 203 to dismantle bilingual and English as a second language (ESL) programs in Arizona's public schools. According to Unz's initiative, language-minority students were to…

The purpose of this study was to determine quality indicators for SAE and FFA according to 36 experts across the United States. This is a part of a larger study looking at all components of the traditional three-circle model. The study utilized the Delphi technique to garner expert opinion about quality indicators in Agricultural Education. For…

As the most concerted venture to craft common academic standards in more than a decade rolls forward, the process has drawn criticism from those who say too much of the nitty-gritty work is taking place behind closed doors. The organizations leading the effort--the National Governors Association (NGA) and the Council of Chief State School Officers…

The College Boards started as achievement tests designed to measure students' mastery of college preparatory subjects. Admissions testing has significantly changed since then with the introduction of the Scholastic Aptitude Test, Lindquist's creation of the ACT, renewed interest in subject-specific assessments, and current efforts to adapt K-12…

Semester assessment of college wind band members is an issue that conductors would probably agree falls within their academic freedom. Institutions may award as little as no credit or even a percentage of a credit for ensemble participation, although the time and effort required of the students and their conductor is undoubtedly equivalent to, or…

This article reviews the literature on interventions targeting the academic performance of students with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and does so within the context of the statistical significance testing controversy. Both the arguments for and against null hypothesis statistical significance tests are reviewed. Recent standards…