The idea of the University of the Third Age (U3A) in the UK was originated from France. However, the British formed their own model of U3As, which is different from that of French U3As. What are the reasons that the British U3As developed in a different way? The purpose of this article is to interpret and criticize in-depth the reasons why British…

Providing quality principal preparation internship programs at the nation's graduate schools of education has long been a topic of discussion and concern. In 1989, the National Policy Board for Educational Administration (NPBEA) cited a decline in the quality of administrator preparation programs. These programs were criticized for being…

The "2011 State Preschool Yearbook" is the newest edition of our annual report profiling state-funded prekindergarten programs in the United States. This latest "Yearbook" presents data on state-funded prekindergarten during the 2010-2011 school year as well as documenting a decade of progress since the first…

The purpose of this study is to expand the definition of adequacy by adding soft skills as a measure of school productivity. The singular focus on academic standards inherent in education policy has prevented scholars from seeing the concept of adequacy through myriad perspectives and has contributed to a resegregation of schools. Education policy…

Expanded learning opportunities (ELOs), which include afterschool, summer learning, and extended day and extended year programs, can help states reduce dropout rates and increase graduation rates. Effective elementary, middle, and high school ELOs support academic rigor, boost student engagement, and provide students with supportive relationships.…

Recent scores on state tests show that middle grades students have made some progress in meeting their state's academic standards over the last half-decade. Yet a closer look at state standards indicates that too many Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) states have set them too low. Quite a few states have taken steps to improve their…

The goal of the "Closing the Achievement Gap for 21st Century Learners in West Virginia (CAG)" report, 3rd edition, is to update West Virginia educators to the status and improvement of student achievement in West Virginia which may then be utilized as a basis for determining future educational decisions. In order to enhance the quality…

In this technical report, we describe the development and piloting of a series of mathematics progress monitoring measures intended for use with students in kindergarten. These measures, available as part of easyCBM[TM], an online progress monitoring assessment system, were developed in 2008 and administered to approximately 2800 students from…

This Guide is intended to share the insights of SEDL's National Partnership for Quality Afterschool Learning (the National Partnership) as well as information about both the academic and the organizational and management practices that successful afterschool programs use. The authors have organized these practices into the following four focus…

"Straight A's: Public Education Policy and Progress" is a biweekly newsletter that focuses on education news and events both in Washington, DC and around the country. The following articles are included in this issue: (1) "From No Child Left Behind to Every Child a Graduate": New Alliance Report Outlines Policy Framework for…

Previous work by the National Center on Educational Outcomes (K. Liu, Koo, Barrera, & Thurlow, 2008) documented that principals in 10 "successful" middle schools (defined as those making Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) with ELLs and students with disabilities) were knowledgeable and concerned about the special education referral…

Studies suggest that course-integrated information literacy instruction is an effective way to enhance the quality of student research. However, many political science professors are unfamiliar with the growing information literacy movement in higher education today, with strategies for integrating information literacy into their courses and…

Computer aided assessment is a common approach used by educational institutions. The benefits range into the design of teaching, learning, and instructional materials. While some such systems implement fully automated marking for multiple choice questions and fill-in-the-blanks, they are insufficient when human critiquing is required. Current…

The purpose of the analyses reported in this paper was to compare performance on the GED (General Educational Development) Tests, U.S. edition, across three groups of examinees: (a) graduating high school seniors in the GED Tests U.S. 2001 norm group, (b) GED Tests candidates who took one or more tests in the U.S. in 2002-2004, and (c) GED Tests…

California policymakers have pursued various strategies for raising student achievement over the past half-century. The state's schools now advance demanding curricular standards which are among the most rigorous in the nation. These are in the form of "content" and "performance" standards. This paper, stemming from a Policy…