If the notion of quality is tied to the automatic exclusion of any percentage of the population, any racial, religious, or ethnic group, it is not acceptable in America. However, if quality indicates a goal or a standard, or an achievement to be defended, it is clearly compatible with a great measure of equality. (Author/LBH)

The astonishing success rate for students taking the College-Level Examination Program (CLEP) tests has resulted in large numbers of college sophomores who have never been freshmen. Implications of this fact are discussed along with an assessment of the CLEP examinations themselves. (LBH)

Urban school reformers for decades have tried to improve educational outcomes for underserved and disadvantaged students, with the assistance of constantly evolving federal and state policies. In recent years, education policies have shifted from targeting individual students to developing universal standards for teaching and learning, and…

Although all areas of the country share certain educational challenges--such as having quality teachers in every classroom; making every school a peaceable, safe environment in which to learn; and ensuring that every child learns to read well and comprehends science and mathematics at a functionally high level--each region confronts a unique set…

In 1987, the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) and 13 Southern states formed the SREB-State Career/Technical Education Consortium and established two goals. One goal is to increase the percentages of career-oriented students who complete a planned sequence of career/technical (CT) courses and a challenging academic core in English/language…

On April 5, 2002, the Montana Office of Public Instruction (OPI) entered into a compliance agreement with the U.S. Department of Education to bring the state into compliance with the provisions of the following federal laws: Title 1 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) of 1994, P.L. 103-382 and the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB)…

With the passage of "No Child Left Behind" in 2001, schools are expected to provide a standards-based curriculum for students to attain math and reading proficiency and demonstrate progress each year. "NCLB" requires more frequent student testing with publicly reported results in an effort to close the achievement gap and to inform parents,…

This EdSource report covers the modifications that California has made in major education policy areas thus far to comply with NCLB and their impact on the state and its schools, with a focus on those provisions that have prompted the greatest upheavals. It also looks at some of the effects NCLB is expected to have on school and district…

This Non-Regulatory Guidance explains how State educational agencies, local educational agencies, and State agencies for higher education can effectively use Title II, Part A funds to ensure that all teachers are highly qualified and effective, a critical component of the No Child Left Behind Act and the Individuals with Disabilities Education…

In this standard, students learn how economies, large and small, function. Supply and demand are covered in depth, and students learn to identify the production, consumption, and circulation of different types of resources in local, state, national, and world economies. Students also learn about employment and personal finance, as well as the…

This two-semester course emphasizes key events and developments in the past that influenced peoples and places in subsequent eras. Students are expected to practice skills and processes of historical thinking and inquiry that involve chronological thinking, comprehension, analysis and interpretation, research, issues-analysis, and decision-making.…

Tests like the Ohio Graduation Test are part of what has become known as the "standards-based" reform movement in education. Simply put, they allow states to measure whether or not students are learning according to whatever set of standards, benchmarks and indicators are adopted by that state. They also help meet, in part, the reporting…

This report provides a bi-annual snapshot of how states regulate and support programs and services for gifted and talented learners. The report, developed from a survey of the state directors of programs for the gifted, covers questions about funding, state education agency support, mandates, identification, programs and services, personnel…

This book illustrates the experiences of elementary school teachers across one year's time as they participated in a teacher development seminar focused on mathematics, and as a result changed their beliefs, their knowledge, and their practices. It explores these experiences as a means of understanding the learning that takes a teacher from a more…

Arizona's Instrument to Measure Standards High School (AIMS HS) is an assessment program that measures high school students' achievement of the Arizona Academic Standards adopted by the state Board of Education in three subject areas: reading, writing, and mathematics. All students in high school are required to participate in AIMS HS testing.…