The Cowen Institute has published the "State of Public Education in New Orleans" ("SPENO") annually since 2007, with a pause for two years after the March 2020 report because of the COVID-19 pandemic. 2022-2023 has marked a return to a more familiar school environment. This report works to capture some of the changes,…

For the past 12 years, the Cowen Institute has published the "State of Public Education in New Orleans" ("SPENO") on a near annual basis. During that time, the purpose, content, and audience of the report have evolved. This edition of the report is a snapshot of public education in the current academic year using aggregated…

This 2016 report is the fourth in an annual series of National Education Policy Center (NEPC) reports on the fast-growing U.S virtual school sector. This year's report provides a comprehensive directory of the nation's full-time virtual and blended learning school providers. It also pulls together and assesses the available evidence on the…

Despite the expressed need for high-quality science education, very little research has been conducted on what middle school science learning opportunities look like in practice. This study was conducted in support of "Strengthening Science Education in California", a research, policy, and communications initiative. Partners in this…

The federal government, states, school districts, and private foundations are investing hundreds of millions of dollars in educational data management systems. The hope for these investments is that providing better information to teachers and administrators, particularly student performance data, will support school-wide planning, inform…

The federal government, states, school districts, and private foundations are investing hundreds of millions of dollars in educational data management systems. The hope for these investments is that providing better information to teachers and administrators, particularly student performance data, will support school-wide planning, inform…

According to this author, "unchecked capitalism is destroying the nation's public schools, and No Child Left Behind (NCLB) is the final nail in their coffin." He argues that, marching under the banner of "accountability," right-wing, pro-business forces are willfully undermining the democratic right of all children to a free,…

The author of this article states that, for more than 20 years, public educators have developed a professional inferiority complex and a strong sense of hopelessness. After all, he claims, the dominant message over those years, including from some within the profession, has been that educators have caused the declining quality in public schools.…

In their popular explanation of No Child Left Behind, journalists and other public voices claim that unruly and inefficient public schools are being brought under the control of effective central authorities by scientific, test-driven accountability. Other popular themes of reform in media include mayoral control of schools, non-educators as…

This book contains evidence about charter schools that can provide important data on evaluating this new public-private hybrid and its success at serving the core purpose of public education. The book focuses on charter schools in Michigan, which is regarded as having one of the most permissive charter laws in the country. The first three chapters…

This paper considers some of the similarities and differences between education and business in view of the fact that there are many who advocate that the public schools follow a business model in their operations. Salaries of executives in education, and superintendents in particular, tend to be lower than those of business executives, and their…

Under Rhode Island's new School Accountability for Learning and Teaching (SALT) program, the state gathers information from such sources as statewide performance assessments, in-depth community surveys, and computerized, comparative analyses of school expenditures. Article offers basic guidelines for program evaluation. (MLF)

This study reports on the Hong Kong education quality assurance and school monitoring system. Three research questions were addressed: (1) Who controls the quality of school education in Hong Kong? (2) What strategies are used in the Hong Kong school education quality assurance process? (3) Agenda for Future Research on quality assurance and…

In June 2003 the Board of Education adopted "Our Call to Action, Pursuit of Excellence," the second edition of the school system's strategic plan. This update of the original November 1999 Our Call to Action, while remaining focused on the core mission of providing every student with a high-quality, world-class education, strengthened the…

States that central to any efforts to improve urban schools is the relationship between the school managers and the teachers' union. Recommendations include creating learner-centered schools; focusing on improving the knowledge and skills of teachers; negotiating "Living Contracts"; and expanding school choice by making public schools…