In December 2005, the General Teaching Council for Wales, acting on behalf of the General Teaching Councils' (GTCs') Five Nations Group, commissioned the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) to conduct research into the contents of the standards and routes to teaching qualifications in the UK nation states and the Republic of…

Much has been written recently about the ways many high schools are failing students, but much less has been written about the ways successful high schools manage to maintain standards of excellence for all students, pursuing high academic standards while still closing the achievement gap. This report focuses on successful high schools,…

The Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) is the primary measure of student achievement applied to the grading of the Florida public schools. School grades utilize a point system in which schools are awarded one point for every percent of students: (1) scoring in achievement levels 3-5 in Reading; (2) demonstrating learning gains in…

Few educators today would argue with statements about the growing diversity of the children being educated in most schools. There is acceptance and often celebration of this diversity, including the growth and dispersal of the population of children and youth from diverse linguistic backgrounds, but there are also concerns about the ability to…

For the past two decades, China's economy has grown rapidly, averaging an astonishing 9 percent every year. One result of this growth has been the demand for more and better educational opportunities at the postsecondary level. In response, the Chinese government, which holds a tight control over its highly centralized education system, introduced…

At present, there appear to be only two prerequisites for entry into a music teacher education program at most institutions: a minimum academic grade point average and sufficient musical competence to be admitted to the school of music. These seem overly minimal, and serious suggestions have been made regarding additional essential requirements.…

The Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) Leadership Curriculum Modules support leadership preparation redesign efforts in many universities and school districts across the country. The school practices and change processes necessary to improve the school as a system and its curriculum and instruction are the topics that drive this curriculum.…

This document is a tool for demonstrating that the University System is meeting the "flexibility with accountability" expectations of SB 2003 passed by the 2001 Legislative Assembly. The 2007 report reflects some of the many ways North Dakota University System (NDUS) colleges and universities are developing the human capital needed to…

Despite the fact that the early reading proficiency for all children has become a national mandate captured in both the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), the poor performance of America's fourth graders on national examinations of reading proficiency indicates that the nation is far from…

At the heart of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) is the call for all students to be "proficient" in reading and mathematics by 2014. Yet the law expects each state to define proficiency as it sees fit and design its own tests. This study investigated three research questions related to this policy: (1) How consistent are various…

The purpose of this publication is to identify the essential components of appropriate programming mandated by Alberta Education for students with special education needs, to provide examples of effective practices, to establish a common understanding of the terminology associated with this specialized field, and to clarify the meaning of…

This report offers a comprehensive account of Thomas B. Fordham Foundation's sponsorship policies and practices, including a history of its sponsorship efforts, as well as individual profiles of all Fordham-sponsored schools in Ohio. Included in the profiles are in-depth descriptions of each school's educational program, school philosophy, and…

The purpose of the NMSBA technical report is to provide users and other interested parties with a general overview of and technical characteristics of the 2006 NMSBA. The 2006 technical report contains the following information: (1) Test development; (2) Scoring procedures; (3) Calibration, scaling, and equating procedures; (4) Standard setting;…

Secondary vocational-technical education programs in Mississippi are faced with many challenges resulting from sweeping educational reforms at the national and state levels. Schools and teachers are increasingly being held accountable for providing true learning activities to every student in the classroom. This accountability is measured through…

The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLBA) requires all children to meet state standards of proficiency. Nowhere does this seem more absurd than the requirement for subgroups of students with disabilities to meet the same standard as children without disabilities. Educators, parents, and students alike protested that to be labeled as a child with an…