This article addresses the gradual introduction of arrangements for validation of non-formal and informal learning in Europe. While the debate on how to identify, assess and recognise learning achievements acquired outside formal education and training institutions has been going on for several decades, we can now observe that these approaches are…

Since Federal regulations have given states the option to implement alternate assessments based on modified academic achievement standards (AA-MAS) as part of their accountability systems for a small group of students with disabilities, a number of states have made decisions about whether or not to develop and implement such an assessment.…

Using the case of a secondary English department, this article demonstrates how historical barriers to effectively educating diverse students have been reinforced by the current educational climate of curriculum standardization and high stakes accountability. Data derive from in-depth interviews of English teachers and analysis of…

The rubrics presented in this report represent an evaluation system for objects found within Open Education Resources. An object could include images, applets, lessons, units, assessments and more. For the purpose of this evaluation, any component that can exist as a stand-alone qualifies as an object. The rubrics in this packet can be applied…

Designed-based research principles guided the study of 51 secondary-science teachers in the second year of a 3-year professional development project. The project entailed the creation of student-centered, inquiry-based, science, video games. A professional development model appropriate for infusing innovative technologies into standards-based…

Traces the development of continuing education and contract training in publicly funded postsecondary institutions in British Columbia, Canada. The first section describes the changing orientation over time, while the second half considers themes across all categories of institution. The appendix describes each institution individually. This…

Drawing on studies of teachers, accountants and pharmacists conducted in Canada, this essay examines models for assessing professional learning that currently enjoy widespread use in continuing education. These models include professional growth plans, self-administered tests and learning logs, and they are often used for regulatory as well as…

The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB 2001) has the faculties of every public and charter school scrambling to drive test scores of seven identified groups of children (African-American children, Anglo-White children, children with disabilities, Hispanic children, children of poverty, children with English language limitations, and Native-American…

The article discusses the entry of standardised measurement into the educational systems of Sweden and Germany and the processes of shape-shifting associated with this process. In the first part of the article, we investigate how standardised measurement challenged existing ways of conceiving education in Sweden and Germany during the first half…

The practice of handing out excellent grades to students who don't deserve them (grade inflation) is not a new phenomenon. Indeed grade inflation is among the oldest and most difficult issues to address in higher education. The author first studied the impact of grade inflation on student performance on standardized tests at the high school level…

This year's Bracey Report identifies and discusses the research support for what the author considers to be three of the most important assumptions about how to reform public education: (1) High-quality schools can eliminate the achievement gap between whites and minorities; (2) Mayoral control of public schools is an improvement over the more…

In this commentary on the "Peabody Journal of Education" special edition, the author addresses implications of the contributing articles to three central domains of interest to states engaged in or considering the development of an alternate assessment on modified academic achievement standards: (a) identifying an eligible student population, (b)…

Quality Counts 2010 is the 14th edition of "Education Week's" annual report card on American public education as viewed through the lens of the states' education policies and outcomes. As in the past, this year's edition is built on twin foundations: (1) the detailed data collection and analysis of the Editorial Projects in Education…

In this article, the author comments on John Radford's article "Psychology in its Place," which is a provocative and thoughtful piece on the state of psychology as a discipline in higher education. In his article, Radford introduces evidence that psychology graduates are attractive to employers for their numeracy and literacy skills and…

President Obama has committed himself to "reform America's public schools," and his administration is focused on making early childhood programs, common standards, charter schools and teachers more effective. However, writes Grover "Russ" Whitehurst, the administration should also undertake actions to better integrate…