Schools and education in general have made an implicit and, we would assert, explicit promise to society to educate all the children in their care. Unfortunately, there are achievement gaps that illustrate how schools have broken this promise. Teacher evaluation and other accountability measures have been heralded as the answer to this problem.…

When troubling attendance data in New Britain, Conn., caught district leaders by surprise, they reconsidered their focus on truancy in the older grades and turned their attention on their elementary schools. With support from local philanthropy and assistance from Attendance Works, the district significantly reduced the incidence of chronic…

Connecticut's Skills Checklist was developed in response to federal policy that requires all students with significant cognitive disabilities participate in state assessments and be included in measures of adequate yearly progress. Test developers had high expectations for this assessment. In addition to its function as an accountability measure,…

Youth development research has found that children become more engaged and benefit more from being incorporated as decision makers. Thus participation helps promote development and encourages engagement. Based in theories of engagement and free-choice learning, the current research focused on a program combining sport/physical activity, life…

Home buyers exercise school choice when shopping for a private residence due to its location in a public school district or attendance area. In this quantitative study of one Connecticut suburban district, we measure the effect of elementary school test scores and racial composition on home buyers' willingness to purchase single-family homes over…

In grade 8 (the only grade in which subgroup trends were analyzed by achievement level), Connecticut students showed gains across the board in math--at the basic, proficient, and advanced levels for racial/ethnic subgroups, low income students, and boys and girls. In reading, there were gains at the basic and proficient levels, but a slight…

This workbook, submitted by the State of Connecticut to the U.S. Department of Education, is for State Grants under Title IX, Part C, Section 9302 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (Public Law 107-110). By January 31, 2003, States must complete and submit to the Department this Consolidated State Application Accountability Workbook.…

For five years running, the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) has tracked states' teacher policies, preparing a detailed and thorough compendium of teacher policy in the United States on topics related to teacher preparation, licensure, evaluation, career advancement, tenure, compensation, pensions and dismissal. The 2011 State Teacher…

This year the Center on Education Policy (CEP) analyzed data on the achievement of different groups of students in two distinct ways. First, it looked at grade 4 test results to determine whether the performance of various groups improved at three achievement levels--basic and above, proficient and above, and advanced. Second, it looked at gaps…