In 2007 Ghana celebrated 50 years of independence from British colonial rule. The golden jubilee offered an opportunity to take stock of how the country had progressed in expanding education and the challenges for the future. This paper offers a critique of the journey, highlighting the challenges and progress. What reforms in education has taught…

This case is developed for use in classes in which key ideas related to democracy, accountability, inclusion, finances, and social justice are introduced. It could be useful in a course on school reform or on democratic leadership. Although the case is fictional, it is a composite in which all events and information provided are "real." The intent…

This study explores teachers' perceptions of equity in education for students in four high-poverty elementary schools in Chicago. Teachers in high-poverty schools in Chicago regularly face dilemmas in serving high-need students with limited resources due to significant gaps in funding of metropolitan public schools. Literature on equity in…

The authors of the "No Child Left Behind Act of 2001" anticipated that a majority of school districts or schools would not be able to attain state and national achievement standards without assistance. Consequently, the Act created a major tenet known as Supplemental Educational Services (SES) programs to improve the learning outcomes of…

Florida lawmakers began a comprehensive education reform effort in 1999 combining accountability, transparency, and parental choice with other far-reaching changes. In March 2010, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) released new results showing just how successful Florida's reforms have been and how futile Oklahoma's efforts…

The Teacher Advancement Program (TAP) is a model for training, teacher advancement, and instructional strategies. Based on interviews and observations, the four TAP principles were implemented with fidelity during the 2010-11 school year, with one exception--teacher evaluations. Feedback was slow, and teachers had concerns about the reliability of…

This Evidence Based Education (EBE) request focused on research-supported vocabulary interventions for middle elementary students. Limited vocabulary is an important factor in underachievement of children in disadvantaged homes. Children with larger vocabularies find reading easier, read more widely, and do better in school (Lubliner & Smetana,…

Policy experts are renewing questions about the role of school culture and leadership in the drive to improve teaching effectiveness in the most-challenging school environments. As states and districts increasingly explore tactics like performance-based pay, incentive programs, and bonuses to attract the best teachers to troubled schools, experts…

This study examines whether high-quality after-school programs operating in high-poverty communities improve the academic, social, and behavioral outcomes of participating students. The study compared students who regularly participated in high-quality after-school programs to students who regularly spent time with no adult supervision after…

This report provides essential new information on the relationship between the location of and enrollment in Denver public schools that meet the 2009 School Performance Framework (SPF) standards. Funded by the National Association of Charter School authorizers (NACSA), this research is designed primarily to identify and highlight those areas with…

America is failing its young Black boys. In metropolitan ghettos, rural villages and midsized townships across the country, schools have become holding tanks for populations of Black boys who have a statistically higher probability of walking the corridors of prison than the halls of college. Across America, the problem of Black male achievement…

There is growing consensus that the single most important factor in determining student performance is the quality of the teacher. Therefore, if the national goal of providing an equitable education to children across this nation is to be met, it is critical that efforts be concentrated on developing and retaining high-quality teachers in every…

Baltimore's school-based vision-screening program may be leaving thousands of children with uncorrected eyesight problems. Vision screening in public schools is essential for students to learn, especially when low-income children face a high rate of eyesight problems and have poor access to health care. Left undetected and uncorrected, vision…

Every day, schools and communities across the U.S. identify millions of young children as "at risk"--especially those with a minority background, who live in poor neighborhoods or are learning English as a second language. FPG's Project U-STARS-PLUS (Using Science, Talents, and Abilities to Recognize Students-Promoting Learning for…

Like teachers in many urban school districts with large numbers of disadvantaged children, the faculty at New Holland Core Knowledge Academy strives to build the foundational skills necessary for later academic success. At New Holland, however, content is king. While many schools have narrowed the curriculum since Congress passed the No Child Left…