How well students perform on standardized tests can affect their educational paths and the rest of their lives. In addition, students' performances on state assessments will affect their schools due to the No Child Left Behind Act. For English language learners (ELLs), the success on tests may be diminished due to their inability to completely…

Sections 9302 and 9303 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), as amended by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) provide to States the option of applying for and reporting on multiple ESEA programs through a single consolidated application and report. Although a central, practical purpose of the Consolidated State Application…

West outlines the scientific method as a proven problem-solving method for young children across the curriculum and in all areas of life and learning. She emphasizes that doing, thinking, and talking with peers when problem solving are as important as writing conclusions. The article walks readers through a second grade class's experiment in…

Today's children spend less and less time in the outdoors, leading Richard Louv in 2008 to coin the term "nature deficit disorder." Louv pointed out that experiences with nature are essential to a child's physical and emotional development and that the lack of these types of experiences has led to an increase in child obesity, attention…

This policy research document is intended for Arkansas policymakers to use when examining possible changes to the Arkansas state assessment's alignment with the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). The 2009 NAEP test is not yet in existence, so the purpose of this report is to give policymakers a head start in determining where they…

Historically, very little research that meets the scientifically based standards as defined by the No Child Left Behind Act has been conducted on the effectiveness of educational technology on student achievement. The purpose of this study was to explore and seek to understand urban city teachers' perspectives on the benefits or effects of…

Recent literature casts unfavorable light upon the middle school as the most appropriate grade configuration in which to effectively educate young adolescents. The current criticism of middle schools may be fueled, in part, by "A Nation at Risk," the "No Child Left Behind Act," and a growing subsequent emphasis on…

Austin Independent School District used more than $31 million federal Title I, Part A funds in the 2009-2010 school year to support almost 45,000 students at 71 Title I schools. This report summarizes compliance and service data.

Current educational policy highlights the important role that assessment can play in improving education. State standards and the assessments that are aligned with them establish targets for learning and promote school accountability for helping all students succeed; at the same time, feedback from assessment results is expected to provide …

In recent years, a number of analyses assessments used in different countries have appeared. Analyses emerging from international comparisons such as Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) and Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) have focused on what might be termed "cross-sectional" comparisons;…

The 2013 School Progress Report for Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) provides state, county, and individual school performance data, as well as information on student attendance, high school graduation rates, and the professional qualifications of teachers at the state, district, and school levels for the 2012-2013 school year. Montgomery…

This research brief describes work done for RAND Education and documented in "Pain and Gain: Implementing No Child Left Behind in Three States, 2004-2006", Brian M. Stecher, Scott Epstein, Laura S. Hamilton, Julie A. Marsh, Abby Robyn, Jennifer Sloan McCombs, Jennifer Russell, and Scott Naftel." The three states discussed are:…

This is a research brief of a longer report, also published as "Bilingual Education and English as a Second Language Summary Report, 2009-2010". Twenty-nine percent of students enrolled in Austin Independent School District were English language learners in 2009-2010. The majority of them (62%) continued to make progress in English…

In this time of high-stakes tests and school accountability, English classrooms have been pushed to become increasingly serious places. Combining NCLB pressures with desires to use literature to do important cultural work--such as fighting ethnic, gender, and social-class discrimination--virtually bans humor from the classroom. This is unfortunate…

Recent legislation, such as the No Child Left Behind and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act amendments of 1997 and 2004, emphasizes the importance of teaching students with mild disabilities in the general education classroom using the general curriculum. Consequently, students with learning problems take a variety of science courses,…