"Straight A's: Public Education Policy and Progress" is a biweekly newsletter that focuses on education news and events both in Washington, DC and around the country. The following articles are included in this issue: (1) Turnaround or Full Speed Ahead?: House Committee Raises Concerns with School Turnaround Models Included in Obama…

The educational accountability systems of both the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001 and the state of Florida (as of 1999) were modeled after Texas' system, despite its flaws. NCLB reaches for all students to achieve academic proficiency and designates students with limited English proficiency (LEP) as an important subgroup. As we work with…

As the poor performance of U.S. high schools has been acknowledged and come to the forefront of education policy debates over the past several years, so too has a recognition of the need to improve graduation rate calculations and accountability for increasing those rates. A range of state, national, and federal efforts have been launched toward…

American public schools are in crisis. Schools across America are grasping to change curriculum, build learning communities, and increase teacher accountability to meet the moving target of the demands placed on them by "No Child Left Behind." As the deadline of 2014 grows nearer with every passing year, accountability standards increase…

Alaska's Department of Education & Early Development shares a vision that all students can succeed in their education and work, shape meaningful lives for themselves, exemplify the best values of society, and be effective in improving the character and quality of the world about them. To support this mission, the Alaska State Board of…

Achieving positive postschool outcomes continues to be a challenge for many students. These challenges are compounded for students with disabilities, even years after the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (1990; IDEA) required systematic transition planning. In this era of accountability through high-stakes testing, schools and families…

Bearing in mind the requirements of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) legislation, Louisiana's Steering Committee projected performance targets through the year 2014 for the important areas of: (1) Graduation with a Diploma; (2) Dropout Rate; (3) Placement, ages 6-21 and ages 3-5; (4) Achievement Performance Levels, and (5) Discipline. Annual gains were…

"Straight A's: Public Education Policy and Progress" is a biweekly newsletter that focuses on education news and events both in Washington, DC and around the country. The following articles are included in this issue: (1) Obama Outlines Education Agenda: President Calls for "World-Class Standards" and an End to the High School…

Educational reform in the United States has focused on several factors such as academic achievement, performance on standardized test scores, dropout rates, the mandate of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001 (Dee and Jacob, 2010) and other changes. A new call for a broader and bolder strategy for educational reform that focused on…

Although schools have always struggled with student failure, retention, and attrition, the turn of the new century has produced added pressures for schools to reduce student dropout rates. In the current political and economic environment, increased costs and reduced budgets are forcing difficult choices in how best to spend limited resources.…

The reauthorized Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), signed on December 3, 2004, required that, not later than one year after the date of enactment of the reauthorized IDEA, each state is required to have in place a performance plan evaluating the state's implementation of Part B and describing how the state will improve such…

In 1999, the United States Department of Education began its Small Learning Community Program in an effort to support the breakup of large schools into smaller learning communities. In an effort to improve the academic success rate of students, President George W. Bush signed into law the "No Child Left Behind Act of 2001" (NCLB). NCLB…

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of per-pupil funding, the amount allocated to fund students in K-12 public education, and how this funding related to student achievement. This is one of the most contentious issues in education, especially in light of the current economy in California, where the state budget crisis has…

Each year, the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education publishes an online "school accountability report card" for each public school district, each building and each charter school. This document provides a statewide report card on key accountability measures about Missouri public schools, including information…

There is a significant need to address the academic outcomes of students with emotional and behavioral disabilities (EBD). Of the 13 federal disability categories under which a student can be classified to receive special education services, students with EBD have the highest dropout rate, the highest failure rate, and pose the most behavioral…