Data-driven decision-making (D3M) appears to be the new buzz phrase for this century, the information age. On the education front, teachers and administrators are engaging in data-centered dialog in grade-level meetings, lounges, hallways, and classrooms as they brainstorm toward closing the gap in student achievement. Clearly, such discussion…

As much as 20 years ago, it was commonplace for technology teachers to find a comfortable niche in the school building because they were the "go-to person." Yes, anytime something was in need of fixing or repair, they called on the technology teacher. With the advent of Y2K and computers, that niche slowly eroded to the teachers who…

Perhaps the most ambitious example of the way in which flexibility and accountability have been brought together can be found in the State Flex and Local Flex demonstration programs. Although no additional resources are provided to participating states and districts, the enhanced flexibility granted under State Flex and Local Flex allows…

Online learning is becoming an important facet of K12 education in meeting the requirements for highly qualified teachers in every classroom, in providing professional development for teachers and school choice and in tutoring options to students and parents. This fact sheet provides statistical data and U.S. Department of Education (USED) Office…

With its roots in clinical and educational psychology, school psychology is an ever-changing field that encompasses a diversity of topics. "The Oxford Handbook of School Psychology" synthesizes the most vital and relevant literature in all of these areas, producing a state-of-the-art, authoritative resource for practitioners,…

Teacher-librarians are awash in data. Studies on the impact of school library programs on student achievement have now been replicated in 12 states (more are in the works) with amazingly consistent results, these are added to studies dating from the early 1960s that support the importance of school library programs to student achievement and the…

"Alabama Education News" is published monthly except for June, July, and December by the Alabama Department of Education. This publication, authorized by Section 16-2-4 of the "Code of Alabama," as recompiled in 1975, is a public service of the Alabama Department of Education designed to inform citizens and educators about…

This document updates "Accommodations: Assisting Students with Disabilities. A Guide for Educators," published by the Florida Department of Education (FDOE) in 2003. This document is written to assist school district personnel and parents when making decisions about the use of accommodations by students with disabilities in instructional…

Living in an age of communication, literacy is an extremely integral part of our society. We are impacted by literature during our infancy, childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. "Literacy for the New Millennium" includes information from specialists in the field who discuss the influence of popular culture, media, and technology on…

Flexibility is a lever for change that occupies an increasingly prominent place in federal strategies for educational improvement. Flexibility assumes that local actors are in the best position to identify the most serious problems facing schools and students and to determine how to solve them. Consequently, these actors should be given greater…

This issue of the monthly newsletter from the Council for American Private Education (CAPE) includes the following articles: (1) A Nation at Risk: New Report Looks Back and Looks Ahead; (2) Paige Unveils IDEA Principles; (3) Prizewinning Professors and Private Schools; (4) IDEA Survey; and (5) CAPENotes.

One of the critical goals of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) federal legislation is to raise student achievement. The first thing to do, is ensure that the students are actually in school. If students leave school prematurely, schools will not be able to help them master the skills thought to be necessary in the workplace or in future education.…

This study focuses on flexibility provisions in the Rural Education Achievement Program (REAP) provision of NCLB. Specifically, it addresses REAP Flex, a program that allows rural districts additional control over how to spend portions of their federal funding. REAP Flex is part of a series of NCLB flexibility initiatives aimed at rural schools.…

Processes are a series of actions, changes, or functions that bring about a desired result. Processes are the way educators work. However, few of them think in these terms. Instead, educators tend to describe their work in terms of functions, like maintaining the online teacher application system, or outcomes, like positive test results. Still…

The "Elementary and Secondary Education Act" ("ESEA"), as reauthorized by the "No Child Left Behind Act of 2001," provides benefits to private school students, teachers and other education personnel, including those in religiously affiliated schools. These services are considered assistance to students and teachers…