This applied dissertation was designed to provide a formative evaluation of junior high and high school curriculum reform as part of a state initiated pilot program in a rural school district in southwest Mississippi. The purpose of the program was to address and respond to the 8th-grade technology literacy requirements of the No Child Left Behind…

For 24 consecutive years, the Public Policy Forum has compiled and analyzed data from southeastern Wisconsin's public school districts in order to better inform policymakers and the public about the effectiveness of the region's K-12 education system. This analysis of the 2009-10 academic year, like many of the previous reports, indicates cause…

Every May, hundreds of thousands of Texas high school seniors don caps and gowns to celebrate an academic rite of passage: high school graduation. Texas' youth face a rapidly changing world, one increasingly dependent upon education as the cornerstone for economic success. Without the skills to succeed in the nation's new economy, students who…

"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) House and Senate Pass Budget Blueprints: Plans Would Increase Spending by More than $20 Billion Over the President's…

According to professionals in education, change is an ever-present and evolving process. With transformation in education at both state and national levels, technology education must determine a position in this climate of change. This paper reflects the views on the future of technology education based on an ongoing research project. The purpose…

Since the passage of The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, a superintendent's role has been redefined and more focus has been placed on student achievement. Research demonstrates that rural public schools are faced with an educational crisis. Rural districts are faced with an epidemic of declining enrollments/budgets, increased drop-out rates, low…

If the nation is to truly meet the goal of every child a graduate, everybody must hold schools responsible for graduating every student with a regular diploma, particularly poor and minority students. Unfortunately, current education accountability systems virtually ignore high school graduation rates. This brief summarizes such shortcomings in…

This article draws on research from Texas and Chicago to examine whether highstakes testing enables low-income and racial minority students to acquire cultural capital. While students' performance on state or district tests rose after the implementation of high-stakes testing and accountability policies in Texas and Chicago in the 1990s, several…

The use of data is a powerful tool to strengthen academic outcomes for all students--especially underserved students. Using data tells everyone whether certain groups of students have been disproportionately tracked into lower level classes or special education and whether or not they are proportionately represented in college-prep classes, honors…

The author looks at critical dialogue surrounding the causes for the alarming high numbers of high school dropouts in states that use high stakes standardized testing mandated by the No Child Left Behind Act, and investigates the perceived correlations between high stakes testing and high numbers of high school dropouts of minority students.

This "Report Card to the Public" is published in accordance with Alaska Statute 14.03.120 for the school year 2011-2012. Under state law, each school district is required to report information about its plans and performance to its community. This report includes a statewide summary of performance results. It reports the status of public…

The U. S. high school system is in crisis, Wise argues. More than 1 million students drop out every year, significant numbers of college freshmen require remedial courses to handle college work, and employers consistently express disappointment in the skills of graduates. The high dropout rate and students' lack of preparedness carries…

This "Report Card to the Public" is published in accordance with Alaska Statute 14.03.120 for the school year 2012-2013. Under state law, each school district is required to report information about its plans and performance to its community. This report includes a statewide summary of performance results. Public knowledge of the school…

With test scores dipping, dropout rates spiking, and disciplinary problems multiplying, student motivation was in short supply at Hope High School in East Providence, Rhode Island, when, in 2002, the state commissioner of education stepped in to stop the slide. After months of planning, the state reorganized the school into three smaller,…

Graduation rates are a fundamental indicator of whether or not the nation's public school system is doing what it is intended to do: enroll, engage, and educate youth to be productive members of society. Since almost 90 percent of the fastest-growing and highest-paying jobs require some postsecondary education, having a high school diploma and the…