School district associations across the country have often opposed charter school legislation as strongly, or more strongly, than have teachers unions. They typically argue charter schools will threaten the tradition of local control of schools by elected officials, drain their financial resources, and distract them from pursuing…

The primary purpose of "National CrossTalk" is to stimulate informed discussion and debate of higher education issues. This issue contains the following articles: (1) Keeping Them in College: East Carolina University's Efforts to Improve Retention and Graduation Rates (Don Campbell); (2) The "Seamless System": Florida's Flurry…

A study sought to determine the extent to which local accountability systems exist in vocational education and to describe the nature of the underlying relationships between such programs and their constituents. Data were collected through interviews from two local vocational education programs in each of five states (California, Florida,…

This report focuses squarely on strategies for instructional improvement in American high schools. Specifically, this study examines how high schools that perform below average incorporate their state's accountability goals into their own goals, identify their challenges, and search for strategies for instructional improvement. It focuses on how…

"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) Teacher Excellence for All Children: Senior Democrat Offers Legislation Featuring Teacher Incentives and Induction…

This curriculum framework is a guide for local education communities as they restructure their schools and improve foreign language planning. Grounded in national and state reform efforts, this guide for teachers to help students achieve the Sunshine State Standards, presents broad, overarching ideas for the development of curriculum and…

We queried Florida elementary teachers about how they perceived their principals' professional and personal inviting leadership behaviors during a time when many teachers and principals felt a lot of pressure due to test-based accountability. Despite the pressure, teachers reported that their principals demonstrated fairly high levels of inviting…

This report summarizes a panel discussion among five college administrators who have initiated or taken part in restructuring efforts in their states: Herman Blake, vice chancellor for undergraduate education at Indiana University-Purdue University; Ronald Carrier, president of James Madison University (Virginia); Gordon Davies, director of the…

The College-Level Academic Skills Test (CLAST) is part of Florida's system of educational accountability that is mandated by state law. The CLAST is an achievement test measuring students' attainment of college-level communication and mathematics skills identified by faculties of community colleges and state universities. Since August 1, 1984…

The College-Level Academic Skills Test (CLAST) is part of Florida's system of educational accountability that is mandated by state law. The CLAST is an achievement test measuring students' attainment of college-level communication and mathematics skills identified by faculties of community colleges and state universities. Since August 1, 1984…

The College-Level Academic Skills Test (CLAST) is part of Florida's system of educational accountability. Mandated by state law, the CLAST is an achievement test measuring students' college-level communication and mathematics skills identified by faculties of community colleges and state universities. Since August 1, 1984 students in public…

The College-Level Academic Skills Test (CLAST), mandated by state law, is part of Florida's system of educational accountability. The CLAST is an achievement test measuring students' college-level communication and mathematics skills as identified by faculties of community colleges and state universities. Since August 1, 1984 students in public…

In response to a legislative mandate, this report assesses proprietary education in Florida in terms of institutional licensure, program standards, data collection, and student financial aid. The report defines "Proprietary schools" as accredited or non-accredited postsecondary vocational institutions, universities, and colleges owned by…

A study of 13 vocational and technical education programs in Florida was conducted which represented an attempt to identify valid and reliable sources of data whereby some vocational programs might be evaluated in specified terms of effectiveness. The programs selected for study were among those which require graduating students to pass licensing…

Although students have been taking the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) Science test for a few years, the State has only recently set the achievement-level standards for the Science test. Science will be included in the school grade calculations for the first time in 2006-07. In addition, although no official guidelines exist…