This quantitative study examined the impact of professional learning communities (PLCs) implementing a "Focus on Learning" in a Title I school in north central Georgia. The purpose of this study was to determine the impact PLCs can have on student growth and achievement in fourth and fifth-grade mathematics, once teachers spend time…

There is a longstanding debate over how to evaluate teachers. Various models of teacher evaluation tools including observations, teaching artifacts, or frequent walkthroughs, provide evidence of daily classroom performance. Although there are questions on the most efficient means by which to complete evaluations, most agree evaluative tools must…

Third grade is a critical checkpoint in a child's educational journey. By the end of third grade, children need literacy skills that prepare them for increasing curriculum demands in fourth grade and beyond. Students who are not reading on grade level by this point are significantly more likely to drop out of high school or fail to graduate on…

In one of the first large-scale analyses of urban trends on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), the Council of the Great City Schools and the American Institutes for Research identified urban school systems that demonstrated high achievement or significant achievement gains on the NAEP, and examined possible factors behind…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the formal mathematics educational training of elementary grade teachers as well as their perceived levels of self-efficacy regarding the Georgia Performance Standards for mathematics. This study investigated 129 first through fifth grade teachers in Northeast Georgia. The researcher administered a…

In 2007, Georgia developed a comprehensive framework to define what students need to know. One component of this framework emphasizes the use of both formative and summative assessments as part of an integral and specific component of the teachers. performance evaluation. Georgia administers the Criterion-Referenced Competency Test (CRCT) to every…

This is an abridged, summary report of selected findings from "Pieces of the Puzzle: Factors in the Improvement of Urban School Districts on the National Assessment of Educational Progress"--a comprehensive study prepared by the Council of the Great City Schools in collaboration with the American Institutes for Research (AIR) and with…

This report summarizes preliminary and exploratory research conducted by the Council of the Great City Schools and the American Institutes for Research on urban school systems participating in the Trial Urban District Assessment (TUDA) of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). The study is one of the first large-scale analyses…

SREB states were among the first in the nation to set comprehensive state academic standards for K-12 schools. Setting these initial standards was only part of the job. Getting these standards right and keeping them right may be the most important task facing public education today. If state standards are too low, many public school graduates will…

This report presents results for the first trial school-district-level science assessment in NAEP at grades 4 and 8. Ten urban public-school districts voluntarily participated: Atlanta City, Austin Independent School District, Boston School District, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, City of Chicago School District 299, Cleveland City School…

This report presents the case-study findings from a cross-state investigation focused on Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee, intended to deepen understanding around the influence of high stakes accountability on teacher learning and the capacity of districts and schools to support instructional practices…