This article describes an academic choice program in Texas public schools where 8th graders are being given a choice of three different academic plans to follow through graduation, two of which are distinctively tougher than the third. Policymakers in Texas, Arkansas, and Indiana are opting to raise academic standards by making a college-prep…

During the last twenty years, history educators have noted a sea change in the concern expressed by scholars, policymakers, and the general public about the teaching and learning of history in schools. The 1983 report, "A Nation at Risk", was a catalyst for this movement with its focused attention and support for a core curriculum based…

Research was conducted to evaluate how well the "Indiana Reading Assessment--Kindergarten" evaluates various reading skills of kindergarten students. Multiple analyses were conducted; while the results of all the analyses were encouraging, the results derived from the concurrent validity study were most significant. All correlations were…

This booklet clearly spells out what students should know and be able to do in United States History. Examples are given to help students understand what is required to meet the standards. Students should review this guide with their teachers and share it with their parents and family. This two-semester course builds upon concepts developed in…

This reading list is designed as a companion piece to Indiana's Academic Standards in English/Language Arts and is organized on four levels: Level 1, Grades K-2; Level 2, Grades 3-5; Level 3, Grades 6-8; and Level 4, Grades 9-12. It contains titles and authors for approximately 800 works. The Level 1 Reading List contains these sections: fiction…

There has been a continuing drama over the unanswered question of whether students with disabilities deserve a high school diploma. Currently, a student is awarded a high school diploma if he or she meets local standards and if he or she passes the state's competency test of if his or her passage of the Indiana Standardized Test of Educational…

Research on school effectiveness continues to indicate that those aspects of schooling that are closest to the student, namely teaching, instruction, and curriculum, have the greatest impact on student learning (see Gamoran, Nystrand, Berends, & LePore, (1995). Furthermore, the available evidence suggests that schools that cultivate particular…

To give states the information they need to sustain hard-fought education reform effectively, Achieve conducted research on state education reforms that have been sustained successfully for over a decade or more. Funded by the GE Foundation, Achieve hopes this work will help other state leaders, wherever they may be on their road to reform,…

This study replicates a 2005 study of the status of social studies in the K-5 curriculum in Indiana. The current study reports the results of a comprehensive survey (33 fixed and 2 open-ended) of a stratified (by grade) random sample of K-5 teachers in Indiana (n = 385; response rate = 32%). Results indicated a continued marginalization of social…

The Archdiocese of Indianapolis has been using both the Sander's Value-Added and the North Central Association effect size models to identify and determine areas to focus on improving student achievement. This article will discuss the value of using both models to determine areas for improving student performance and measuring whether these…

In this Education Policy Brief, the Center for Evaluation & Education Policy at Indiana University examines the necessity for future funding of educational technology in the state of Indiana and the relationship between technology and student academic achievement, the hallmark concern of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB). In…

To ensure all students have every opportunity to succeed, Indiana adopted world-class academic standards in English-language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies and an assessment system to measure student progress. These standards clearly outline what students should know and be able to do in each subject, at each grade level. This…

Now that all 50 states and the District of Columbia are building statewide longitudinal data systems, the next step is to ensure that the information in these systems is used to improve student learning. The Data Quality Campaign (DQC) has identified 10 actions that states can take to ensure that the right data are available and accessible and…

The focus of this article is on the role that content and concepts drawn from the field of economics should play in education for self-government. How important is economic knowledge for the practice of effective citizenship in a democratic society such as the United States, and what core economic knowledge is required for effective civic…

Education is the building block of every student's future. To ensure all students have every opportunity to succeed, Indiana adopted world-class academic standards in English/language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies and an assessment system to measure student progress. This booklet clearly spells out what students should know and be…