One of the most important issues facing education policymakers is how to prepare students to be productive citizens in an increasingly competitive global economy. While state accountability systems suggest that the proportion of students meeting state benchmarks is rising, performance on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) has…

This study examines Kentucky high school students' participation and pass rates in college preparatory transition courses, voluntary remedial courses in math and reading offered to grade 12 students. These courses are targeted to students scoring just below the state's college readiness benchmarks on the ACT in grade 11. The study found that:…

State administrators in the Regional Educational Laboratory Appalachia Region (Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia) are responding to increased enrollment of English language learner (ELL) students in grades K-12, including in school districts that previously did not enroll ELL students or enrolled only a small number of them. ELL…

This report presents findings from RAND's evaluation of the Appalachian Renaissance Initiative (ARI) in 17 districts totaling 99 kindergarten-12th grade schools within the Kentucky Valley Educational Cooperative (KVEC). The initiative took place from the 2014-2015 through 2017-2018 academic years. The evaluation examined various aspects of ARI…

Since we were young, we have been raised to believe that "bigger is better" and that the big city is the place you have to go to live an exciting life and have a successful career. Far too many individuals believe that small and rural towns are not the places for opportunity but that they are places to live for those who have no…

In-service teacher professional development has been used to improve teacher effectiveness. In Kentucky, the National Science Foundation funded a large professional development program called the Appalachian Math and Science Partnership (AMSP) to provide content-based professional development to teachers in rural schools. We show that students…

This study examines superintendent turnover in Kentucky public school districts for 1998/99-2007/08, looking at how turnover varies by rural status, Appalachian and non-Appalachian region, and 2007/08 school district characteristics. Key findings include: (1) Kentucky school districts averaged one superintendent turnover during 1998/99-2007/08;…

National shortages of qualified personnel in the field of early childhood special education are well documented, with shortages magnified in regions characterized by poverty and rural geography. This article provides an overview of the challenges faced and innovations implemented by an alternate-track, personnel preparation program in Appalachian…

This article describes how out-of-work miners are engaged in the Empowering Education Initiative, a unique alliance between Country Music Television (CMT) and community colleges in Appalachia. The initiative, which includes a website and a series of country music concerts, is changing the conversation in the Appalachian region, giving hope to…

Little is known about the implementation of assistive technology (AT) services for students in rural areas. This study investigated the AT service delivery in 10 rural districts across six states. The results indicated that students use AT across functional areas, but considerably fewer number of devices than do those not living in rural areas. AT…

Environmental Education (EE) refers to a broad array of approaches in which an instructor uses the environment as a means to integrate various subjects and real world learning. Research supported the idea that EE instruction had a positive correlation to academic achievement. Under the Kentucky Education Cabinet of the Department of Education, the…

Educators face multiple forms of misbehavior in the classroom on a regular basis. Quantitative data in the academic literature indicates that some subgroups, particularly minority students, lower income students and boys, face higher rates of disciplinary actions than their peers. Whether this indicates that those students misbehave more often,…

This study examines superintendent turnover in Kentucky public school districts for 1998/99-2007/08, looking at how turnover varies by rural status, Appalachian and non-Appalachian region, and 2007/08 school district characteristics. Key findings include: (1) Kentucky school districts averaged one superintendent turnover during 1998/99-2007/08;…

Faculty and staff from three university departments (Special Education, Distance Learning Programs, and Distance Learning Networks) collaborated to develop a system for remote observation of student teachers. Colleges across the campus currently use the system. The development process from inception to implementation is described, and the specific…

Kentucky school districts have been charged to present an academic program review that documents the use of dance across curriculum content at all grade levels. This program review will replace statewide standardized tests for all students in the state of Kentucky and will count 20% toward each school's accountability score. Schools within the…