There are an estimated 167,000 children in early care and education programs in Massachusetts. In 2000, the state department of education commissioned a study of the cost and quality of early care and education in the state. This report and executive summary are the first from the study, addressing early care and education for preschool-aged…

This fourth edition of the "ES Review" brings together, in one setting, some of the best work from 2009-10. It features: (1) Teacher Quality (Teachers at Work: Improving Teacher Quality Through School Design (Elena Silva); Understanding Teachers Contracts (Andrew J. Rotherham); How Teachers Unions Lost the Media (Richard Whitmire and…

The Child Welfare League of America is the nation's oldest and largest membership-based child welfare organization committed to engaging people everywhere in promoting the well-being of children, youth, and their families and protecting every child from harm. By publishing a diverse range of views on a wide array of topics, "Children's…

Six years after passage of No Child Left Behind and midway to the nation's goal of having students on grade level or better in reading and math by 2014, more data than ever before has been collected about the academic performance of American students and schools. Information in this brochure charts student demographics, achievement-to-date and…

Teacher educators and others concerned with the present-day school reform movement may profit from a consideration of the leadership styles, psychological make-up, motivation, work habits, and personal charisma of some of the reformers of the past century. This paper examines the work of Horace Mann and attempts to juxtapose elements of his…

Scores on the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) tests are used to select exemplary schools in Massachusetts, and the schools thus identified can receive awards from three different programs. This study examined the evidence about the use of MCAS scores to assess school quality. These three programs use MCAS to identify exemplary…

Discusses the difficulties of funding parental or school choice systems in public schools through traditional school finance mechanisms. It examines the parental-choice program as enacted in Massachusetts, and reveals that parental choice undermines local control over education. It also explores school choice and educational equity, arguing…

The first six of the eight brief papers presented in this document, all produced in 1990 and all discussing critical issues in Massachusetts public education and describing "visions" for addressing these issues, were published in a slightly different format from the last two papers. For each of the issues presented, a…

Regardless of the lack of racial justice in housing and employment, American democracy cannot tolerate discrimination in its public schools if it is to honor its traditions as a country. State bodies must make clear their position on school desegregation and establish that desegregation is wrong legally and educationally. Sanction must be imposed…

This paper seeks to help state policymakers understand their relatively new role in improving the academic performance of local schools and districts. The first section, "Intervention Decision-Making Framework," focuses on the intervention decision making framework model, performance criteria, strategic criteria, diagnostic…

This report is one of nine detailed case studies of small urban high schools that served as the foundation for the Education Resource Strategies (ERS) report "Strategic Designs: Lessons from Leading Edge Small Urban High Schools." These nine schools were dubbed "Leading Edge Schools" because they stand apart from other high…

Governors and state and local education officials assumed that raising student achievement in the elementary and middle grades would solve the problems with high schools--but it hasn't. Why? Good information is the basis for successful improvement, and high school reform lacks accurate information about what students are to learn and about how…

In compliance with the Massachusetts Public School Improvement Act of 1985, this report provides information in the following areas: research findings; national and state demographics regarding children and families; services for children and families in Massachusetts; high quality early childhood programs; and the emerging role of public schools…

Constituting a comprehensive child care policy, 30 recommendations are presented with an aim to increase the supply of affordable, high quality day care in Massachusetts. "Quality," defined as "services meeting children's developmental needs," is the critical component and underlying theme of each recommendation. This document…

On October 19 and 20, 1983, citizens' hearings were held by the Massachusetts Advocacy Center to receive testimony from students, parents, educators, economists, researchers, and advocates concerning a crisis in public education in the Commonwealth. Section I of this report presents an overview of the current debate concerning the reform of the…