To give students an incentive to work hard--and save education dollars along the way--some states are encouraging early high school graduation by ramping up curricula or giving college scholarships. As a money-saving measure for families and states, lawmakers are allowing early high school exits and providing tuition aid. The policies emphasize…

Over the past decade, many schools have adopted zero-tolerance policies to curtail negative student behavior. Such policies persist although "there is as yet little evidence that the strategies typically associated with zero tolerance contribute to improved student behavior or overall school safety." Suspension and expulsion result in…

The purpose of this article is to describe lessons learned from studying the leadership in eight award-winning secondary schools and districts that were recognized for successfully leveraging technology as part of their efforts for school improvement. Data were collected through observations, interviews, and document analysis in schools and…

As Internet technology encroached on the public school classroom about a decade ago, Kim Ross, superintendent of the Houston (MN) School District saw an opportunity. The entrepreneurial spirit overtook Ross and his team, and out of that was born the Minnesota Virtual Academy and the Minnesota Center of Online Learning, or MCoOL--two virtual…

The purpose of the concurrent mixed methods study was to explore Minnesota principals' perceptive responses regarding the role and functions of Minnesota school counselors. A convenience sample of K-12 school principals was used for this study. Participant criteria was that each individual be a school principal in the state of Minnesota. School…

This study examined the unique longitudinal effects linking academic competence, social competence, and internalizing symptoms from childhood to adulthood. A multimethod and multi-informant approach was used to assess psychopathology and competence in 205 participants during four developmental periods. Social competence in childhood had a…

Today, English language learners (ELLs)--students whose primary language is other than English--are the fastest-growing major school population in the United States. Between 2000-01 and 2010-11, the number of these students, whose level of English proficiency is not sufficient to support learning in a regular English language classroom, rose 18…

"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) House Committee Passes Education Reform Legislation: On Party-Line Votes, Committee Passes Accountability and Teacher…

Online learning has steadily become a more integral strategy for schools and districts in their efforts to offer students greater access to the courses they need. Where in the past, much of the online learning activity happened at the state level or regional level, more and more schools are exercising greater control over their online and digital…

A remarkably consistent picture of the value of the arts in a comprehensive Pre-K-grade 12 education emerges from a review of two decades of theory and policy recommendations about arts education. Over the past decade, the National Governors Association, the Education Commission of the States, the National Association of State Boards of Education,…

ArtsConnectEd is a Web site that is the product of a ten-year partnership between the Minneapolis Institute of Arts and the Walker Art Center, bringing together online the collections of the two museums specifically for K-12 teachers and students in Minnesota and beyond. This article describes the history of the partnership and important lessons…

This article describes the University of Consortium for Catholic Education (UCCE) as an example of collaboration between Catholic colleges, universities, schools, and other stakeholders. The UCCE supports a collaborative cadre of primarily Catholic colleges and universities as they design and implement graduate-level teaching service programs for…

The purpose of the present study was to investigate students' conceptions of the hydrologic cycle and to examine whether these conceptions vary by grade level and community setting. This study was descriptive in nature and reflected a cross-age design involving the collection of qualitative data from 1,298 students from the Midwest, USA. These…

This monograph offers an in-depth look at the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Rural Systemic Initiative (RSI) efforts, an investment of more than $140 million to reform mathematics and science programs in rural K-12 public education and tribal education. The authors seek to promote a foundation of contextual understanding for improving public…

This report portrays various performance indicators that are intended to facilitate an assessment of the postsecondary education system in Minnesota. Descriptive statistics are presented for Minnesota and five other comparison states as well as the nation. Comparison states were selected according to the degree of similarity of population…