Head Start comprises a substantial share of the early childhood workforce. Given this, changes in Head Start workforce policies impact the broader early childhood ecosystem--and changes in the larger ecosystem in turn affect Head Start. This paper seeks to inform efforts to strengthen the early childhood workforce by documenting the current state…

In this content analysis of state U.S. History and Civics standards, we compared the treatment of immigration across three types of states with differing immigration demographics. Analyzing standards from 18 states from a critical race methodology perspective, our findings indicated three sets of tensions: a unified American story versus local…

Competency-based education (CBE) is an approach to pedagogy that emphasizes the mastery of skills and concepts rather than credit hours or seat time. The assessment of mastery can take several forms, including formal assessments of prior learning (such as portfolio reviews or examinations) and automated evaluations of online coursework. Advocates…

The Afterschool Alliance, in partnership with MetLife Foundation, is proud to present the first in their latest series of four issue briefs examining critical issues facing middle school youth and the vital role afterschool programs play in addressing these issues. This series explores afterschool and: the Common Core State Standards, students…

This practitioner packet is designed to help community college administrators implement reforms to developmental education at their colleges. It reviews common impediments to developmental reform and presents data that supports directions colleges can take to create a system of developmental education that might serve students more effectively.…

Improving teacher preparation is critical to long-term improvement in teacher quality. More than 200,000 new teachers enter classrooms each year. Increasing student enrollment, the retirement of baby boom generation teachers, and high attrition in their first five years (between 40 and 50 percent of new teachers leave the profession) have…

Over the past year, many national leaders have committed to reform education and reshape America's school system. With this goal in mind, the Obama administration created a competitive grant program entitled Race to the Top (RTTT), which was passed by Congress as a part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). RTTT features two grant…

This article summarizes the similarities and differences in grade-level learning expectations for fourth grade as described in state curriculum standards. (Contains 3 tables.)

Both the nation's health-care and nursing education systems are in crisis. While the care provided by registered nurses (RNs) is essential to patients' recovery from acute illness and to the effective management of their chronic conditions, the United States is experiencing a nursing shortage that is anticipated to increase as baby boomers age and…

Raising academic standards and eliminating achievement gaps between advantaged and disadvantaged students are America's prime national educational goals. Current federal and state policies, however, largely ignore the fact that the childhood poverty rate in the United States is 21%, the highest in the industrialized world, and that poverty…

Some public schools do a great job educating students of color to high standards. But they populate public education much the way houses in rural regions appear at night from a jetliner passing high above--as faint beacons. The core challenge of school reform today is to produce not merely a few glimmers of success but the dense glow of thousands…

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…

"Houghton Mifflin Mathematics" is a core curriculum for kindergarten through grade 6 students at all ability levels. According to its developer, "Houghton Mifflin Mathematics" emphasizes the five content strands and processes recommended by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics Standards. At each grade level the…

In order to achieve the expectations for children's learning stipulated by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, greater attention needs to be given to child care policy and funding. This report details a study examining strategies in seven states that have integrated early education program standards in child care, by directly tying standards to…

This bulletin contains abstracts of addresses delivered at a 2-day conference of State and county rural-school supervisors of the Northeastern States, called by the United States Commissioner of Education in New York City, New York, April 23 and 24, 1928. Abstracts were prepared from manuscripts submitted by the authors. The conference was the…