After the authors reviewed the "State of State Standards--and the Common Core--in 2010" they found that the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) were clearer and more rigorous than the English language arts (ELA) standards in 37 states and stronger than the math standards in 39 states. States were encouraged to adopt the CCSS. By 2013 the…

This article provides information about the value of a core course in business law and why it remains essential to business education. It goes on to identify highly ranked undergraduate business programs that require one or more business law courses. Using "Business Week" and "US News and World Report" to identify top…

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…

States vary greatly in their implementation of standards-based accountability under No Child Left Behind, yet little evidence is available to guide policymakers on what attributes of state policy advance more tightly aligned instruction. This study uses survey data and content analyses from the Surveys of Enacted Curriculum to describe elements of…

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…

This report presents baseline findings from a 3-year study of state exit exams. The study involved data from all states with current or planned exit exams; case studies of five states; and research review. Researchers examined: why so many states are adopting high school exit exams, impacts of exit exams on students, what the exams are like, and…

This report discusses the outcomes of a study that examined the use of accommodations in state assessment by students with disabilities and explored several related factors. A survey of states indicated 12 states (Florida, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Maryland, Nevada, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, and West…

This draft document presents an analysis of all major educational reform proposals before the Illinois General Assembly, assessing the costs of implementation and what benefits might be expected for the funding levels contained in the proposals themselves. The 18 areas examined are (1) student testing; (2) student retention/remediation; (3)…