Many existing teacher evaluation and reward systems do not capture variation in teachers' ability to improve student performance on standardized tests. Improved access to longitudinal data systems that link teachers to students facilitates the development of systems that incorporate student achievement gains into teacher evaluations. However, two…

Tennessee is one of 15 states participating in a pilot program to explore new ways to measure school performance under the federal No Child Left Behind Act. Under NCLB, states are held accountable for ensuring that sufficient numbers of schools' students are meeting state proficiency standards and improving schools that fail to measure up. In…

This policy brief draws on research and evaluations of efforts in Tennessee, California, and Wisconsin to describe different approaches to reducing class size in kindergarten through third grade. Tennessee implemented a randomized experiment to investigate the effectiveness of smaller classes; California used a statewide approach; and Wisconsin…

Recent scores on state tests show that middle grades students have made some progress in meeting their state's academic standards over the last half-decade. Yet a closer look at state standards indicates that too many Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) states have set them too low. Quite a few states have taken steps to improve their…