As prekindergarten becomes a more common feature in elementary school, little is known about how early childhood stakeholders are incorporating their child-centered practices into the standards-based accountability reforms that define elementary school. This article addresses this issue by presenting a case study that examined the implementation…

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…

Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs, or GEAR UP, is a federally-funded system of grants that focuses on preparing low-income students to enter and succeed in postsecondary educational programs. GEAR UP grants extend across 6 school years and require that funded districts begin providing grant services to students no…

"Let's Begin with the Letter People"[R] is an early education curriculum that uses thematic units to develop children's language and literacy skills. A major focus is phonological awareness, including rhyming, word play, alliteration, and segmentation. Children are encouraged to learn as individuals, in small groups, and in a whole-class…

In April 2007, Federal No Child Left Behind regulations were finalized that provided states with additional flexibility for assessing some students with disabilities. The regulations allowed states to offer another assessment option, alternate assessments based on modified academic achievement standards (AA-MAS). States are not required to have…

This report presents findings from the Year 3 evaluation of Texas' state-level Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs, or GEAR UP, grant. GEAR UP grant requirements include an evaluation component designed to assess program effectiveness and to measure progress toward project goals. To this end, the evaluation considers…

The federal Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs, or GEAR UP, project strives to equalize low-income students' access to higher education by increasing their participation in rigorous coursework, providing expanded opportunities for low-income students and parents to learn about postsecondary educational opportunities…

This paper provides information about Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) and TAKS (Accommodated) Phasing in End-of-Course (EOC) Assessments. The purpose of the tests is to: (1) Meet a state mandate; (2) Provide schools with student academic diagnostic information; (3) Determine prospective high school graduates' mastery of the state…

This book examines the changes in educational policy in the U.S. and Britain over the last twenty-five years. The author contends that education in the States and Britain has been significantly transformed, through efforts to create curricular standards, increased emphasis on accountability measured by standardized tests, and efforts to introduce…

There is a growing awareness among educators and policymakers that the academic standards associated with college readiness are also necessary to prepare students to take advantage of opportunities in the workplace. A challenging K-12 college-readiness curriculum is also important for preparing students for citizenship. Such a curriculum, if…

SREB states were among the first in the nation to implement statewide high school exams. Today, these exams are a key component of each state's accountability system. This report identifies which states use comprehensive exams and which use end-of-course exams, how students perform on them, and whether achievement gaps have narrowed. It also…

This is an abridged, summary report of selected findings from "Pieces of the Puzzle: Factors in the Improvement of Urban School Districts on the National Assessment of Educational Progress"--a comprehensive study prepared by the Council of the Great City Schools in collaboration with the American Institutes for Research (AIR) and with…

The federal Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs, or GEAR UP, project strives to equalize low-income students' access to higher education by increasing their participation in rigorous coursework, providing expanded opportunities for low-income students and parents to learn about postsecondary educational opportunities…

Each edition of the IDRA Newsletter strives to provide many different perspectives on the issues in education topics discussed and to define its significance in the state and national dialogue. This issue focuses on governance efficacy and includes: (1) Tyranny of Old Ideas About School Board Responsibilities (Abelardo Villarreal and Rosana G.…

Pursuing environmental education certification is difficult, so why do it? What does it mean to be certified? Who benefits? How? These are just a few of the compelling questions addressed in "EE Certification: Making Best Practice Standard Practice," a new article exploring advancements and challenges in state and national EE…