This brief from the Region 2 Comprehensive Center, in consultation with the New York State Education Department, presents seven state case studies that illustrate the implementation of performance-based assessments. It contributes to the growing research on performance-based assessment, highlighting specific state-level policies that include…

Over the past decade, national initiatives have shifted States' attention to the challenge of turning around low-performing schools. The lack of consistent, dramatic improvements in the lowest-performing schools reflects the severity of the school turnaround challenge, but also suggests the need to continuously evaluate and refine turnaround…

The reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act, December 3, 2004, (IDEA '04) and its implementing federal regulations, October 13, 2006, prompted the need to revise Virginia's special education regulations. Input was received from a Stakeholders Group that included school personnel, parents, consumers,…

This booklet contains the rules and regulations governing the certification of teachers and other school personnel in the state of Virginia. (JD)

In January 1986, the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) issued several recommendations with far-reaching implications for Virginia's colleges and universities, namely, "that all state-supported institutions of higher education establish procedures and programs to measure student achievement." By all accounts the…

This paper reports on efforts of several states in the southern United States (Alabama, Florida, South Carolina, Texas, and Virginia) to respond to the mandate for training early childhood special education professionals. The paper describes how teacher certification standards are being met in these states and examines the role of the state…

This manual explains the requirements and procedures for recertification of all certified educational personnel in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The need for alternative routes for recertification of experienced educators precipitated the development of an individualized recertification plan based on a point system. The point system for…

This document presents the Virginia Department of Education's plan to develop and implement pilot programs in six localities for the 1992-94 biennium (prior to statewide implementation in 1994) for the delivery of special education to juveniles in local jails. The plan is community based, with local school division administrators and jail…

In response to a Virginia legislative mandate, this study examined the use of Child Study Committees (CSCs) for identifying and assessing the educational needs of children with attention deficit disorder (ADD). The study reviewed a 1986 Department of Education policy document on child studies and conducted a telephone survey of elementary, middle,…

This report, prepared by the Virginia Department of Education and presented to the U.S. Department of Education, proposes that Virginia will continue the implementation of successful initiatives and strategies to build capacity to prepare, recruit, and retain high quality teachers at both the local and state levels. Additionally, several new…