The purpose of this quantitative, causal-comparative study was to examine the application of the teaching and learning theory of social constructivism in order to determine if mathematics instruction provided in a departmentalized classroom setting at the fifth grade level resulted in a statistically significant difference in student achievement…

This dissertation examined the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA, 2004) noncompliance complaints filed against school districts in commonwealth states with noncompliance determinations. To achieve the intent of this study, a content analysis of IDEA noncompliance determinations made by the participating state…

Social media's established power to communicate and engage with mass audiences, combined with its largely free and easy-to-use platforms, makes it an irresistible lure for private, nonprofit and government institutions. What is murkier, but more important than ever, is solving the problem of properly planning and creating a structure so that…

A state education agency (SEA) can pull a powerful lever for school turnaround by setting goals publicly and releasing reports on progress toward those goals at turnaround schools to build public support for turnaround efforts. SEAs can gather information for reporting from data they already have available. This report clarifies indicators and…

The purpose of this correlational study is to test the theory of servant leadership that relates the servant leadership characteristics of school principals to student achievement in Southwest Virginia schools. The primary independent variable was principals' servant leadership characteristics as derived from a self-assessment survey (SASL). The…

This report documents how four state education agencies are supporting local data-driven decisionmaking through their policies, practices, and programs for creating data systems, improving data access and use, and building district and school capacity to use data. Specifically, this report, responding to District of Columbia Office of State…

This report documents how four state education agencies are supporting local data-driven decisionmaking through their policies, practices, and programs for creating data systems, improving data access and use, and building district and school capacity to use data. Responding to District of Columbia Office of State Superintendent of Education and…

In this response to Spaulding et al.'s examination of state education agency (SEA) guidance on severity ratings, these authors contend that Spaulding et al. provided an incomplete view of current practices in public schools. These authors state that, ultimately, school speech-language pathologists (SLPs) must follow all state regulations and local…

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…

Locally controlled public schools are one of the cornerstones of our nation's democracy, yet many schools are not preparing students for success. Far too many students are not graduating, and many of those who do graduate are woefully unprepared for college or a meaningful career. Successfully initiating and sustaining meaningful improvements in…

In a move that could prompt major changes in the way states measure the achievement of English-language learners, the U.S. Department of Education is planning to tell states they must each use a consistent yardstick in determining when a child is fluent in English and when that child no longer needs special ELL services. A proposed…

In this brief, Christine Patton and Justina Wang, from Harvard Family Research Project, look at ways of helping to make the transition into kindergarten a positive experience that will serve as a foundation to help children reach their full potential throughout their school years. The brief highlights promising practices in six states--New Jersey,…

For many states, it's been a long struggle to fund positions dedicated to helping schools integrate technology. But in Virginia, thanks to the state's forward thinking educational leaders and lawmakers, every school division has its own team of technology-integration specialists. It started with the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 and the…

School Performance Reports, sometimes referred to as School Report Cards, are an increasingly effective and popular method for collecting program data in Correctional Education. This Overview presents the results of a study examining the current applications of Correctional Education School Report Cards. After inquiring with Offices of…

The purpose of this paper is to examine the role state departments of education, a professional organization and a leading internet organization play in providing recommendations and guidelines in the construction of new high school libraries. Four state agencies were identified and specific square footage formulas noted as well as information…