Now that all 50 states and the District of Columbia are building statewide longitudinal data systems, the next step is to ensure that the information in these systems is used to improve student learning. The Data Quality Campaign (DQC) has identified 10 actions that states can take to ensure that the right data are available and accessible and…

This issue of the Center's "Systems Newsletter" will be the last one published under the aegis of Dr. JoyceVanTassel-Baska, the Center's founder and current Executive Director. As of this August Dr. VanTassel-Baska will officially retire from the College of William and Mary and the Center. She will still be an integral part of the Center…

Virginia's high schools are restructuring the state school system. Using the 4 x 4 schedule, four high schools are offering all students up to a year of postsecondary study beyond the full high school program. Postsecondary scholarships will make this world-class education available to all well-disciplined students who attend regularly and learn…

By adding courses in math, science, English, foreign languages, and geography to their admission standards, colleges and universities in many states are fostering further fragmentation of high school curricula and forcing some schools to add class periods or short-change vocational, music, and art students. Michigan, Oregon, Colorado, and New York…

Addresses the "Virginia History and Social Science Standards of Learning," focusing on its strengths and weaknesses. Discusses the application of the state standards in Fairfax County (Virginia) and the work of the four task force groups. Contends that historians should be involved in educational reform. (CMK)

SREB states were among the first in the nation to set comprehensive state academic standards for K-12 schools. Setting these initial standards was only part of the job. Getting these standards right and keeping them right may be the most important task facing public education today. If state standards are too low, many public school graduates will…

During the past twenty years, the accountability movement and its attendant testing have raised fears in the arts education community that schools will feel pressure to divert instructional time and resources toward tested areas of the curriculum, such as reading and math (Eisner 2000). This paper presents the results of studies on the impact of…

Virginia's statewide objectives for foreign language learning, part of a larger program of learning objectives for all basic subjects and all levels of elementary and secondary education, are presented. The program is aimed at developing language proficiency, with goals and objectives designed to serve the general statewide needs for communicating…

Virginia's learning objectives for Latin in the public schools, part of a larger program of learning objectives for all basic subjects and all levels of elementary and secondary education, are presented. The objectives provide a scope and sequence for planning curriculum and instruction, and are both general enough for communicating state…

This report focuses on the noteworthy achievement and the successful practices of 12 rural schools in the southern region that are members of the "High Schools That Work" (HSTW) school improvement network. Although these schools enroll high percentages of minority and/or impoverished students, they have managed to outperform rural…

Investigated the impact of high stakes testing on Virginia's elementary school art, music, and physical education (AMPE). Principal surveys indicated wide variation in the time allocated for AMPE taught by specialists, and few schools changed the amount of time allocated from the previous year. Overall, time allocated to AMPE did not seem to…

A network of Best Practice Centers located throughout Virginia provides convenient resources, support, technical assistance, and professional development for schools working to achieve higher standards. The most common needs for assistance were in curriculum alignment, test data use to improve instruction, content-area teaching strategies, and…

In August 2001, North Carolina State University received a four-year grant from the National Science Foundation to develop standards-based instructional materials for 20 Technology Student Association (TSA) activities. The TECH-know Project represents a significant collaboration between selected state departments, universities, businesses, and…

"The 2009 Legislative Briefing" is a topical summary of actions during the 2009 legislative sessions that affect education in the 16 SREB states. Topics include: state budgets and the economy; tax and revenue; teacher and faculty pay raises; retirement systems; issues affecting teachers and education leaders; health and safety;…

This document contains excerpts from the Code of Virginia, "Standards of Quality for Public Schools in Virginia." It outlines state requirements in the following areas: basic skills, selected programs, and instructional personnel; support services; accreditation and evaluation; literacy passports and criteria for diplomas and…