A Toolkit of Emerging Best Practices and Opportunities for Charter Support Organizations Approximately 6.4 million students--roughly 13 percent of the student population between ages 6-21--receive special education and related services in public schools every year. While students identified as eligible for special education require supports and…

States in the midst of implementing evaluation reforms face a common dilemma: how to ensure that all your districts are implementing quality educator evaluation systems while still providing them with the flexibility to design systems best suited to their own unique needs. One answer is to create an equivalency process (also known as an approval…

State and local education leaders implementing new college- and career-ready standards (CCRS), next-generation assessments and updated educator evaluation and support systems are turning attention to cohesion--or integration--of these three reforms as a top priority for supporting educators and for increasing the number of students graduating high…

How can States address the continual and extraordinary challenge of sustaining and adapting the reforms they have implemented to improve student outcomes? What steps can States take to do so in the face of inevitably evolving conditions--such as a change in resources (for example, the end of a grant), leadership (a transition in personnel or…

This handbook is designed to assist Massachusetts schools in utilizing members of the community, teachers, and administrators in developing a system of evaluation to monitor student progress and measure program effectiveness. Emphasis is placed on the establishment of quality control procedures for alternative learning experiences, such as…

The Core Evaluation Team (CET), as required by Massachusetts' special education law Chapter 766, is staffed to perform all the assessments necessary to develop a comprehensive individualized educational plan for the child with special needs. To assist in the assessment procedure, the Massachusetts Department of Education provides a guide which…

Presented is Volume I of an educational evaluation and planning package designed in accordance with Massachusetts' special education laws. The package is designed to assist the Core Evaluation Team process, a multidisciplinary approach to educational assessment and development of individual education plans. The guide focuses on three skill areas:…

The Charter School Office has created the Opening Procedures Handbook as a tool to assist charter school founding groups prepare for the exciting, yet challenging, task of opening a Massachusetts public charter school. The Handbook summarizes the opening procedures process, identifies the action items that must be completed prior to the school's…

The third year assessment (1975-1976) of the Massachusetts Right to Read Effort consisted of evaluations from participants in regional training workshops and from local school systems. Generally favorable reaction to the program was noted, although the local school systems noted some weak areas. As a result of these and other evaluations, fifteen…

Materials contained in this Massachusetts curriculum guide are based on concepts and procedures developed by the Highway Users Federation for Safety and Mobility. The guide examines the philosophy of driver education, discusses such legal aspects as certification of students and teachers, presents a comprehensive classroom and behind-the-wheel…

This document describes the background, methodology, and results of the Massachusetts educational assessment program for social studies and citizenship skills. The program, which was conducted during 1975-76, sampled knowledge and attitudes of 9- and 17-year-olds throughout the state on specific educational objectives. Criterion-referenced tests…

This Matrix for Planning presents an organized format for systematically recording information relevant to the formulation of long-range planning policies and decisions for the Massachusetts Community Colleges. The matrix organizes existing data into a four-fold conceptual structure: people, programs, facilities, and funding. The first category…