This paper reviews state strategies for incorporating performance assessment in policy and practice. Specifically, the paper reviews the use of performance assessment in 12 states in the Innovation Lab Network, a group committed to developing systems of assessment that provide meaningful measures of college and career readiness. This review…

Findings from a literature review on dropout prevention were integrated with suggestions from Oregon educators. Ideas included examples of universal interventions (such as student advisory programs), dropout interventions for at-risk students (such as community-based learning), and interventions for individual students (wraparound interventions).…

The Oregon Educational Act for the 21st Century was passed to restructure the public school system to address past shortcomings and to prepare for the future. The act provided a blueprint for 10 task forces appointed by the Superintendent for Public Instruction to explore ways to initiate and implement reform. This report contains summaries of…

This bulletin is devoted to clarifying central issues in the self-esteem debate, with a view to pointing out implications for practice. The relevance of self-esteem to academic achievement is particularly emphasized. The first chapter reviews different meanings that self-esteem has acquired in the context of different theories. Chapter 2…

The Oregon state Title I office has developed two needs assessment guidebooks to assist districts in complying with Title I needs assessment regulations. The first guidebook was developed in 1974. Following its dissemination, needs assessment procedures in Title I districts were closely monitored for compliance with the regulations, and it was…

Issues and challenges in giving students a voice in the educational process, or motivating them through empowerment, are examined in this monograph. Students whose input is solicited feel a greater sense of ownership with the educational process, which increases their engagement and in turn facilitates school effectiveness. Following an…

Reports are given on the use of computers in elementary and secondary schools in five states. An analysis of the reports discusses various educational trends and implications evolving from computer use, including misapplied technology and the proper amount of learning and teaching via computers. (CJ)

This bulletin explores the roles that various stakeholders have in systemic reform and offers some recommendations for action. Data were derived from a review of research on systemic education reform and interviews with four Oregon administrators. Chapter 1 provides a sampling of the diverse groups that are calling for reform and offers some of…

This publication describes Oregon's current school funding system, and provides some criteria for evaluating alternatives that address issues of equity, balance, and stability. Oregon's school funding system depends primarily on local property taxes (57%) and a state aid program (22%) funded mainly by an income tax. This system permits a great…

The Oregon Quality Education Model (OQEM) is a project that attempts to provide a cost for the state K-12 public education system by offering school funding decisions on a rational basis, based on facts and needs, that can be quantified. The House Special Committee on the Education Model Review was appointed to critique the OQEM since the project…

Since 1991, charter schools of widely varying types and structure have spread to 1600 schools nationwide. A federal study suggests charter schools, compared with other public schools, are smaller, have a similar racial composition, and serve on average slightly fewer students with disabilities, an equal percentage with limited English proficiency,…

This document summarizes the contents of two comprehensive reports, "Review of Related Research" and "Survey of Beginning Teachers and Their Employing Public Schools." Three types of studies were examined in reviewing literature on research about the needs of first-year teachers: (1) "Teacher Reflections,"…

Small, sometimes multi-cultural, rural schools need specialized preservice teacher education programs to prepare teachers. After outlining the classroom, school, and sociocultural characteristics affecting a teacher's success and survival in a rural community, this paper discusses the apparent lack of rural content in teacher preparation programs…

A survey of absentee voting in the Highline (Washington) School District revealed that mailed-in ballots have no better than--and often less than--a 50-50 chance of favoring school finance issues. School officials should reconsider encouraging the growth of voting by mail. (IW)

This treatise is a compilation of various educational malpractice cases as well as other references regarding educational malpractice and related malpractice cases from other professions, such as medicine, law and psychiatry, and is intended to serve as a source for understanding the complex and sensitive problems relating to educational…