In this No Child Left Behind era of renewed emphasis on the search for the "highly qualified" teacher, governors, legislators, and state department of education officials have an incentive to focus on improving teacher quality through teacher evaluation. While teacher evaluation practices have been traditionally problematic "based…

School districts, and even states, striving to identify optimal school size are confounded more often than not by the conflicting research findings and theoretical arguments presented throughout the literature. Some writers adamantly declare that smaller schools are a "must" if educational opportunity is to be optimized. Others argue that school…

Following a model for an extended-day kindergarten program that had been in operation in select schools for nearly 20 years, a southeastern Virginia school division expanded the Extended-Day Kindergarten (EDK) Program with an additional 40 classes in 39 schools during the 2006-2007 school year. The EDK Program supplemented the traditional half-day…

Using a case study of three elementary schools involved in a Response to Intervention (RTI) model demonstration project, the authors examine the features critical to successful RTI implementation. Preliminary findings suggest that access to and use of sensitive progress monitoring assessments and a willingness to use the data provided by those…

Recruiting quality teachers is a top priority for school districts across the country. However, recent research demonstrates that an even greater challenge facing schools is retaining newly recruited teachers, particularly in urban school settings. This article analyzes the effects of two key components of many formal induction programs--mentoring…

The Accelerated Reader program from Renaissance Learning Inc. is a popular program implemented in elementary and middle schools across the country that encourages students to read and monitors their progress in the program. Despite its widespread use and popularity, there have been some questions about the program's effectiveness at increasing…

During the 1995-96 school year, administrators in Lawrence Township School District in Indianapolis, Indiana, worked with teachers to develop an evaluation system that would encourage teachers to engage in positive self-assessment and grow professionally throughout their careers. Teachers like the new system better than the previous one. (11…

Explains assessment's nature and purpose and appropriate classroom conditions for its use. Describes a teaching and learning model for the assessment cycle that includes application of learning targets, purposes, methods, feedback/inference, and documentation and communication of results. Delineates six core principles for quality assessment. (MLH)

This study examined superintendents' perceptions of current performance evaluation practices and their preferences for those practices. Specifically, 1,125 superintendents across the nation received a questionnaire exploring evaluation effectiveness and results-based procedures. Findings indicate practices are neither uniformly effective nor…

Describes Boulder Valley (Colorado) School District's development of a portfolio approach focusing on the administrator's leadership role in improving school success, rather than individual evaluation. The process features stakeholder collaboration in goal-setting and appraisal of school success, concentration on learning and teaching activities,…

To provide a safer learning environment in Broward County (Florida) Public Schools, secondary school students have become involved in a crime- and drug-prevention program called Youth Crime Watch. Structured as a school-based extracurricular activity, this program provides a forum for discussing drug and crime prevention, establishing…

Examines criteria and procedures for selecting new (Ohio) elementary school principals during 1992-93. A survey of 50 superintendents indicates that selection criteria comprised academic criteria, personal characteristics, and professional competencies. Respondents rated attitude toward others and strong human relations skills as most important…

Summarizes a study to determine the extent that staff members in a midwestern school district agreed with certain "ideal" student assessment principles and to discover how well the district's assessment practices reflected principles that staff members viewed as important. District staff supported the assessment principles outlined in "Principles…

During 1991-92, 87 principals in 4 suburban midwestern school districts were surveyed to determine the relative importance they assigned to common variables associated with teacher selection. Most important factors were respect for students, honesty, ability to work with peers, and verbal communication. Surprisingly, quantity of experience,…

Student Service and Philanthropy Project, a three-year demonstration program, was established by Surdna Foundation in cooperation with New York City Public Schools during the 1991-92 school year. Given a chance to govern and administer minifoundations committed to public service, students might realize they can be a force for positive social…