Given the necessary attention required to ensure that every K-12 learner has access to quality Visual and Performing Arts (VAPA), equally important is the assurance that their teachers are effectively prepared to provide excellent art education experiences. Unfortunately, the literature indicates that many are unprepared in this area (Oreck, 2004;…

This study assesses the extent to which machine learning techniques can be used to predict question quality. An algorithm based on textual complexity indices was previously developed to assess question quality to provide feedback on questions generated by students within iSTART (an intelligent tutoring system that teaches reading strategies). In…

This study evaluated the efficacy of the Word Learning Strategies (WLS) supplementary program to improve elementary students' vocabulary skills and reading comprehension. The study used a multi-site cluster randomized, experimental design, which randomly assigned 92 4th grade classrooms (n=2558 students) from two cohorts to a treatment or control…

Basic skills courses are designed to teach students certain basic academic competencies they have not mastered. However, very little research has examined the quality of instruction inside basic skills classes. This paper presents preliminary findings from observations in 13 California community colleges. The clearest finding is that…

Lucinda Lee Katz, head of Marin Country Day School (California), received the 2009 NAIS Diversity Leadership Award. This article presents an edited excerpt of her acceptance speech. In this speech, she outlines what is necessary to move school communities ahead in one's diversity work.

Educational changes are examined from the perspective of consumer protection--the direct consumers are the teachers being prepared; the indirect consumers are the students and the society that supports the schools. During the colonial and early national periods of American history, there was an absence of formal and separate teacher education.…

The purpose of this qualitative study done in 2003 was to determine which factors motivated the adult learners who were employed full time to pursue and complete a college degree at a Southern California university complex. Using a structured survey which included Q-Sort and Likert Scale methodologies followed by in-depth interviews, the study's…

The Sacramento City (California) Unified School District found its own way to combine local school effectiveness assessment with state required local district quality reports. The evaluation matrix developed by the district identified information needed in six district goal areas for local long-range planning, the state-required reports, and an…

This paper reviews, in two parts, discoveries about control in 12 instructionally effective school districts (IESD) in California. In part one, after describing six ways to view administrative control, this report provides a brief description of the study, presents findings on the use of selected control mechanisms, and reviews what was learned…

Telecourses differ in fundamental ways from regular college courses; i.e., faculty are not the only ones involved in telecourse design and production; colleges are not the sole funding agencies for their production; and telecourses are designed to be marketed, rather than to be offered by a single institution. These differences mean that…

In an effort to address the problem of developing constructive suggestions for change in teacher education programs, a survey was taken of the member institutions of the California Council on the Education of Teachers, which offered a basic teaching credential. The survey found all institutions used multiple admission criteria; virtually none…

A study was conducted by the California Association of Community Colleges (CACC) to determine the perceptions of several constituency groups concerning the relative success of California's community colleges. The study sought to identify indicators of institutional success and appropriate measures for each indicator. Surveys conducted at the 1987…

This study examined the impact of state budget cuts on public colleges and universities in six states, focusing on the effects of such cuts on institutional priorities and plans, tuition and fees, and educational quality. Five state higher education finance officers, 12 state college or university system finance officers, and 98 college or…

Focusing on one aspect of a study examining the child-staff ratio in California state-subsidized day care centers, this paper explores the relationship between indicators of quality and the behavior of children in day care centers. In fall 1990, trained observers spent a week in 122 day care classrooms throughout California. During this time they…

Issues facing California's community colleges are reviewed in this response to the California Postsecondary Education Commission (CPEC) report, "Missions and Functions of the California Community Colleges." The paper first asserts that the most critical question facing the community colleges in the 1980's is whether they should and can…