This book presents a collection of recent articles on the problems in today's schools, why school and students are underperforming, exploring a range of topics and explaining why some reforms in education are destined to fail while others have been proven to work. The first section, "Teaching Approaches," presents articles on progressive…

Adult learning can be challenging and traumatic events can exacerbate the process. Symptoms such as difficulty beginning new tasks, fear of risk taking, eroded self-esteem, or inability to concentrate can be evidence of past or current trauma and may be manifested by a learner missing class, avoiding tests, or behaving inappropriately during class…

This report summarizes evaluation results from AISD's federally-funded Title I program activities during 2002-2003.

The 2012 edition of the "Digest of Education Statistics" is the 48th in a series of publications initiated in 1962. The "Digest" has been issued annually except for combined editions for the years 1977-78, 1983-84, and 1985-86. Its primary purpose is to provide a compilation of statistical information covering the broad field…

Four studies examined financial and achievement issues in rural Ohio school districts. Based on both county population and location relative to a metropolitan statistical area, schools were assigned to five location categories: rural, semirural, rural/suburban, suburban, and urban. Study 1 examined financial characteristics of the 73 rural Ohio…

Twenty percent of the children enrolled in rural and small-town schools are non-Caucasian, children of color. As in nonrural schools, rural schools have yet to close the achievement gap across various racial and economic subgroups of this diverse population. Overall, rural students perform as well as or better than their nonrural peers on…

Vermont's Act 60 received national attention not only because of the controversy surrounding the sharing pool (or recapture provision) but also because of its "potential for being the most equitable system in the country." For fiscal years 1998 to 2001, tax rates have become more equitable, and a direct relationship has appeared between…

The increasing demand for public aid to private schooling raises the question of whether private schools really outperform public schools. National Assessment of Educational Progress mathematics scores demonstrate that they do not. Other data substantiating this assertion highlight poor outcomes for both public and private education. (SLD)

This third annual Pennsylvania Progress Report is designed to convey to the citizens of Pennsylvania information on how well we are progressing on our road to achieving the National Education Goals. This report has three parts. The first part is a description of the major education initiatives undertaken in 1993 by Governor Casey. The second and…

The relationship between education and the United States (U.S.) economy was explored to identify research needed to inform employment policy in the future. Special attention was paid to the following topics: the state of education in the U.S.; key problems in grades K-12 that must be addressed; student achievement; inequity; costs of special…

Federal funding from the School to Work Opportunities Act (STOWA) has ended. There is no doubt that state policy to advance activities started under STOWA will be a major factor in the sustainability of School to Work. Already some states have taken the initiative for bringing higher standards to education by offering incentives for businesses to…

Extending the school day and year is not easy. The conventional calendar remains one of the most intractable features of the American educational system. Altering the traditional school schedule has significant ramifications for parents, students, teachers, and school administrators. This reform impacts student and family schedules, transportation…

This document is one of four individual case study reports presenting the qualitative findings from a five-year investigation of the impact of accountability reform on students with disabilities in four states, eight districts, and twenty schools. This case study report presents qualitative data, collected over a two-year period--2001 and…

The 2011 edition of the "Digest of Education Statistics" is the 47th in a series of publications initiated in 1962. The "Digest" has been issued annually except for combined editions for the years 1977-78, 1983-84, and 1985-86. Its primary purpose is to provide a compilation of statistical information covering the broad field…

This paper describes efforts to develop indices of student achievement, school district effort, and school district efficiency. The challenge was to develop measures that are simple to understand, yet allow comparison among districts that are not distorted by socioeconomic differences. Measures were developed for average student achievement,…