The transition of the United States Medical License Exam Step 1 examination to pass/fail was implemented in January 2022 with the intent to reduce medical student stress levels while ensuring that students maintained a sufficient degree of medical knowledge in order to continue in their educational journey. While this is an admirable goal,…

Through semi-structured interviews with teachers and semi-structured interviews-turned-"testimonios" of students, I have sought to understand the purposes and consequences of Disciplinary Alternative Programs (DAP). Four different locations from across the state of Nebraska were utilized with 16 teachers and two students participating.…

This resource is part of a series of reports about challenges facing statewide science assessments and innovative solutions states are enacting to meet those challenges. Deciding to implement a system of assessments is a critical step toward ensuring that all students are getting the high-quality science education they need--but it is also…

"Transforming Science Assessment: Systems for Innovation," is a series of resources designed to provide state education leaders with: (1) Information about how states are currently pursuing statewide assessment systems in science; (2) Analyses of what features influence different approaches, with an eye to supporting state leaders as…

Grading reform has been a major focus in school districts across the country (Guskey & Jung, 2012). Reporting student achievement through grades can have a lasting and profound impact on a student's academic career. Grades are often considered to have little relationship to student performance (Brookhart, 2004; O'Connor 2016). Grading…

Superintendents and principals can have a positive and decisive impact on student achievement and higher graduation rates. Their essential leadership can illuminate the path to excellence for faculty and students. In upgrading curriculum and instruction, school leaders need to keep abreast of practices proven effective in other districts and…

America's education system is based on the assumption that barring illness or an extraordinary event, students are in class every weekday. So strong is this assumption that it is not even measured. It is the rare state education department, school district, or principal that can tell one how many students have missed 10% or more of the school year…

This article examines the first regional governance reform in public education, created in the Omaha, Nebraska metropolitan area in 2007. The legislation creating this regional reform, which is called the Learning Community, established a regional governing body, the Learning Community Coordinating Council, consisting of an elected 21-member…

There are eight components that Teacher Candidates the University of Nebraska at Kearney, College of Education, must demonstrate their understanding of and proficiency in, to complete their student teaching successfully. Are this components relative when the Teacher Candidate interviews for his/her first teaching position; and if so, to what…

The 2009 "State Teacher Policy Yearbook" provided a comprehensive review of states' policies that impact the teaching profession. As a companion to last year's comprehensive state-by-state analysis, the 2010 edition provides each state with an individualized "Blueprint for Change," building off last year's "Yearbook"…

External pressures have transformed academic life, shattering the roles and relationships that created a sense of community. Increasingly the challenges of fostering an engaged workforce in these institutions mirror the corporate world. Leaders at UNL have adapted Gallup's organizational development strategy to improve faculty engagement and…

For too long teachers have been forced into a defensive posture, protecting their professionalism and their students' learning from the accountability hawks who know little about teaching and learning, the author asserts. In this article, the author details how Nebraska educators have turned the tables on accountability by placing utmost…

For five years running, the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) has tracked states' teacher policies, preparing a detailed and thorough compendium of teacher policy in the United States on topics related to teacher preparation, licensure, evaluation, career advancement, tenure, compensation, pensions and dismissal. The 2011 State Teacher…

A SYMPOSIUM WAS CONDUCTED WHICH PRESENTED PREVIOUSLY PREPARED PAPERS ON MEDIA AND EDUCATIONAL INNOVATION. THE SYMPOSIUM DEALT WITH IDENTIFYING TECHNIQUES AND PRINCIPLES FOR GAINING ACCEPTANCE OF RESEARCH RESULTS OF THE USE OF NEWER MEDIA IN EDUCATION. THE FIRST PAPER DEALT WITH MODELS FROM THE BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES, FOLLOWED BY THREE PAPERS FOCUSING…

This document represents the first of two volumes presented in "Study of the Impact of the Statewide Systemic Initiatives Program" (Norman L. Webb and Iris R. Weiss). In an effort to evaluate the impact of the Statewide Systemic Initiatives (SSIs) on student achievement and the lessons that could be learned from the National Science…