The Utah Commission on Educational Excellence was created by the Utah State Board of Education to recommend improvements in the quality of education and the efficiency of schools. This report begins by summarizing the commission's 27 final recommendations for significant change in the Utah education system. These recommendations look to a system…

Rural America and its schools (which encompass nearly two-thirds of the 15,600 school districts in the United States) face an incredible array of challenges. Changes in demographic, economic, and social conditions are creating a new rural America which is beset by many problems. Rural poverty does not appear to be diminishing and researchers…

This report describes the results of three meetings among eight national education organizations (American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, American Educational Research Association, American Federation of Teachers, Association of Teacher Educators, Council of Chief State School Officers, National Association of State Boards of…

The Secretary of Education's most recent report on educational quality argues that American schools have not improved enough. Issues addressed include trends in standardized test scores, strengthening curriculum content, assuring equal intellectual opportunity, establishing an ethos of achievement, recruiting and rewarding good teachers and…

This document examines policy issues related to preparing educators to work with diverse learners, including students with disabilities. It begins by discussing the growing emphasis on accountability for all students and general education and special education as a unified system. Strategies that states are using for teacher recruitment and…

This paper presents proceedings from a 2001 working conference of the State and District Support to Low-Performing Schools initiative, which presented research-based strategies and exemplary practice to improve low-performing schools. The presentations focused on state and district systems of support to low-performing schools; use of data to…

The aim of this report is to provide an overview of the development of provision for Gaelic education in Scottish schools, 11 years on from the Inspectorate's last major review of the area. The report sets out to provide an update showing what progress has been achieved since that time, with a specific focus on pre-school, primary and secondary…

This issue focuses on teaching for diversity, reviewing some strategies designed to increase the supply of minority teachers and to prepare all teachers to work with students of many different races, cultures, and backgrounds. These strategies are being piloted in programs across the United States. One strategy for increasing the supply of…

The increasing racial and ethnic diversity of classrooms in the United States presents a significant challenge to the next generation of teachers and to those responsible for their training. This book explains the steps teacher educators and policymakers must take in order to prepare a teaching force that is both culturally diverse and culturally…

Teacher attrition is a concern in all educational sectors but is of special importance to Catholic schools because of the salary disparity between public and Catholic schools. This review examines the research on teacher retention in general with a view to understanding how this knowledge might inform teacher recruitment and retention strategies…

This booklet provides an overview of Oklahoma's educational policy, highlighting historical efforts, current initiatives, future plans, and existing challenges to educational reform. It begins with a brief description of the demographics, economic status, and educational system of the state. A narrative is then provided that is organized around…

This report defines what is meant by quality basic education in Georgia and makes numerous recommendations for achieving it for all Georgians. The recommendations are that: (1) basic skills and general job skills be emphasized in vocational education; (2) the salary base for teachers be increased; (3) a five plateau teacher career ladder be…

This working paper provides background for the U.S. Department of Education's first report to the nation on teacher quality, informing the ongoing work on state policy contexts for the improvement of teaching undertaken by the Center for the Study of Teacher Policy. The main goal is to illustrate the range of state-initiated actions aimed at…

This document is the product of a forum that attempted to identify trends in education that are affecting and will continue to affect children with disabilities from birth to age 21, and the ensuing implications for the training of personnel. The edited transcripts of two introductory presentations begin with volume--"Charting the Course for…

One of the most important provisions of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) is the requirement that all teachers of core academic subjects be "highly qualified" by the end of school year 2005-2006. Key principles for recruiting and preparing future teachers have been identified as raising academic standards for teachers and lowering…