As a result of federal legislation (ESSA, 2015) accreditation ratings of elementary schools are based on the performance of third through fifth grade students on the end of year assessments in the content subjects of reading and math. As a result of these requirements schools that fail to meet these standards are identified as Accreditation Denied…

While continuous improvement is not new to education, implementing it with fidelity in various educational contexts remains difficult. This article provides a framework of the necessary components in planning for and implementing continuous improvement, based on current literature in the field of education. Key characteristics for consideration…

This paper describes James Madison University's undergraduate major in Computer Information Systems as an example of a high-quality Information Systems (IS) program and discusses our planned evolution in the context of the rapid changes of technological, business, and social factors. We have determined what we consider to be five essential…

The Virginia Board of Education's Regulations Establishing Standards for Accrediting Public Schools in Virginia (also referred to as the "Standards of Accreditation") are designed to ensure that an effective educational program is established and maintained in all of Virginia's public schools. The Standards of Accreditation: (1) Provide…

This feature has told stories of high school physical educators who have refused to accept the status quo of high school physical education programs. They have identified problems, initiated innovations in their own classes, implemented changes beyond their classes, and moved toward institutionalizing improvements throughout their programs and…

Middle Appalachia--defined in this report as the Appalachian portions of Kentucky, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia--is an impoverished area that has been economically dependent on the coal industry for generations. Its schools face unique challenges in ensuring the college and career readiness of students, given that…

Given increasing emphasis on assessment and accountability across the globe in higher education, it is clear that individual institutions must take action and provide evidence in response to these concerns. This article provides an example of how one university has developed a central office for assessment, facilitated the development of an…

Many low-performing schools across the nation have increased learning time in response to federal requirements for the School Improvement Grant (SIG) program. The conditions governing federal waivers of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) also require certain schools to redesign the school day, week, or year to include additional…

Improving teacher preparation is critical to long-term improvement in teacher quality. More than 200,000 new teachers enter classrooms each year. Increasing student enrollment, the retirement of baby boom generation teachers, and high attrition in their first five years (between 40 and 50 percent of new teachers leave the profession) have…

"The Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965" (ESEA) has directed federal resources to schools for more than four decades to help ensure all children have equal access to a quality education. The most recent reauthorization--or congressional update to the law--occurred with the passage of the "No Child Left Behind Act of…

Assessments matter in education. Testing is nothing new; tests have been around as long as school itself. However, over the last 15 years, state assessments have grown to be an increasingly central, and often controversial, part of schooling. As states raise their standards, it is more important than ever to ask: What is a high-quality assessment?…

Reflecting the growing momentum in support of quality rating and improvement systems (QRISs) as a key strategy to improve early care and education quality, significant amounts of public dollars have been devoted to their development and implementation. In this brief, the authors report on their investigation of both quality rating and improvement…

Because of their commitment to the voluntary measurement and improvement of student learning outcomes, colleges and universities that are members of the Council of Independent Colleges (CIC) have been at the forefront of the national shift from teacher-centered to student-centered learning. The institutions participating in the CIC Degree…

Over the past decade, national initiatives have shifted States' attention to the challenge of turning around low-performing schools. The lack of consistent, dramatic improvements in the lowest-performing schools reflects the severity of the school turnaround challenge, but also suggests the need to continuously evaluate and refine turnaround…

Before and during the tenure of Florida's former education commissioner, Eric J. Smith, the state made bold moves toward incorporating charter schools, began corporate "scholarship" programs that provide funding for students to attend private schools, implemented class-size caps that voters approved via referendum, and earned $700…