In the past decade, schools nationwide have been caught up in a whirlwind of change. No Child Left Behind is the law of the land. Every state in the nation is wrestling with academic standards and school funding. In this article, the authors outline three areas regarding public engagement that are worrisome: (1) Parents may not be ready for…

Accountability and assessment are critical components to the success of schools today. As leaders of school districts, superintendents in Texas and across the nation are faced daily with meeting this challenge. While doing so, they must remember that their priority commitment is not to testing programs, but to helping children achieve.…

The Secretary amends the regulations governing programs administered under Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), as amended by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) (referred to in these regulations as the Title I program) and the regulations governing programs under Part B of the Individuals with Disabilities…

In 2002, the RAND Corporation launched a project to understand how educators are responding to the new accountability requirements in California, Georgia, and Pennsylvania--three states that represent a range of approaches, regions, and student populations. The researchers aimed to identify the factors that enhance the implementation of SBA…

Secondary vocational-technical education programs in Mississippi are faced with many challenges resulting from sweeping educational reforms at the national and state levels. Schools and teachers are increasingly being held accountable for providing true learning activities to every student in the classroom. This accountability is measured through…

Secondary vocational-technical education programs in Mississippi are faced with many challenges resulting from sweeping educational reforms at the national and state levels. Schools and teachers are increasingly being held accountable for providing true learning activities to every student in the classroom. This accountability is measured through…

No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) both include a commitment to keep the public informed about educational progress that students are making, and both emphasize the importance of involving parents in the education of their children. An underlying assumption of NCLB and IDEA is that in order…

In a state (North Carolina, 2006) that once pushed foreign language lessons as early as kindergarten, there has been a steady curtailing of instruction in second languages to devote more time and effort to basic reading and math instruction in English, two subjects heavily tested under the state's ABCs and federal No Child Left Behind…

This history covers the years from 1840 to 1975, from the creation of New Zealand as a Crown Colony to the dissolution of its 37th parliament. The development of education is traced from the first efforts of missionaries to enlighten the native Maoris through the succeeding decades when the government gradually took over the responsibility of…

This report presents the results of the Follow-up Public School Survey on Education Reform, which examined the implementation of the key provisions in the reauthorized Title I Act. The survey is one of many national assessments of Title I and was adapted from the Public School Survey on Education Reform. The instrument was administered to a…

This article addresses curriculum development for students with severe, profound, and multiple learning difficulties in the context of British National Curriculum requirements. It suggests that practitioners have recognized the dangers of "complementary curricula" but are using the concept of "subjects as contexts of…

The No Child Left Behind Act is slated to be reauthorized in 2007, and both President Bush and the leaders of the incoming Democratic-controlled Congress have signaled their interest in keeping renewal of the law on schedule. Many observers expect the debate over renewing the law--which itself was a reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary…

The Kentucky System of Intervention (KSI) is a framework for providing systematic, comprehensive services to address academic and behavioral needs for all students, preschool through grade 12. The Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) has developed this guidance document to provide resources in planning and decision making as districts and…

This policy update discusses provisions of the Goals 2000: Educate America Act which directly influence the experiences of high school-age students with disabilities as they prepare for the transition from school to work and adult life. The paper discusses: (1) purposes of the Act; (2) the eight National Education Goals of Title I; (3)…

In this report for the Progressive Policy Institute's 21st Century Schools Project, the author examines charter schooling in Washington, D.C., including the region's unique history of charter schooling and the challenges these schools face. She is optimistic about the future of the District's charter school movement, but argues that District and…