This article reviews current developments in state and national policies that affect rural special education. A brief overview of the federal role in rural education is provided, with emphasis on the implications for the provision of special education services in rural communities. A variety of challenges are identified, including (a) the variable…

This brief summarizes a 2019 study of educator supply, demand, and quality in North Carolina conducted by the Learning Policy Institute in collaboration with the Education Policy Initiative at Carolina and WestEd. That study supported the state's ongoing efforts to meet the standard set in the North Carolina Supreme Court's decision in…

For more than a year, the Learning Policy Institute (LPI) conducted research in New Mexico, including interviews, site visits, document review, and new analyses of data provided by the New Mexico Public Education Department (NMPED). The purpose of the study was to provide New Mexico leaders a research perspective on the challenges facing education…

This monograph offers an in-depth look at the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Rural Systemic Initiative (RSI) efforts, an investment of more than $140 million to reform mathematics and science programs in rural K-12 public education and tribal education. The authors seek to promote a foundation of contextual understanding for improving public…

Connecticut has the largest achievement gap in the country, an unacceptable disparity in achievement of children who are poor and/or minority with children who are middle class and/or white. Hartford, its capital city, is the site of some of the state's most concentrated poverty and racial isolation. All but a small percentage of the district's…

"Strategic Management of Human Capital in Education" offers a comprehensive and strategic approach to address what has become labeled as "talent and human capital." Grounded in extensive research and examples of leading edge districts, this book shows how the entire human resource system in schools--from recruitment, to selection/placement,…

Great teachers, with the right policy supports, are the ideal agents of meaningful and sustainable change in the most challenged schools. Accomplished and effective teachers help students learn at high levels. They also spread their expertise throughout the school on behalf of all students. This report lays out compelling evidence about the…

America's most highly qualified teachers are underrepresented in America's most challenging schools. Across the nation, only about 15% of America's expert teachers teach in high-poverty, underachieving schools. Most expert teachers teach in schools with fewer racial minority students, fewer students from low-income households, and fewer students…

Rather than continued reliance of high-stakes tests to increase student achievement, a practice for which the author feels there is little supporting evidence, the author urges for educators and educational leaders to work co-operatively to enact insightful, data-driven policies to improve student achievement. In this article, the author argues…

Studies have found substantial sorting of teachers across schools, with the schools with the highest proportions of poor, non-white, and low-scoring students having the least qualified teachers as measured by certification, exam performance, and inexperience (Lankford, Loeb and Wyckoff, 2002). Yet, there have been substantial changes in the…

Principals play an important role in determining the quality of their schools by the selection of teachers. A preponderance of evidence from the economic and education policy literature indicates that teachers with stronger academic backgrounds produce better student outcomes. This article hypothesizes that school principals with certain…

In October 1998, Congress enacted Title II, Sections 207 and 208 (as amendments to the Higher Education Act) which support the efforts of States, Institutions of Higher Education, and their School District partners to improve the recruitment, preparation, and support of new teachers. The Title II report includes specifications, conditions and…

Recent research demonstrates that teacher quality has a greater impact on student achievement than any other educational factor. Yet there is concern that overall teacher quality is variable, and hard-to-staff schools (i.e., high poverty and minority schools) have an even more difficult time recruiting and retaining quality teachers. The No Child…

The impact of 1996 federal welfare reform legislation on state work force development programs was examined through a study of work force development programs and policies in 13 states: Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Wisconsin. The study focused on…

This collection of papers includes: "New Teachers for a New Century: Recommendations from a National Invitational Conference" (Margaret C. Wang and Herbert J. Walberg); "Teacher Quality, Teacher Effectiveness: Basing Education Policy on the Facts" (Arthur E. Wise); "Accreditation Reform and the Preparation of Teachers for…