In 1998, Washington State had 51,512 classroom teachers, but only 29 of them were National Board Certified Teachers (NBCTs). By 2009, the number of NBCTs in Washington had grown to 3,975--5th in the nation in total numbers, and 2nd in the nation in new teachers certifying that year. The state's successful strategy for increasing the number of…

This article analyses one of the most important aspects of the journey towards the vision of a European Higher Education Area, namely the development of a "new architecture" in which compatible qualifications frameworks are one of the main building blocks. The overall question addressed concerns how and whether signatory countries of the…

Addressing the direction of high school mathematics in the 21st century, this resource builds on the ideas of NCTM's Principles and Standards for School Mathematics and focuses on how high school mathematics can better prepare students for future success. Reasoning and sense making are at the heart of the high school curriculum. Discover the…

By explicitly naming education as one of three top priority areas in his first joint congressional address and in his first federal budget proposal, President Barack Obama is putting considerable political weight--and even more money--behind the agenda he laid out during his campaign. Certain themes he struck in the Feb. 24…

This article documents the development of foreign language (FL) teacher standards in Uruguay. It begins by discussing what it means to be a teacher, what standards are and are not, and how they can be helpful or misused in teacher development. In the proposal, a distinction is made between teacher preparation programs that are course-based and…

The revised standards, like the earlier social studies standards published in 1994, continue to be structured around the ten themes of social studies. However, the revised standards offer a sharper focus on: (1) Purposes; (2) Questions for Exploration; (3) Knowledge: what learners need to understand; (4) Processes: what learners will be capable of…

Professional school counselors must clearly establish and articulate the purpose and goals of their school counseling program and its relationship to student achievement in order to become integral participants in the school reform movement. By aligning Georgia's Performance Standards and the ASCA National Standards, counselors can realize…

"Straight A's: Public Education Policy and Progress" is a biweekly newsletter that focuses on education news and events both in Washington, DC and around the country. The following articles are included in this issue: (1) Alliance for Excellent Education Announces New Center for Secondary School Digital Learning and Policy: Center's Work…

This report discusses issues involved in the debate over whether the United States should have national education standards, what must be considered in creating such standards, what problems must be addressed, and what trade-offs might be required among conflicting objectives. The first section provides a short summary of developments in education…

Currently, every state has its own set of academic standards, but that may soon change. The National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers are spearheading a state-led process that will lead to the development and voluntary adoption of K-12 national reading and math standards. Forty-six states and the District of…

Education in the United States has reached yet another critical milestone on the way toward standardization. On June 1, 2009, the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA Center) and the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) announced that 46 states, the District of Columbia, and two U.S. territories agreed to join an…

Both the public and private higher education sectors in Oman are undergoing rapid change in the number and type of local and foreign degrees offered. The Sultanate is developing a comprehensive quality assurance system to ensure the educational appropriateness of all degrees awarded in Oman. This paper examines the collaboration between the…

This paper argues that the current approach to educational quality formation in transnational higher education promotes educational imperialism, and that guidelines and practices should be altered to embrace context-sensitive measures of quality. The claims are sustained by findings from a study that investigated how academics understood and…

The Southwest Educational Development Laboratory (SEDL) National Center for Quality Afterschool helps state education agencies and local practitioners develop high-quality programs for academic enrichment as well as youth development activities. This newsletter contains the following: (1) Afterschool News; (2) Planning Lessons; and (3) Events…

National Board Certification is administered by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, to advance the quality of teaching and learning by developing professional standards for accomplished teaching, creating a voluntary system to certify teachers who meet those standards and integrating certified teachers into educational reform…