During the last three decades, a tremendous increase has occurred across several dimensions of diversity among student populations. While diversity and equity goals have remained systemic priorities, efforts have only led to relatively small gains in student success outcomes and proportional faculty representation in California's community…

It is well-documented that students of color, and other historically underserved students, have had less access to an equitable and supportive learning environment, perpetuating school failure and, too often, a school-to-prison pipeline that is difficult to escape. This report shows how a number of states are taking advantage of opportunities in…

The Southeast Comprehensive Center (SECC) at American Institutes for Research (AIR) publishes this biannual update of college- and career-readiness standards and assessment (CCRS-A) resources. This list of resources is designed to assist staff in state education agencies (SEAs) and other educators in their curricula, instruction, standards, and…

Over the next few years, educators and policymakers have committed to implementing an array of challenging, but potentially transformative, reforms--reforms that could go beyond rearranging furniture to fundamentally restructuring and improving teaching and learning. Facing this much simultaneous change would be difficult even without the…

The purpose of this technical assistance paper is to provide a description of the procedures used to determine school grades for the 2014 school year. Florida's current school accountability system originated with state legislation passed in 1999 (the "A+ Plan") and has been revised periodically to reflect increased standards and…

"Teach Reading, Not Testing" reinforces what teachers already know--test preparation worksheets and drill-and-kill activities do not make children into lifelong readers. The authors' conscientious approach to reading instruction combines an insider perspective on the development of high-stakes tests with classroom experience in achieving…

Education Sector commissioned an earlier version of this collection of essays in conjunction with a March 2012 event "Getting to 2014: The Choices and Challenges Ahead." This updated version includes new essays and a revised introduction. The aim of these essays is to present ideas, elicit feedback, and encourage productive dialogue…

This review of teaching standards in six states updates a 2009 review (White, Makkonen, and Stewart 2009) by incorporating California's recently adopted teaching standards alongside those from Florida, Illinois, North Carolina, Ohio, and Texas. The previous review was developed at the request of key education agencies in California to inform the…

Previous literature has documented how teachers perceive both advantages and disadvantages associated with standards-based reform. These teacher perceptions may be connected to classroom practices in terms of the extent to which standards are utilized by individual teachers. The purpose of this study was to identify how secondary science teachers…

The Council of Chief State School Officers' "Accommodations Manual: How to Select, Administer, and Evaluate the Use of Accommodations for Instruction and Assessment of Students with Disabilities" was first developed to establish guidelines for states to use for the selection, administration, and evaluation of accommodations for…

Who should be accountable for what beginning teachers need to know? This article first explains and illustrates three sets of knowledge and skills beginning teachers should have acquired in their preparation programs: academic knowledge needed for teaching the field of their license, generic professional knowledge and skills needed for teaching…

North Carolina's educational reform effort is composed of three related programs--the Basic Education Program (BEP), the School Improvement and Accountability Act (Senate Bill 2), and a new system of state accreditation. Information about the complementary and interdependent connection among the three programs is provided in this publication. The…

This book discusses four approaches to incorporating student achievement in teacher evaluation. Seven chapters discuss: (1) "Teacher Evaluation and Student Achievement: An Introduction to the Issues"; (2) "What is the Relationship between Teaching and Learning?" (e.g., whether teachers are responsible for student learning and…

Oregon state standards are presented for the 2004-2005 school year. These include the following:curricular goals; standards; benchmarks; and criteria for levels of initial mastery, advanced mastery, and diploma. This tool is published annually to ensure constituents have access to the most updated information about Oregon's content standards both…

Many Washington students, who should be at a reading to learn level in grades 4-12, are still learning to read. The purpose of this review it to offer information to schools and districts in Washington State regarding intervention programs that are most promising for closing the achievement gap in reading. The 4-12 grades are an area that need…