Students, teachers, administrators, community members, and policymakers are collectively responsible for ensuring that the literacy learning required to earn a living and lead a well-rounded life is available to all. To meet that responsibility, the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) urges legislators to practice civil discourse by…

Despite being the inventing country of the Internet, the US is not satisfied with its current state in Internet speed and broadband adoption. Although, more students, teachers and researchers in the US use Internet than any other country in the world, it is not satisfactory for the US educators and legislators to maintain US competitiveness in the…

Purpose: Recent educational research has demonstrated rural-urban gaps in achievement and schooling conditions. Evidence from developing countries is still sparse. This study seeks to report rural-urban disparities in achievement, student, teacher, and school characteristics based on a nationally representative sample of grade four students from…

The Nation's Report Card[TM] informs the public about the academic achievement of elementary and secondary students in the United States. Report cards communicate the findings of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), a continuing and nationally representative measure of achievement in various subjects over time. The 2008 NAEP…

The role and contribution of students to the governance of university departments is a relatively neglected area of inquiry. This study investigated the factors which student representatives perceived to help or hinder their effectiveness as student members of departmental committees. Twenty students from a range of disciplines were interviewed…

Senator Charles E. Grassley may be backing away from his threat to offer legislation that would require the wealthiest institutions to spend up to 5% of their endowment assets each year. At a panel discussion on Capitol Hill last week, the Iowa senator, who is the senior Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, strongly hinted that he would…

In a speech before a group of career-college executives and lobbyists, freshman Representative Jason Altmire hinted that he would look out for the sector's interests in a coming conference between the House of Representatives and the Senate on legislation to reauthorize the Higher Education Act. Referring to a provision in the bill that would…

To address increasing rates of overweight and obesity, a population-based telephone intervention was introduced in New South Wales, Australia. The Get Healthy Information and Coaching Service[R] (GHS) offered participants a 6-month coaching program or detailed self-help information. Determining the population reach of GHS is of public health…

This dissertation examines the historical background of federal regulations that have expanded over the past thirty years, and their impact on state legislative resistance to No Child Left Behind (NCLB). The federal government's involvement in public education offers an instructive opportunity for inquiry into cooperative federalism. State…

Although much as been written about information technologies and politics, less is known about how information is handled in congressional personal offices. What happens when a constituent sends an email to their Congressman? How does a Senator get information about the pros and cons of a proposed bill? A study was conducted to understand the…

Few recent issues in higher education have been as contentious as that of legislation extending in-state college tuition benefits to undocumented students, initiatives now known as in-state resident tuition (ISRT) policies. Building on several strands of literature in political science and higher education studies, we analyze the effects of…

This Subcommittee on Higher Education, Lifelong Learning, and Competitiveness hearing on "New Innovations and Best Practices under the Work-force Investment Act," better known as WIA, is about the reauthorization of the Workforce Investment Act. Members testifying before the Committee were the Honorable Jason Altmire, a Representative in…

As with their first hearing, the members focused on new innovations and best practices that will improve the workforce development system. In this hearing, the witnesses share the practices that have been most successful in their experience with the workforce investment system. Members testifying before the Committee were the Honorable Brett…

The United States has the highest incarceration rate of any country. The causes for the large number of prisoners can be traced, in part, to a politicized war on crime that resulted in harsh sentencing and high recidivism rates. Prisoner education provides the potential for slowing the revolving door of prison by helping to create engaged…

Mississippi lawmakers have struggled with budgetary matters as turf wars intensified between political parties. The somber mood of legislators permeated the state. Hostile environments in both chambers had driven legislators to uncompromising positions, which created deadlock in the state capital. School consolidation, which not long ago was…