This is the second of four working papers on dissemination policies, commissioned in 1993 by the Office of Educational Research and Improvement. It is intended to stimulate discussion and the exchange of insights on the government's role in empowering educators to contribute to the evaluation of innovations they use to improve education.…

This collection of four case studies discusses the work of teachers and their efforts to change their classrooms, schools, and districts. The case studies show that teachers can learn to use their own strengths and talents, knowledge, shared vision, and commitment to student growth and development to effect change. The first case study,…

This project was designed to enhance and enlarge the pool of black teachers and to demonstrate the extent to which this intervention model could be effective in achieving this goal. The major activities of the project consisted of a series of faculty development workshops designed to hone faculty skills in test item analysis and construction, and…

Issues in collecting data on the classroom performance of teachers are discussed, with a focus on written descriptions of teacher behavior in contrast with videotaped observations. The central issue in this comparison is the comparability of the information when it is observed live and when it is simply recorded on videotape. The fundamental…

The Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS) represents the union of three surveys by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), the Teacher Demand and Shortage Survey, the School and School Administrator Surveys, and the Teacher Survey. The SASS measures critical aspects of teaching supply and demand, the composition of the teacher and…

The purpose, design, and key findings of the Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS) are discussed. The SASS is a triennial set of unified surveys conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics. In conjunction with a teacher follow-up survey, the SASS profiles the nation's elementary school and secondary school teaching force and analyzes…

The purpose of this packet is to assist school districts and other agencies in establishing a technology education program based on the computer mentor model. An "Executive Overview" is provided, along with the "Computer Mentoring Course Guide" and "Computer Mentoring: A Case Book." The Computer Mentor program was…

"Pocket Projections" provides some information on education in the United States in the past and future, focusing on the period from 1985-86 to 2007-08. In table form, data are given for these topics: (1) projected population; (2) elementary and secondary education enrollment; (3) high school graduates; (4) classroom teachers; (5) pupil/teacher…

This paper examines inequalities in education resulting from differences in community social class, using data from a study of high school teachers' work in different communities conducted in the 1980's and repeated in the 1990's. The 1985 study of schools in upper middle class, working class, and lower class neighborhoods indicated that there…

The Dade County (Florida) Public School System is replacing its Teacher Assessment and Development System (TADS), initiated in 1982, with systems that draw on recent research, link teaching skills to school improvement, and recognize and reward advanced pedagogy. The comprehensive approach will integrate subordinate and peer assessment through a…

The Thinking Skills Program of the Saginaw Public Schools was evaluated in a process evaluation. The School District of the City of Saginaw (Michigan) operates a supplemental educational delivery system in reading and mathematics that consists of Chapter-1 funded elementary and secondary compensatory education (CE). Elementary CE is both a push-in…

The study discussed in this paper examined the pedagogical content knowledge of prospective secondary mathematics teachers with respect to the content area of functions and graphs. The pedagogical content knowledge was examined through an analysis of the transformation of knowledge and beliefs about the content and the learner into instructional…

Most educational movements have been in the direction of national standards, have been urban oriented, and often have failed to recognize or acknowledge the uniqueness of rural education. Consequently, rural education has become little more than a second thought as teachers' skills are developed. This paper examines the contribution colleges of…

This briefing book consists of 45 tables on demography that are organized in 4 sections. Section 1 looks at the leadership and faculty of schools, colleges, and departments of education (SCDEs). Leadership is represented by deans of schools and colleges of education, and chairs of departments of education). In addition, a clear picture is given of…

This study examined whether there were significant differences in the level of knowledge regarding curriculum reform efforts in mathematics and science and the level of incorporation of these new standards and recommendations into the curriculum among districts of varying size in Iowa. Data were gathered from respondents to school surveys of…