The recent shift toward greater accountability has put many educational leaders in a position where they are expected to collect and use increasing amounts of data to inform their decision making. Yet, because many programs that prepare administrators, including school business officials, do not require a statistics course or a course that is more…

This article features Pasadena City College's (PCC) Teaching and Learning Center (TLC), an eight-year-old holistic approach to guiding underprepared students through math, English, and other challenges of college. TLC aims to revolutionize the way faculty look at their students and teach them. The center's approach is one that is spreading through…

A previous working paper argued, that, to understand basic skills education, it is necessary to observe classrooms to see what the "instructional triangle" involving the instructor, students, and content is like. This working paper presents the results of observing classes in 13 community colleges. It starts with a conceptualization of…

This paper reports on an investigation into the sophomore and senior preservice teachers' computer literacy in different teacher training programs and to determine relationship between grades and the teacher training programs in terms of their computer literacy. The study used case study research methodology, and the sample consisted of 276…

The federal government and private foundations for education have established postsecondary credential completion as a national imperative. Washington State's Integrated Basic Education and Skills Training (I-BEST) model was developed to increase the rate at which basic skills students advance to and succeed in college-level occupational programs,…

Drawing from empirically based and theoretical literature in the field, this review examines Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) and the accountability provisions found in Title One of the NCLB legislation. States have the ability to statistically manipulate their AYP implementation, which may give a false impression to the public that AYP is a…

On February 18, 2010, the Council for Advancement of Adult Literacy (CAAL) convened a Roundtable meeting of 19 leaders of local institutions identified by their peers as providing exemplary "adult education for work" service within a particular community or local labor market. The institutions are located in 16 states representing all…

Chaffey College, a three campus college with approximately 20,000 students located California's Inland Empire, has become the destination of many community college practitioners from around the country. The reason why? Over the past ten years, the college has become nationally-known as an institution with a "risk tolerant change-oriented…

This study examined the impact of basic skills curricular learning communities on academically underprepared community college students to determine if participation in such programs significantly contributed to student persistence from year one to year two. The conceptual framework that informed this study was Tinto's (1993) longitudinal model of…

Gifted students thirst for knowing and understanding. They are quick to learn new information, have great recall, are capable of investigating topics in depth, and pose meaningful questions. These youngsters go beyond the basic facts to seek answers, draw conclusions, and evaluate information. Young gifted students, however, may lack the skills…

Data from international comparisons of educational performance provided by the PISA study show Russia is among those countries that are not highly ranked on students' basic skills, and is poorly ranked on ability to apply knowledge to problem solving. Data also show large regional differences within Russia. (Contains 29 notes, 2 tables, and 6…

Recent shifts in education and labour market policy have resulted in universities being placed under increasing pressure to produce employable graduates. However, contention exists regarding exactly what constitutes employability and which graduate attributes are required to foster employability in tertiary students. This paper argues that in the…

This report draws from a recent EdSource study that was commissioned by the California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office (CCCCO) to provide a deeper understanding of the system's challenges and opportunities related to developmental education. It provides some insights into how well the community colleges are currently positioned to respond…

Background: Soft skills describe career attributes that individuals should possess, such as team skills, communication skills, ethics, time-management skills, and an appreciation for diversity. In the twenty-first century workforce, soft skills are important in every business sector. However, employers in business continuously report that new…

Potential students hoping to gauge the quality of courses at Portland State University might be forgiven for feeling confused. On the one hand, the University Studies program, which uses interdisciplinary seminars during the first two years to develop students' core skills, has been widely praised and emulated. The Council for Higher Education…