This article provides a summary of the five major recommendations from the nation's highly accomplished teachers on the problems in staffing high-needs schools. Insights from these teachers reveal that salary incentives alone will not suffice to attract and retain good teachers for high-needs schools. Working conditions matter--most notably,…

Eighty-two percent of public school teachers teach in classrooms that include students with disabilities. Yet some research has suggested that many teachers feel ill-prepared to implement standards-based reform in heterogeneous learning environments. In a national survey of 400 general education teachers, less than half (37%) reported that they…

This executive summary presents findings from the Year 3 evaluation of Texas' state-level Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs, or GEAR UP, grant. GEAR UP grant requirements include an evaluation component designed to assess program effectiveness and to measure progress toward project goals. To this end, the evaluation…

The "Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006" ("Perkins IV" or "Perkins") requires states to report to the Department of Education each year on their progress in achieving their adjusted performance levels--negotiated with and approved by the Department--on the core indicators of performance (core…

To succeed in college, career and life in the 21st century, students must be supported in mastering both content and skills. This Implementation Guide presents state leaders, policymakers and/or district and school leaders with assessment tactics and examples to assist in statewide 21st century skills initiatives. The Partnership for 21st Century…

Degrees in technical and further education (TAFE) are relatively new, but are likely to grow as a consequence of government policies that both seek to increase the percentage of Australians holding a bachelor degree and create a more unified tertiary education sector. There are ten TAFE institutes authorised to offer higher education in five…

As professionals, arts education teachers must model ethical use both when working with students and when preparing materials for classroom use. This document provides arts educators with guiding principles for managing a classroom where they both model and teach appropriate, ethical behavior, in adherence to copyright policy, legislation, and the…

This guidance offers a renewed vision for the use of the schoolwide program, both as a reform strategy and as a means of realizing the high standards for student achievement envisioned by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB). It is intended to be used as a companion document to the statute and regulations, as well as a technical assistance…

Title I, Part A, of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) provides financial assistance through State Educational Agencies (SEAs) to Local Educational Agencies (LEAs or school districts) and public schools with high numbers or percentages of disadvantaged children to help ensure that all children meet challenging state academic content and student…

This study offers systematic trend analyses of NAEP national and state-level public school fourth and eighth graders' reading and math achievement results during pre-NCLB (1990-2001) and post-NCLB (2002-2005) periods. It compares post-NCLB trends in reading and math achievement with pre-NCLB trends among different racial and socioeconomic groups…

An era of high-stakes testing and accountability may be producing classroom conditions that undermine student learning. When teachers must focus their energies on preparing students for the test, they have less time to get to know students personally or make them feel valued, respected, and supported. The author reviews research showing that…

In this article, the author describes how the California's lowest-achieving schools are routinely visited by inspectors on the lookout for, among other things, inadequate textbook supplies, dirty drinking water, and evidence of vermin. Following the settlement from the case "Williams v. California," the laws known as the "Williams…

Many principals and teachers have concluded that high-stakes testing, particularly the kind of high-stakes testing which has been mandated by the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act, is doing grave damage to education and to the lives of children. Parents and other community members likewise worry about the consequences of schools focusing on test…

For the 2003-04 school year, 73% of Florida schools were identified as in need of improvement under criteria of the "No Child Left Behind" (NCLB) Act, President Bush's 2001 renewal of President Lyndon B. Johnson's Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. One year later, that figure had been cut almost in half, to 37.4%. California…

Standards-based assessments were prescribed as the cure for the poor accountability of public schools. Billions of dollars have been spent on curricula, tests, and scoring rubrics so that federal and state agencies can rank schools in terms of student achievement. Over the past twenty years, standards-based education has become the defacto, only…