The recent passage of the Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015 (ESSA) is an historic opportunity for education leaders and funders to think broadly about innovation in terms of goals and accountability. This case examines two examples of states where responsible innovation regarding goals and accountability is long underway, with the support of…

This resource is part of a series of reports about challenges facing statewide science assessments and innovative solutions states are enacting to meet those challenges. Deciding to implement a system of assessments is a critical step toward ensuring that all students are getting the high-quality science education they need--but it is also…

Explore successful models of intervention. No Child Left Behind has set the high expectation that every child meet grade level expectations. This publication synthesizes the research on intervention programs and best practices related to mathematical instructional pedagogy and differentiation to assist teachers, schools, and school districts in…

Developing school leaders who are equipped with the knowledge, skills, and dispositions needed to effectively lead low-performing schools has become a critical goal for local school districts intent on dramatically improving student outcomes. Given the current criticism surrounding leadership preparation programs and the changing nature of school…

This article addresses the application of the assessment triangle developed by the National Research Council (Pellegrino, Chudowsky, & Glaser, 2001), most specifically the cognition vertex of that triangle, to the unique learning characteristics of students with significant cognitive disabilities in developing and demonstrating academic…

An essential task for the 1973-74 project was to expand and refine the totally integrated career education curriculum, K-12, in the Bowling Green, Kentucky school system. Called Project PEOPLE, it provided a teaching strategy that was student and teacher-oriented, with emphasis given to the development of self-awareness and exploration activities.…

Educational refinement is defined as attempts to improve education through incremental improvements in the existing structure, while educational reform refers to change in the structure itself. A strong move is underway to reform education in the United States. It is argued that the development of assessments in support of educational reform…

This report describes and compares the inclusive assessment and accountability systems of Maryland and Kentucky, with a focus on components, scoring methods, reporting practices, data use, participation of students with disabilities, testing accommodations, and implementation considerations (including cost and training issues). Maryland and…

Focuses on the Kentucky higher education accountability model, designed to provide a systematic evaluation of the quality and effectiveness of Kentucky's 14 community colleges. Offers coordinator perceptions of model's effectiveness. (YKH)

A model is presented for including student outcome measures on teacher evaluation systems when there are needs for both formative and summative evaluation data. The experiences of Kentucky and Georgia provided bases for the development of the dual purpose assessment model. Pilot tests in Kentucky and Georgia were specific to the top-down…

The National Consortium on Inclusive Schooling Practices (1996) developed a framework to analyze state and local policies and their effects on school inclusion. The framework focuses on standards-based systemic reform across six major policy areas: curriculum, student assessment, accountability, personnel development and professional training,…

In 1988 the Kentucky Supreme Court upheld a previous decision that the state public education system had failed to provide an efficient system of common schools. The Kentucky Educational Reform Act (KERA, 1990) came from this decision. This paper reviews the restructuring of a primary school under the KERA, focusing on one collaborative effort…