Strength-based assessment of behaviors in preschool children provides evidence of emotional and behavioral skills in children, rather than focusing primarily on weaknesses identified by deficit-based assessments. The Preschool Behavioral and Emotional Rating Scales (PreBERS) is a normative assessment of emotional and behavioral strengths in…

Purpose/Objectives: The United States Department of Agriculture initiated its Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program (FFVP) in 2002. This study investigates the impact of the FFVP on children's fruit and vegetable consumption. Methods: Participants were fourth- and fifth- graders from two program schools (n = 124) and two control schools (n = 134) in…

The Race to the Top - Early Learning Challenge (RTT-ELC) program, authorized by Congress in 2011, is designed to improve the quality of early learning and development programs for children from birth through age 5. This discretionary grant program is administered jointly by the U.S. Departments of Education (ED) and Health and Human Services…

This Race to the Top - Early Learning Challenge (RTT-ELC) annual performance report for the year 2015 describes Wisconsin's accomplishments, lessons learned, challenges, and strategies Wisconsin will implement to address those challenges. During 2015, Wisconsin made significant progress implementing the programs and activities funded by the…

While Minnesota undergraduates are more likely to take out student loans, they are substantially less likely than their peers nationally to default on federal student loans. Fifty-four percent of Minnesota undergraduates took out student loans in 2007-2008, compared to 39 percent of undergraduates across the U.S. Minnesota undergraduates were also…

"The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001" (PL 107-110) established the Reading First Program (Title I, Part B, Subpart 1), a major federal initiative designed to help ensure that all children can read at or above grade level by the end of third grade. Reading First (RF) builds upon research indicating that effective reading instruction on…

Student loan default, defined as federal loan borrowers' failure to make any payments for at least 270 days, is an issue of increasing importance to community colleges and their students. This report takes a unique look at student loan default at nine community colleges across the nation, and how those colleges are working to help students avoid…

This Race to the Top - Early Learning Challenge (RTT-ELC) annual performance report for the year 2014 describes Wisconsin's accomplishments, lessons learned, challenges, and strategies Wisconsin will implement to address those challenges. During the second year of the Race to the Top - Early Learning Challenge (RTT-ELC) in Wisconsin, there have…

Like other states across the country, the seven states in the Midwest Region (Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin) have been striving to meet the performance targets established under the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001, the latest reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. The…

The U.S. Department of Education's Policy to Performance project was funded in 2009 to build the capacity of state adult basic education (ABE) staff to develop and implement policies and practices that would support an ABE transition system. Policy to Performance states were selected though a competitive process. State adult education directors…

In the United States, as public demands for quality teachers have escalated, there has been a corresponding increase in national policy efforts to tie the standards of student success to teacher preparation, licensing, and evaluation. This conceptual paper examines how national authorities used specific policy tools to usurp the state's…

Some schools make significant contributions to a child's growth and development with little to show on a standardized test, while other schools do little, with acceptable results on those same tests. This article describes how Lincoln Elementary School in Madison, Wisconsin, made creative use of resources to promote student achievement and meet…

The State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA) published a series of case studies from 28 states to showcase examples of how ARRA EETT ("American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 Enhancing Education Through Technology") grant funds have impacted teaching and learning. SETDA collected data for the case studies through…

The "Policy to Performance Toolkit" is designed to provide state adult education staff and key stakeholders with guidance and tools to use in developing, implementing, and monitoring state policies and their associated practices that support an effective state adult basic education (ABE) to postsecondary education and training transition…

This guide describes emerging social media practices among State education agencies and other governmental organizations and suggests key steps and considerations for those interested in using social media to advance education reform.