In response to the school accountability movement and the move toward market-oriented education policies in recent decades, many schools and districts have felt increased pressure to find effective ways to boost student achievement. However, many districts--largely those serving low income black and hispanic students in urban settings--have still…

This report synthesizes what research says works in improving teacher skills and knowledge, what nations that outperform the United States in education are doing, and provides an analysis of newly available data from the federal Schools and Staffing Survey and other sources to indicate where the nation stands in building the capacity of educators…

There have been major improvements in public education since the early 1980s, when the nation started focusing seriously on school reform, and informed citizens need to be aware of these positive trends. This booklet highlights important improvements in public education over the past 15-20 years, along with positive data about the state of public…

Until now, the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) has focused everyone's attention on reading and math--and on whether schools are making "adequate yearly progress" in those two core subjects. Although some states incorporate additional subjects into their own accountability systems, reading and math have dominated most discussions of state…

A longitudinal analysis of the records of performance of cohorts of minority and nonminority students in two different undergraduate settings was used to determine the predictive validity of admissions tests and school rank in determining long range and short range outcomes for college students. It was also hypothesized that the performance of…

This report summarizes experiences of the New York Networks for School Renewal (NYNSR), which developed school networks for mutual support and accountability and promoted small size, autonomy, personalization, and professional teaching communities. Researchers compared NYNSR outcomes to comparable outcomes for the New York City (NYC) school system…

This report analyzes the longitudinal effects of schoolwide Chapter 1 initiatives on student reading achievement in 40 elementary schools in a large urban school district. The analyses find that, compared to control students, first-graders in schoolwide projects showed no achievement effects, second-graders showed positive significant effects,…

Five years ago the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) launched a revolution in our education system by insisting that all students should be proficient in reading and math by 2014 and demanding comprehensive reforms to reach this national goal, including strong assessment and accountability systems, a highly qualified teacher in every classroom, more…

Many of the educational policy initiatives of state legislatures and state boards of education in the 1980s were aimed at improving the quality of elementary and secondary education through upgrading state standards. Researchers are analyzing the effects of reforms on education and many states have expanded their systems for assessing, monitoring,…

This document was designed to inform members of the policy, education, and research communities about existing state and institutional policies and practices associated with four accelerated learning programs: Advanced Placement (AP), dual/concurrent enrollment, the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Program, and Tech-Prep. This effort was…

This report focuses on the status of rural education and is intended to provide information to education researchers, policymakers at the federal and state levels, as well as others concerned about issues in rural education. Specifically, the goal is to increase federal policymakers' attention to rural education problems, promote improvements in…