Herein, we address the reformation of Ontario early learning. Over the next 3 years, all 4- and 5-year-olds in Ontario (Canada) will be able to attend full-day early learning with child care, before and after school provided by the Government of Ontario Ministry of Education. The benefits of such a change are both academic and societal and are…

U.S. educators and policymakers are concerned about the poor performance of the public schools, particularly schools that serve students from low-income families. Although education is primarily a state function, the federal government also has a longstanding interest in improving education for disadvantaged students, and it targets funding to…

The most recent federal effort to produce substantial improvement in student achievement scores, No Child Left Behind (NCLB), requires states and districts to ensure that all students are performing at proficient levels in reading and mathematics by the 2013-2014 school year. NCLB requires that each state and district have a single accountability…

In every state of the United States, efforts are under way to improve the way education is provided; however, no single reform strategy dominates. This document summarizes major statewide reforms under way in each of the 50 states. The impetus for reform, the driving agencies or institutions behind reform, as well as the intended results, vary…

Based on a study of how eight states have pursued educational reform, this booklet reviews new issues facing school finance as a result of the recent upsurge of interest in educational improvement. The booklet has four sections. The first section discusses changing state fiscal and political contexts within which reforms are being debated. Section…

Nearly every state is engaged in standards-based reform, as seen by the development of statewide academic goals and guidelines in core subjects and the subsequent new state tests that will measure students' progress toward achieving these goals. A Study Group on Statewide Assessment Systems formed by the National Association of State Boards of…

Summarizes the research on school effectiveness and identifies state policy implications followed by a discussion of current state education policies and their relationship to school effectiveness research. (MLF)

This document contains a brief summary of research on the Success for All comprehensive school reform program and the alignment document that outlines the correlation between Success for All and the objectives and outcomes described in the Stanford Achievement Test: Ninth Edition (SAT-9) as designed by Harcourt, Inc. Research has found Success for…

Based on data obtained from the state supervisors of foreign languages by the Joint National Committee for Languages, this brief report lists the threats that jeopardize the status of language programs in the United States. These include: budget constraints; the possibility of further minimizing the federal role in education; reversing the…

This report reviews the national educational reform movement of the 1980's, with particular attention directed to seven states: California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, South Carolina, Texas, and Washington. The first chapter provides background information on the educational reform movement. The second chapter focuses on the reform activities…

This paper summarizes what is known about the effects of Texas policies to raise academic standards, measure student performance, and impose consequences for results over the past decade. A careful review of the best available evidence shows that, while Texas has not yet achieved an education "miracle," the state has taken several steps…

This article describes progress made by states and U.S. territories in implementing the Part H program for handicapped infants and toddlers and the Section 619 preschool grants program, both authorized by the 1986 Amendments to the Education of the Handicapped Act. Challenges faced by states include financing, personnel supply and standards, and…

Offers a critical review of eight articles and two journal issues dealing with school indicators of student success or failure; state models for school improvement and accountability; teacher burnout as an outcome of paperwork burdens; the impact of reform efforts; class size; trends in educational evaluation; mastery testing; departmentalization…

This report provides an overview of selected state initiatives related to the training and supervision of paraeducators serving students with disabilities. The five states highlighted in the document were selected because of the significant work each has done in the area of paraeducators. In all five states, paraeducator initiatives began prior to…

School district use of state educational reform is reviewed. Active users want to and can respond positively. A dominant coalition, which believes it can set its own agenda and sees the reforms as ways of meeting its own ends, promotes willingness. Systems for managing key change functions/linkages are essential. (TJH)