The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has invested in the development and dissemination of high-quality instructional and formative assessment tools to support teachers' incorporation of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) into their classroom instruction. Lessons from the first generation of standards-based reforms suggest that intense…

The Plus 50 Initiative is a three-year initiative of the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC), launched in June 2008 and funded by The Atlantic Philanthropies. It was created to support a pilot group of two-year institutions to develop or expand campus programs that engage plus 50 learners. The overarching goal of the Plus 50…

District Awards for Teacher Excellence (D.A.T.E.) is a state-funded program in Texas that provides grants to districts for the implementation of locally-designed performance pay plans. All districts in the state are eligible to receive grants, but participation is voluntary. As D.A.T.E. continues in its second year of operation with approximately…

Tennessee Code Annotated 49-5-108 specifies that the State Board of Education "with the assistance of the department of education and the Tennessee higher education commission, shall develop a report card or assessment on the effectiveness of teacher training programs." The State Board is directed to "annually evaluate performance…

The math achievement of third and fourth grade special education students has been identified as an area of concern within a public school located in a small rural town located on the east coast. The purpose of this action research study was to investigate whether or not the Touch Math strategy increased the math ability of third and fourth grade…

The School Administration Manager (SAM) project, supported by The Wallace Foundation as part of its education initiative, focuses on changing the conditions in schools that prevent principals from devoting more time to instructional leadership. In schools participating in the National SAM Project, principals have made a commitment to increase the…

Each day in America, millions of kids go home to an empty house after school. In recent years, the growth of quality, affordable afterschool programs has begun to offer positive alternatives to the parents of these children. In 2009, the Afterschool Alliance contracted with RTi, a market research firm, to conduct a household survey of nearly…

Based on literature and research on discussion and on educational techniques to improve discussion moderators behaviors, a training program was developed for pre- and in-service teacher educators, business and industry executives and university professors (23 to 28 hours, three and a half days). This program was tested for its effectiveness with…

This chartbook uses the 2007 National Survey of Children's Health (NSCH) to report on recent findings on children with special health care needs (CSHCN) in the United States. The NSCH provides a unique view of CSHCN in the context of where they live, play and go to school. It also allows comparisons to children without special health care needs.…

American Institutes for Research (AIR) conducted an external evaluation of Vermont's Ed-Tech Program from January 2010-June 2011. The purpose of the evaluation was to provide feedback on the implementation and outcomes of the competitive grant programs that were active during this time. The findings of the evaluation are intended to help VTDOE…

This report summarizes findings from a two-year study of Chicago's Excellence in Teaching Pilot, which was designed to drive instructional improvement by providing teachers with evidence-based feedback on their strengths and weaknesses. The pilot consisted of training and support for principals and teachers, principal observations of teaching…

In the "Higher Education Opportunity Act" of 2008, Congress charged the Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance with conducting a review and analysis of regulations affecting higher education to determine the extent to which regulations are overly burdensome and need to be streamlined, improved, or eliminated. Specifically, Congress…

The Office of Head Start/Region 11 serves nearly 23,000 American Indian/Alaska Native (AIAN) children in 26 States throughout the country: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina,…

This report presents findings from the Enhanced Reading Opportunities (ERO) study, a demonstration and evaluation of two supplemental literacy programs that aim to improve the reading comprehension skills and school performance of struggling ninth-grade readers. The report, which is the second of three, focuses on the second of two cohorts of…

This is the final report of the National Evaluation of Student Support Services (SSS). SSS is one of eight federally funded grant programs that are administered as part of the Federal TRIO Programs within the U.S. Department of Education (ED). The SSS program, in particular, focuses on students while they are enrolled in college. In general, SSS…