This report has a simple aim: to present results from international assessments so readers can judge for themselves how American students stack up globally. It's intended to be a stand-alone supplement to the "Education Olympics" web event held between August 8th and August 22nd, 2008 (see edolympics.net). It shows how the U.S. has…

Math experts developed Formative Assessment Lessons that teachers can incorporate throughout the year's curriculum. Both tools target the "instructional core." A study by Research for Action (RFA) examining the first year of piloting the Literacy Design Collaborative (LDC) and Math Design Collaborative (MDC) tools (2010-11) found…

The American Association of Community Colleges' (AACC) Plus 50 Initiative is a three-year initiative 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 initiative focuses on three types of…

The Teacher Advancement Program (TAP) was developed in the late 1990s by the Milken Family Foundation as a schoolwide policy to improve schools by raising teacher quality. Under the TAP model, teachers can earn extra pay and responsibilities through promotion to Mentor or Master Teacher and can earn annual performance bonuses based on a…

In 1998, Congress authorized the School Breakfast Program Pilot Project (SBPP) to study the implementation and effects of providing universal free school breakfast in six school districts across the United States. For three years, from School Year (SY) 2000-2001 through SY 2002-2003, these six school districts received federal funds to offer…

This is the first report using the policies and procedures adopted by the Maryland Higher Education Commission on September 23, 2003. The report provides a list of academic degree programs that have been identified as low producing based on a single criterion of degree production. The programs are identified by the Maryland Higher Education…

This is the fifth and final report of a longitudinal study examining the use of a comprehensive system of prevention and early intervention services in Palm Beach County, and how its use relates to the outcomes of children and families living in four targeted geographic areas (TGAs) with high rates of poverty, teen pregnancy, crime, and child…

Scholastic's "System 44" is a foundational reading program intended for older struggling readers who have not mastered basic phonics and decoding skills. Combining researched-based phonics instruction with adaptive technology, "System 44" is designed to improve students' word reading accuracy, fluency, and comprehension. The…

Throughout the history of publicly-funded voucher programs--enacted and proposed--the impact on taxpayers has been a recurring issue. As the nation's longest-running program, the Milwaukee Parent Choice Program (MPCP) provides an important case study. The fiscal impact of Milwaukee's program has evolved in very significant ways over its 18-year…

The Indiana General Assembly passed charter school enabling legislation in 2001, and the first charter schools opened their doors for the 2002-03 school year. As of fall 2008, 49 charter schools are operating in Indiana. A total of 17 of these schools are sponsored by the City of Indianapolis, Office of the Mayor, 29 schools are sponsored by…

State education departments, in discussions with Regional Educational Laboratory (REL) Southeast, identified low reading achievement as a critical issue for their students and expressed an interest in identifying effective strategies to promote the foundational skills in young students that might improve reading achievement. The Mississippi…

This report is California's response to the four questions that the United States Department of Education (USDE), Division of Adult Education and Literacy, requires of all states and territories receiving federal funding from the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act (AEFLA), Title II of the Workforce Investment Act (WIA). The questions…

Although Missouri has had a Career Ladder program for teachers since 1987, very little research has been carried out to measure the program's effects and what has been studied has not been comprehensive. This paper examines the program's effect on student achievement across the state, using longitudinal data on district math and reading scores for…

This report describes clients who were served by the Washington State Department of Social Health Services (DSHS) from July, 1991, through June, 1992. The 1992 Washington State Legislative District Boundaries were used. The report provides data on the following: (1) how many unduplicated clients from each Legislative District used each division…

The purpose of the study was to determine the longitudinal effects of a Title I reading component on students in grades two through five from 1976 through 1980. The following questions were considered in the analysis of performance among reading participants: (1) Do the same students remain in Title I year after year? (2) Do students who…