This resource was prepared in response to a request for examples of developmental screening activities in Early Learning Challenge (ELC) States. This information will be helpful to States as they consider how to identify and address health, behavioral, and developmental needs of children with high needs. To address this request, ELC TA reviewed…

The author has been working with colleagues Trudy Banta and Karen Black on a new Jossey-Bass book, "Designing Effective Assessment: Principles and Profiles of Good Practice," which focuses on assessment profiles from a variety of colleges and universities. These profiles also represent the spectrum of institutions from research…

While state leaders understand the value of professional development, they also need to consider the costs. Such costs are some of the most difficult to calculate. If state leaders are going to pony up for improving the instructional skills of teachers and principals, they want to know that their dollars are well-spent. The same can be said for…

The overrepresentation of the Black and Hispanic subgroups in suspension data is a national problem and a troubling issue for schools and school systems across the United States. In Maryland, an analysis of student suspensions by school districts for the 2006-2007 school year revealed disproportionality issues. In 23 of the 24 jurisdictions,…

An overview is presented of the beginning teacher program in the Frederick County (Maryland) schools. The focus of the program is on three concerns: (1) the problems of beginning teachers as perceived by themselves and others; (2) the kinds of support efforts that presently exist; and (3) implications for the future development of support programs…

This is the third of three volumes that constitute the final evaluation report of Project STAR (State Technical Assistance Resources), an undertaking of the Maryland State Department of Education designed to help 36 elementary schools improve their reading programs. This volume is the project handbook and contains information concerning the…

A report is given of a study conducted on the nature and extent of support that local school systems in Maryland currently provide to new teachers. The study had two components: a statewide survey and case studies of promising programs. The survey polled Associate or Assistant Superintendents of Instruction in 23 of Maryland's 24 county school…

For the past 18 months, a middle school in Bowie, Maryland, has been enthusiastically committed to change. Teachers have become catalysts, realizing they possessed the skills and abilities to remedy schooling problems. They confronted school failure through school-based management, self-actualizing activities, staff development, and professional…

Action science is a communication technique that staff developers can use to increase interpersonal competence and problem-solving skills in schools engaged in the process of school transformation. An example of the action science intervention at a Maryland elementary school is presented. (SM)

National Staff Development Council (NSDC) standards guide the development of new staff-development programs in Maryland, and they have provided the framework that guides Maryland's teacher-training efforts. This article offers details on the NSDC standards and discusses how Maryland is making use of them. (SM)

Maryland's decade of experience in providing programs for gifted and talented students indicates that response to the needs of such students has been strongest when federal, state, and local policy and financial commitments were complementary. The notion that federal financial support is not necessary and may even be counterproductive is…

The Community Integration Project (CIP) was an outreach project implemented in four Virginia and Maryland school districts to support the inclusion of children with disabilities and their families in school and community early childhood programs. The project focused on the sharing of resources between local education agencies and school and/or…

This guidebook offers seven case studies of effective programs that have helped new teachers in Maryland. An overview lists the seven programs and summarizes the themes that emerged across the case studies. The descriptions provide information about program background and content, staffing and resource requirements, an assessment of the impact…

This paper describes the Rural Teaching Effectiveness Network, created to overcome difficulties associated with offering staff development experiences in rural Maryland. The long distances often required to attend staff development activities can discourage rural teachers' commitment. Similar problems exist in creating standards of professional…

This paper explores challenges and successes of efforts to improve instruction or classroom effectiveness. Policymakers' assumptions, perspectives, and decisions are reviewed and results presented from several studies of instructional improvement activities conducted in Maryland between 1978 and 1985. These activities included Project Basic, a…