The word "rights" often conjures up emotions and images and a sense of entitlement. The word "rights" might be preceded with other words such as "civil," "constitutional," or "human." Merriam-Webster defines a right as "something to which one has a just claim: as the power or privilege to…

The author reports on the U.S. Department of Education's "What Works Clearinghouse" that goes beyond "gold standard" research and sets standards for accepting other types of studies. As part of the Institute of Education Sciences' push to make research more relevant to educators, the federal clearinghouse has devised standards by which it can…

The first public draft of grade-by-grade common standards was released last week to a mix of praise and skepticism, illustrating both the mounting consensus that the country needs to set higher expectations for all students and the many problems that complicate their adoption. An earlier standards document, released last fall, outlined a set of…

Standard setting is a systematic process that uses a combination of judgmental and empirical procedures to make recommendations about where on the score continuum "cut scores" should be placed. Cut scores divide the score scale into categories consistent with the descriptions of student performance associated with multiple levels of achievement.…

Drawing on our five years of experience developing WWC evidence standards and reviewing studies against those standards as well as current literature on the design of impact studies, we highlight in this paper some of the most critical issues and common pitfalls in designing and conducting impact studies in education, and provide practical…

In their last column, the authors described a Gold Standard School--a place in which all children thrive including the gifted and talented. The Checklist for a Gold Standard School, which is included in this article, highlights the main characteristics of such a school including a focus on continuous progress, talent development, policies that…

The primary users of the current college ranking systems do not seem to be high-school students and families, but college presidents, board members, and development officers. As structured, the commercial ranking systems imply a precision that is not corroborated by research on what matters in college, nor can college quality be accurately summed…

Plans by the National Council on Teacher Quality to rate all teacher preparation programs in the country and publish the results in "U.S. News & World Report" have been met with concern and skepticism, but also gained some converts. Proponents say the effort can only help teachers' colleges improve, while detractors say the methods and research…

To ensure optimal standards for AAFCS program accreditation, the Council for Accreditation (CFA) conducted a review and revision of the "2001 AAFCS Standards for Accreditation." The CFA took a three-pronged approach including (a) a review of academic accreditations that had relationships to the FCS disciplines, (b) concept, content, and process…

The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) represent the first time that nearly every state has set common expectations for what students should know and be able to do. In the past, each state set its own standards, and the results varied widely. And while states collectively developed these common standards, decisions about the curriculum and…

This issue of "Indoor Air Quality Tools for Schools" Update ("IAQ TfS" Update) contains the following items: (1) News and Events; (2) IAQ Profile: Establishing Your Baseline for Long-Term Success (Feature Article); (3) Insight into Excellence: Belleville Township High School District #201, 2009 Leadership Award Winner; and (4) Have Your Questions…

The new "Standards for the 21st-Century Learner IN ACTION", presented like a colorful flowchart, was previewed without fanfare at the annual Midwinter meeting of the American Library Association in Denver, Colorado, in January (American Library Association 2009). This new publication does a good job in further defining the student…

The European Qualification Framework (EQF) is intended to transform European national qualification frameworks (NQFs) by moulding them into a learning outcomes framework. Currently adopted as an enabling law by the European Union, the EQF has now operated for several years. In order to secure widespread adoption, however, it will be necessary for…

This article discusses the Malaysian Qualifications Framework (MQF). An observation about the MQF is that in the particular context of developments in Malaysian education and training and its economic and social context, all roads have led to standards and quality assurance. This is the view expressed by the Malaysian Qualifications Agency (MQA)…

The publication of "Standards for Technological Literacy: Content for the Study of Technology" (ITEA/ITEEA, 2000/2002/2007) represented a major step forward in identifying the educational components necessary for life in a technological world. But this list of standards, though substantial, does not clearly identify the components that are most…