UNESCO established the UNESCO Global Network of Learning Cities (GNLC) to encourage the development of learning cities. By providing technical support, capacity development, and a platform where members can share ideas on policies and best practice, this international exchange network helps urban communities create thriving learning cities. The…

The "Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area" (ESG) were adopted by the Ministers responsible for higher education in 2005 following a proposal prepared by the European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ENQA) in cooperation with the European Students' Union (ESU), the…

Researchers at NIET [National Institute for Excellence in Teaching] and elsewhere continue to investigate the impact of TAP™: The System for Teacher and Student Advancement. This document summarizes three new studies and several new findings showcasing TAP's effectiveness at significantly raising student achievement, improving the quality of…

Extension agents and specialists have experienced increased pressure for greater program effectiveness and accountability and especially for evidence-based programs. This article builds on previously published evidence-based programming articles. It provides ideas that address three problems that Extension staff face with EBPs and that Extension…

The U.S. Department of Education's Policy to Performance project was funded in 2009 to build the capacity of state adult basic education (ABE) staff to develop and implement policies and practices that would support an ABE transition system. Policy to Performance states were selected though a competitive process. State adult education directors…

Since the mid-1990s, constituency building and advocacy for better public education have grown steadily in New York City. "Working Together to Achieve Greater Impact" explores how that growth was fueled by the Donors' Education Collaborative of New York, which pools its members' financial resources and expertise to advance shared…

"The Hard Truth" is a book written for principals and school administrators who want to implement effective change. The topics of the book candidly discuss the problems, people, and issues that get in the way of true school reform; and what building level principals can personally do attain the best possible outcomes.

The increasing ability of social policy researchers to conduct randomized controlled trials (RCTs) at low cost could revolutionize the field of performance-based government. RCTs are widely judged to be the most credible method of evaluating whether a social program is effective, overcoming the demonstrated inability of other, more common methods…

States are increasingly focused on understanding and improving teacher effectiveness. There are several funding opportunities that incentivize states to use data to inform measurements of teacher effectiveness. Local, state, and federal efforts support using data to improve teacher preparation programs. Preparation programs seek "access to data…

Based on end-of-year report cards, 70% of AISD pre-K students met expectations across all personal development areas in 2011-2012. [Funding for this report was provided by Title I funds. For "Issue 2: Tuition-Supported Program," see ED628766.]

Compared with other countries in Asia, Japan is far behind in terms of introducing and delivering bilingual education, let alone effective immersion programmes. In order to make its citizens more bilingual, Japan has been introducing innovative measures including the implementation of the teaching of English in elementary education and a new…

Community colleges are often viewed as the gateway to higher education as well as institutions that can rapidly prepare students to enter the workforce. Yet, in spite of widespread acclaim for their effectiveness and success, community colleges have done very little to garner volunteer and financial support from their alumni. Admittedly, many…

This paper describes and analyses the work of a large scale improvement project in England in order to find more effective ways of fostering equity within education systems. The project involved an approach based on an analysis of local context, and used processes of networking and collaboration in order to make better use of available expertise.…

Education for people with a disability has changed over the years, moving from a philosophy of integration to inclusion. This philosophy requires a whole school approach spanning issues such as access, opportunities for learning, social experiences and developing a culture of acceptance. While this poses many challenges for individuals, schools…

The federal program providing billions of dollars to help states and districts close or remake some of their worst-performing schools remains a work in progress after two years, with more than 1,200 turnaround efforts under way but still no definitive verdict on its effectiveness. The School Improvement Grant (SIG) program, supercharged by a…