Teacher quality is the single most important lever schools have for raising student achievement. A substantial body of research indicates that new teachers are less able than their more experienced colleagues to help students fulfill their academic potential. Yet in many school districts--particularly those in urban settings--as many as half of…

This purpose of this report is to examine the role of after school and summer learning programs in supporting student success and to help bridge the divide between out-of-school time programs and schools by offering research-derived principles for effective expanded learning partnership efforts. Discussion points include: (1) Benefits of expanded…

In 2005, all 50 state governors made an unprecedented commitment to voluntarily implement a common, more reliable formula for calculating their states' high school graduation rates by signing the National Governors Association (NGA) Graduation Counts Compact. Four years later, progress is steady. Twenty states now report that they use the Compact…

Reading First, the largest and most ambitious beginning reading initiative funded by the United States Department of Education, is entering its sixth and final year in Georgia. The author currently serves as a coordinator for the project as well as serve as a Regional Consultant to six schools near my home in South Georgia. She is one of fourteen…

The disproportional representation of culturally, linguistically, and ethnically diverse and low-income students in special education and gifted and talented programs has been a persistent issue for many decades. It has been a long standing trend that the percentage of minority students constituting special education programs exceeds their…

Response to Intervention (RtI) offers a comprehensive model for the prevention of delays in learning and behavior. While this problem-solving framework was initially designed for application within Kindergarten to 12th grade programs, there is substantial research that supports the value of the model for application within early childhood…

This article describes the Ethics and Citizenship Program, a moral education project developed by the Brazilian government to promote education in ethics and citizenship in Brazilian fundamental and middle schools through four key themes: ethics, democratic coexistence, human rights and social inclusion. Some findings from a research project that…

Schools are expected to lead in physical activity promotion for youths. Specifically, physical educators are being asked to take on the role of the school physical activity director (PAD) and implement a comprehensive school physical activity program (CSPAP). Quality physical education, classroom-based physical activity, recess and other activity…

Vocational education and training (VET) can contribute to the attainment of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals. A key to economic and social progress is the training of better-qualified individuals and skilled enterprise staff who will be more productive, improving goods, increasing incomes and adapting to changing markets. Experts…

This article describes one teacher's efforts at creating a differentiated mathematics program in her multi-age first- and second-grade classroom. The author describes challenges encountered and successes met in this process, as well as the structures she uses to meet a variety of student abilities, including open-ended problem-solving tasks,…

Many studies have been conducted on the internationalization of higher education. Yet little is known about institutional plans for internationalization. This article presents the results of a study conducted with the American Council on Education's Center for International Initiatives on the types, prevalence, development, implementation, and…

In moving health and social service programs from planning into action, it is essential to understand the extent to which the knowledge gained from research should influence the actions taken by organizations and agencies that provide services (e.g., government, nongovernment organizations [NGOs]). The complexity of the challenges in translating…

This article describes key elements for faculty development programs to prepare mathematics teachers for technology-rich environments. We offer practical examples from our experiences in teaching mathematics with technology and in teaching others to incorporate technology-based pedagogies. We address challenges faced by faculty using technology,…

The Clinical Practice Assessment System (CPAS), developed in response to teacher preparation program accreditation requirements, represents a paradigm shift of one university toward data-based decision-making in teacher education programs. The new assessment system is a scale aligned with INTASC Standards, which allows for observation and…

The professional accreditation agencies are making demands for assessment of student learning. These demands are not expected to lessen in the near future. The accreditation agencies are suggesting that educators should shift their focus from what faculty teach to what students learn. The authors show the development and implementation of an…