Charter schools today serve more than 3 million students. Nationally, these students account for approximately 6 percent of all K-12 enrollment, though the percentage is much higher in many communities. Research shows that charter schools on average have a positive impact on student outcomes, and survey data suggest that there are an additional…

This brief explores the costs of developing and implementing Student Learning Objectives (SLOs) in order to help Teacher Incentive Fund (TIF) grantees interested in adopting SLOs anticipate and understand the costs of implementing them in a district or school. The brief focuses on the costs involved with the initial design and implementation of an…

The Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) launched the volunteer-led Asia-Pacific Alumni Relations Survey in 2014 to provide a resource for alumni relations professionals to benchmark performance internally and against fellow institutions of higher education. That was the first survey CASE has done on alumni relations programmes…

Performance funding--the linking of allocation of resources to accomplishment of certain desired outcomes--is an idea that is once again finding favor with policymakers. It has intuitive appeal; what's not to like about paying for results? While it is a notion that makes common sense to most decisionmakers, it is an idea with a very checkered…

In "Value-Added and Other Methods for Measuring School Performance: An Analysis of Performance Measurement Strategies in Teacher Incentive Fund Proposals"--a paper presented at the February 2008 National Center on Performance Incentives research to policy conference--Robert Meyer and Michael Christian examine select performance-pay plans…

In these days where "accountability" is the byword, organizations more and more frequently seek to evaluate their programs. They often hire outside evaluators to help them assess the effectiveness of their programs, to find out what works and what doesn't, and to determine what programmatic changes would be beneficial. ActKnowledge, a…

An overview of programs initiated by state governments shows considerable diversity in approach and methodology. Five major areas of activity include training, quality circles, health cost containment, incentive systems, and employee appreciation activities. Problems reviewed in this article include limitations in program scope, degrees of support…

This report was prepared in compliance with Chapter 4, Article 2.3 of the California Education Code. Section 48644.3 directs the State Department of Education to evaluate the increase in availability of opportunity classes and programs in grades 7 through 9. The report has four sections. Section I, Introduction, chronicles events prior to…

Research and the lessons of practical experience suggest that successful interdisciplinary programs share a few key beliefs about teaching and learning. Important ingredients include time to plan, implement, and evaluate as a team; adequate resources; incentives for participants; talented and committed teachers; and patience and flexibility to…

The potential roles of department heads, deans, and faculty development directors in guiding and monitoring the effective delivery of faculty incentives are outlined, and key factors in facilitating and inhibiting vitality and signs of increased vitality are listed. (MSE)

This monograph reports on a year-long critical appraisal of two of New Jersey's recent initiatives to improve the teaching profession: the Provisional Teacher Program and the Academy for the Advancement of Teaching and Management. The intent of the study was to assay whether the practical results of these initiatives are experienced as beneficial…

Two innovative projects at the University of Utrecht, women's studies and the management and policy program, and the role of incentives in these particular cases are evaluated. Problems with innovation and decision making, entrepreneurial innovation and the planning process, and the organization of innovative projects are discussed. (Author/MLW)

Teachers and administrators from three rural impoverished school districts in South Carolina, together with consultants and the principal investigator from Clemson University, identified seven requisite qualities of teachers: knowledge, instructional management, classroom management, communications skills, planning ability, professional qualities,…

This collection assembles some of the most important works from the writings of Robert E. Slavin and presents them in individual chapters with introductions and commentary to set them in context. The works cited give educators and educational researchers a single source for the most important work of Slavin and his colleagues. The first section,…

Since the announcement in 1999 of a plan to tie teachers' salary increases to student achievement by Denver Public Schools, there has been a flood of nationwide policy activity around teacher compensation. This paper examines pay plans in Denver, Toledo, Minneapolis, and New York City, offering a snapshot of the changing landscape of teacher…