Quality Counts 2010 is the 14th edition of "Education Week's" annual report card on American public education as viewed through the lens of the states' education policies and outcomes. As in the past, this year's edition is built on twin foundations: (1) the detailed data collection and analysis of the Editorial Projects in Education…

Alternate assessments of modified academic achievement standards (AA-MAS) must be designed, developed, implemented, and validated following the same rigorous principles and procedures used for other assessments. However, the uniqueness and unfamiliarity of the target population for these assessments requires innovative thinking, especially in…

In this article, we examined the development of the Interstate School Leadership Licensure Consortium/Educational Leadership Constituent Council Standards. Along with this examination, studies and researchers' viewpoints that supported these standards as well as studies and researchers' viewpoints that were critical of these standards were…

Drawing on historical research, this paper draws attention to Dewey's oft-neglected, but no less brilliant work published in 1929, The Sources of a Science of Education. Dewey's critique of efforts in his day to seek "quick-fixes" to practical educational and curricular issues by employing premature scientific investigations and findings has…

Alternative education has its own history. Having emerged in the sixties as a response to the social crisis, its goal was primarily to fight increasing bureaucracy and the depersonalization of public education by giving students more freedom and minimal adult supervision. In the eighties, the understanding of "alternative education" narrowed to…

The author, chair of the Joint Committee on Standards for Educational Evaluation, compares the Evaluation Research Society (ERS) and Joint Committee Standards and proposes that ERS and the Joint Committee consider merging their standard-setting efforts. (Author/LC)

When the author and her colleagues work on goal setting at Greenfield Center School (GCS), they have a practice of showing what the relationships, interaction, teaching practices, and evidence of learning look and sound like. Making theory more concrete helps them all to envision the work ahead. In 2006, a group of elementary level Essential…

The February 2002 Council of Europe seminar on "Civic Education Policy and Standards Setting in the Russian Federation" is the second seminar devoted to these issues. The first seminar was held in December 2000. The main objectives were to introduce European work in civic education, particularly that of Romania and Ireland, and to draft…

While it is often argued that technology could act as a change agent and transform educational practices, individuals, communities, government and society holding their own ideological beliefs limit such a liberalisation of the educational system. To show that the use of educational technology is part of a dialectical struggle this article…

States that standard scores are the numerical universal language for reporting and comparisons. Discusses what standard scores are, specifically, and why they are used, along with how the conversion assessment of raw scores to standard scores is accomplished. Provides contact information for those who would like to further their knowledge on the…

For students to compete in the 21st-century global economy, knowledge of and proficiency in mathematics are critical. Whether headed to college or to the workforce, today's high school graduates need solid mathematics skill. The National Mathematics Advisory Panel was created in 2006 and charged with reviewing the best available scientific…

At the present juncture, South Africa is one of the few countries that do not require a compulsory and specific qualification for principalship. This particular need has been part of a discussion among educational leaders for the past thirty to forty years. Despite all the laudable efforts to redesign the landscape of Educational Leadership and…

There is widespread agreement that theories of teaching, learning, and assessment should be consistent with a certain theory of learning, whether it be constructivism or some other theory. This paper describes the creation and development of the working draft of the assessment standards for school mathematics published by the National Council of…

A study was conducted to examine the attitudes of elementary, middle/junior high, and high school counselors toward the development of national standards for school counseling programs. An effort was also made to identify the components counselors thought should be included in the national standards. Input from leaders of the American School…

Defines four essential elements of a system of educational standards: (1) common, rigorous student achievement standards; (2) state-administered assessments; (3) explicit rewards for achievement; and (4) opportunity to reach the standards. Practices to ensure these conditions and enact a system based on these elements are discussed. (SLD)