The "Local Technology Plan Guidelines" serve as the basis for the Department's annual technology data collection. This report takes a look at the data submitted by 344 school districts, examining the progress Massachusetts school districts are making in meeting the recommended guidelines. In doing so, it will gauge the degree to which…

To address the economic crisis facing the country, the President signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) into law on February 17, 2009. This sweeping legislation provides $789 billion to jumpstart the economy and boost employment. This act includes $463 billion in new spending and $326 billion in tax relief directed at those…

The overarching goals of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009 are to immediately stimulate the economy in the short term and to invest in education and other essential public services that will ensure the long-term economic health of this nation. The United States Education Department (USED) offers guiding principles to be…

The purpose of this document is to describe the US ED growth model pilot program from its inception to the point at which the program was no longer a pilot and was opened up to all states. In addition, the paper is designed to help states in the process of planning to submit a growth model proposal. The information in this document is mostly…

This article discusses the recent changes to the Higher Education Opportunities Act (HEOA), P.L. 110-315, which have resulted in providing greater access to college programs to students with intellectual disabilities (ID). Prior to the amendments to HEOA, only students who were enrolled full time in a degree bearing program were eligible to…

The author analyzes the growth and nature of internal evaluation from the 1960s to the present and suggests that internal evaluation has been on the increase because of its perceived importance. Although the 1960s were characterized by a rich intellectual development of evaluation theory and practice, the fiscal conservatism of the 1980s ushered…

The "cyberinfrastucture" is a broad informational network that entails connections to real-time data sensors as well as tools that permit visualization and other forms of analysis, and that facilitates access to vast scientific databases. This multifaceted network, already a major boon to scientific discovery, now shows exceptional promise in…

Formerly "Educators Resource Directory," Educators "Resource Guide" is designed to provide educators, administrators, and other education professionals with immediate access to a unique combination of educational resources, along with important educational statistics and rankings. "Educators Resource Guide" includes…

In the five years since the first National Education Policy Center (NEPC) "Annual Report on Virtual Education" was released in 2013, virtual education has continued to be a focal point for policymakers. Proponents argue that virtual education can expand student choices and improve the efficiency of public education. In particular,…

A study was conducted in a large Head Start organization that serves large numbers of Latino children in order to empirically describe the nature and quality of the classroom language learning environment. By observing 147 literacy-based lessons in 6 classrooms and surveying 167 teachers throughout the organization, we investigated the amount of…

In February 2014, the Tennessee State Board of Education (SBE) requested that the Appalachia Regional Comprehensive Center (ARCC) provide assistance to the SBE's Basic Education Program (BEP) Review Committee. The SBE requested additional information on the use and effectiveness of market-based teacher compensation and market-based incentives by…

As the number of English learners continues to grow faster than that of any other group in the nation's public schools, concerns are mounting that the distinctive needs of those students and the educators who work with them are receiving diminishing attention from the U.S. Department of Education. Even as the federal government spends roughly $750…

The purpose of this study is to develop an estimate of Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) that will allow for reliable and valid comparisons among student subgroups, schools, and districts. A shrinkage-type estimator of AYP using the Bayesian framework is described. Using simulated data, the performance of the Bayes estimator will be compared to…

Since its ratification (NCLB) has received both praise and criticism from educators and parents. The No Child Left Behind Act is a reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act that was passed in 1965. The purpose of this article is to discuss the pros & cons of "No Child Left Behind" and the core requirements for its…

This brief provides a snapshot of the rules governing classroom observations used in teacher evaluations in selected Race to the Top grantees. The information was collected in response to a technical assistance request to the Reform Support Network (RSN) from Georgia, where education leaders charged with designing that State's teacher evaluation…