Roughly seven years have passed since the majority of states adopted college- and career-readiness (CCR) standards. Some states adopted the Common Core State Standards while others adopted their own versions of CCR standards. Because teachers are the primary implementers of CCR standards, we wanted to understand the challenges they face in using…

Exceptional management skills are crucial to success in educational environments. As school leaders, principals are expected to effectively supervise the school system while facing a multitude of issues and demands. "Multidimensional Perspectives on Principal Leadership Effectiveness" combines best practices and the latest approaches in…

The National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC), in collaboration with the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC), and the Association for the Gifted (CEC-TAG), has developed national standards for teacher preparation programs in gifted and talented education. Typically, these programs are at the masters level, but they may also be endorsement…

With this document, the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) offers for public dialogue and comment a set of model core teaching standards that outline what teachers should know and be able to do to help all students reach the goal of being college- and career-ready in today's world. These standards are an update of the 1992 Interstate…

This document, a first "theme" issue of a projected quarterly publication on developments in gifted education, focuses on theoretical principles and practical suggestions concerning student identification for gifted programs in Texas. The first article, "Developing Defensible Identification Procedures," is by Tommie Sue…

This research examined component processes that contribute to performance on one of the new, standards-based reading tests that have become a staple in many states. Participants were 60 Grade 4 students randomly sampled from 7 classrooms in a rural school district. The particular test we studied employed a mixture of traditional (multiple-choice)…

This report analyzes how curriculum, especially current standards-based reform efforts relating to curriculum, are impacting students with disabilities in inclusive settings. Curriculum is defined as both the content and methods a teacher uses to plan and conduct a class. The issue brief contrasts two different high school social studies programs…

An effective educational reform plan creates a compelling vision, develops a new policy environment conducive to change, and lays out strategies for involving educators, parents, business people, and community members in implementation. Traditional educational policy is biased toward the status quo, favors yearly, incremental policy-making,…

This theme newsletter issue presents seven articles describing toddler behavior and development, services for toddlers, and toddlers with special needs. The first article, "Toddlers: Themes and Variations" (Lois Barclay Murphy and Colleen Small) focuses on variations in toddler development, noting emerging skills, language, and the caregiver role.…

The purpose of this study was to determine the extent that the Georgia Quality Core Curriculum (QCC) employability standards were included in the family and consumer sciences (FCS) curriculum. This study included 262 secondary teachers. Teachers were asked to indicate if in their teaching the employability standards were not an objective, an…

This almanac is intended for parents who are considering home schooling or who are already home schooling and want to expand and obtain more resources, and for non-home-schooling parents who want educational resources to supplement their child's education at home. Part 1 of the almanac presents background information into what home schooling is…