The number of children attending state-funded early childhood education (ECE) programs, centers, or school-based preschool programs has increased over the last two decades and continues to rise steadily. These ECE programs use play as the main learning tool for their young students. Research illustrates the many benefits of using play as a…

In their plans to carry out the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), states universally recognize what New Leaders has long known: "leadership changes everything." In fact, every single state has committed to directing some portion of its federal funding into investments in leadership--from teacher leaders to principals and…

High-stakes, standardized testing plays an important role in the lives of many students as they apply to college and compete for scholarships. In states where college readiness measures, like the ACT® test, are used for school and district accountability, the ACT scores of all students, whether college-bound or not, are a top priority for school…

The purpose of this mixed-method design study is to evaluate how well the Maryland Task Force on the Principalship recommendations have been implemented throughout the state of Maryland. The study examines Maryland principal perceptions as to whether or not the Task Force recommendations have been implemented in their county school districts. The…

An overview of the 1988-89 pilot study and 1989-90 field test for the Georgia Media Specialist Evaluation Program is provided. Development of an annual evaluation program for media specialists began in 1987 with the formation of an advisory committee of media specialists, administrators, university personnel, and Georgia Education Department…

The purpose of this study was to determine whether Florida elementary school administrators believe the state's testing program is taking public schools in the right direction. Questionnaire responses from principals and assistant principals show that the majority of administrators believe the testing program is not taking schools in the right…

The district-level implementation of a systemic educational change in teacher evaluation mandated at the state level was studied at the elementary and middle school level in a small rural school system. The historical background of teacher evaluation processes from early American schooling to the 1909s was studied. The pilot case study then…