This study examines why 51 schools declined an invitation to participate in a state-funded educator incentive initiative, the Texas Educator Excellence Grant (TEEG) program. Using data from an ongoing evaluation of the TEEG program conducted by the National Center on Performance Incentives (NCPI) under contract with Texas Education Agency, this…

Time limits on benefit receipt became a central feature of federal welfare policy in the 1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA). Proponents of welfare reform argued that the time limits in the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program, would send a firm message to recipients that welfare is…

This research brief examines the challenges and opportunities presented in evaluating whether an intervention achieves defined goals of increasing students' educational attainment, employment, and earnings after high school. The report concludes that evaluations should: (1) Distinguish between gross outcomes (such as how many young people attend…

The Center's policy and practice analyses have shone a light on how school improvement efforts deal with the various factors interfering with students having an equal opportunity to succeed at school. Unfortunately, the picture that has emerged is rather bleak. Given the continuing difficulties related to reducing dropout rates and closing the…

Pedagogical and scholarly representations of collaborative writing and knowledge construction in technical communication have traditionally recognized consensus as the logical outcome of collaborative work, even as scholars and teachers have acknowledged the value of conflict and "dissensus" in the process of collaborative knowledge…

Managing the design and production of online courses is challenging. Insufficient instructional design and inefficient management often lead to issues such as poor course quality and course delivery delays. In an effort to facilitate, streamline, and improve the overall design and production of online courses, this article discusses how we…

Campus students are most likely to confide with other students (Brownson, 2007). Thus, the student peer program's rationale is that it is a vital component of our campus suicide prevention project's purpose to early identify at-risk students, engage at-risk students, and utilize appropriate helping interventions (may include referral to the…

This study investigated the role of the amount, content, and implementation of reading instruction provided by 17 kindergarten teachers in eight "Reading First" elementary schools as it related to students' progress (n = 286 students) on early reading assessments of phonological awareness and letter naming-decoding fluency. Children's…

The study explores the consequences, for participating schools, of the implementation of a system for the identification and selection of academically talented students, in the context of an extracurricular enrichment program operating at Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile. The participants were 73 students, 50 teachers, and seven members of…

This article describes the regional impetus to early childhood curriculum development in Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries and discusses its prospects for effective implementation. The historical context in which pre-school education has evolved is outlined. Regional research evidence for the enrichment of early childhood experience and for…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the introduction of a quality assurance system in a new, private university in Syria, and considers the extent to which the theoretical model based on institutional theory and isomorphism is reflected in practice. Design/methodology/approach: A five year longitudinal study which reviews the design,…

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 has become an increasingly important mechanism in providing services to students with disabilities in public schools. Because Section 504 is a civil rights law, responsibility for its implementation involves a range of school-based professionals, including administrators, general education teachers,…

The surge of high-stakes testing and accountability has been felt in Texas and all across the country. Every state is demanding to some degree or another that administrators and teachers increase their workload, alter their teaching, rearrange the curriculum, adjust professional development, and implement improvement programs in order to raise…

This article reports on a faculty development model that uses a variety of approaches and strategies to help faculty restructure their curricula and effectively model technology integration for their students. A multifaceted model, funded in part by the "Preparing Tomorrow's Teachers to Use Technology" (PT3) initiative, was implemented…

The idea that formative assessments embedded in a curriculum could help guide teachers toward better instructional practices that lead to greater student learning has taken center stage in science assessment research. In order to embed formative assessments in a curriculum, curriculum developers and assessment specialists should collaborate to…