Successful discipline, improved school climates, and behavioral competence are integrally related to improving academic outcomes. This policy brief presents common discipline practices in schools and discuss current discipline data from Indiana. In addition, the report examines school-wide Positive Behavior Support (PBS), an alternative approach…

This article presents a two-round discussion that centered around the question: "How well has UNESCO framed its own proposed role in meeting Education for All objectives as well as the roles of other UN organizations, national governments, and civil society actors?" The participants reviewed the most recent draft of UNESCO's "Global Action Plan"…

Participation in school-choice programs has been increasing across the country since the early 1990s. While some have examined the role that families play in the school-choice process, research has largely ignored the role of social contexts in determining where a student attends school. This article improves on previous research by modeling the…

The current project brings together academic and governmental specialists from Cambodia, Laos, and Viet Nam (CLV), in a collaborative study of the prospects for distance education (DE) in those countries. The study's overall objectives are to: (1) survey and take stock of existing educational scenarios and problems in CLV; (2) document the…

Scotland and England now have systems of work-related higher education which differ from each other in important respects. While Scotland embarks on a process of modernising its existing system of Higher National Certificates and Diplomas, in England there has been a decisive shift away from this form of provision towards Foundation Degrees.…

The Philippine school system is considered as one of the largest in the world with 41,989 public elementary and secondary schools and 7790 private schools under the supervision and regulation of the Department of Education (DepEd Fact Sheet, 2005). This paper chronicles various decentralization initiatives carried out by the basic education sector…

Student learning in higher education is traditionally assessed and compared using institution statistics (e.g., graduation rate, students' entrance examinations scores and percent of students with jobs or plans to enter graduate or professional schools after graduation). This practice is no longer adequate to meet the needs of workforce…

Education research experts Eduventures released a report in February 2007 on where U.S. districts are headed with large system management. "Trends in K-12 Enterprise Management: Are Districts Ready to Cross the Chasm?" provides a detailed assessment of the themes and the trends that are driving the market for K-12 enterprise management systems.…

This paper defines Bayesian network models and examines their applications to IRT-based cognitive diagnostic modeling. These models are especially suited to building inference engines designed to be synchronous with the finer grained student models that arise in skills diagnostic assessment. Aspects of the theory and use of Bayesian network models…

The accuracy of achievement test score inferences largely depends on the sensitivity of scores to instruction focused on tested objectives. Sensitivity requirements are particularly challenging for standards-based assessments because a variety of plausible instructional differences across classrooms must be detected. For this study, we developed a…

The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) has greatly affected the current status of career and technical education (CTE). Since the implementation of NCLB, there has been increased course-taking in science, math, and the other traditional academic subjects by high school students in this country. Research shows that the consequence has been a loss of…

The Collegiate Learning Assessment (CLA) is a computer administered, open-ended (as opposed to multiple-choice) test of analytic reasoning, critical thinking, problem solving, and written communication skills. Because the CLA has been endorsed by several national higher education commissions, it has come under intense scrutiny by faculty members,…

A sense of number is now generally recognised as a central factor in learning, and later applying, mathematics. Consequently, number sense is increasingly emphasised in curriculum documentation related to mathematics. The "Primary School Curriculum: Mathematics," published by the Government of Ireland in 1999, is no exception. It…

This article analyses the new educational mandate for Latin America, exploring its repercussions on the design and development of certain educational policies. In particular, it concentrates both on the anti-poverty educational agenda (at a global level) and on targeted educational policies (at a regional, national and local level), analyzing, on…

This article compares the organization and practice of primary English language teaching in Norway and The Netherlands, considering the strengths and weaknesses of the respective systems. It is based on surveys carried out in each country. Several issues considered essential to the success of a primary EFL program are addressed, such as starting…