The National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) was commissioned by the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) to conduct a study of primary, secondary and special maintained schools in England to assess the use of data in teaching and learning. The study sought to identify how data is used to promote learning in primary, middle,…

This report presents the case-study findings from a cross-state investigation focused on Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee, intended to deepen understanding around the influence of high stakes accountability on teacher learning and the capacity of districts and schools to support instructional practices…

The process of accreditation review in the U.S. serves two primary functions: quality assurance and continual improvement. The experienced educators who voluntarily serve on accreditation teams apply common standards of quality that serve students and meet public accountability expectations and offer suggestions and recommendations for…

On April 5, 2005, the Georgetown Public Policy Institute released its first of several reports on the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program. The 100+ page report describes the characteristics of the initial group of participating students and their families and offers important first-year comparative data. Moreover, the report provides important…

Standards for Special Education, amended June 2004 requires school boards in Alberta to identify and deliver effective programming for students with special education needs in grades 1-12. It promotes consistent and enhanced quality of educational practice within the province, so that irrespective of location, students with special education needs…

This paper describes the background of various accountability systems, discusses policy issues related to the use of educational accountability information, and offers a history of the school-accountability law in Nevada. The paper concludes that because policymakers continue to express concerns about uniform measurements and comparability, it is…

This report presents the results of a study of higher education in California, focusing on the impending fiscal crisis of increasing demand, tuition, and costs. The study found that at a time when the educational needs for productive employment are increasing, college costs and demand are rising faster than funding. Until now, institutions have…

This collection of seven major presentations at a 1997 conference on assessment and quality in higher education includes three plenary presentations and four introductions to program strands. In "Accountability and Assessment in a Second Decade: New Looks or Same Old Story?" Peter T. Ewell stresses the importance of defining the academic integrity…

This essay critiques the way in which state accountability schemes reify aggregated achievement test scores and help undercut the meanings that inform properly rural sorts of education. The contemporary phenomenon of accountability is examined, along with its relation to the threatened meanings of rural life, the identity of the rural victims of…

This report addresses issues concerned with reporting educational results for students with disabilities, identifies principles to guide reporting practices, and offers recommendations. The report notes that there are many purposes for reporting and that reporting information on students with disabilities is important because it ensures that they…

This book offers case studies, observations, and practical, culturally responsive solutions to the challenges presented by diversity in the classroom. By telling stories and asking questions, the book explains that progress is slow-moving and that quality, equity, and fair, appropriate treatment are often very hard to find, even in good schools.…

This is the fifth report prepared by the Center for Education Reform (CER) evaluating the capacity and flexibility of state laws promoting charter schools. Three primary factors were evaluated in preparing charter-school quality rankings by state. The center finds that the establishment of multiple sponsoring authorities, in addition to local…

As a follow-up to an earlier ECS report on the extent to which states were prepared to implement President Bush's education plan, this report provides an in-depth examination of three major Bush plan initiatives: assessing student performance, motivating and assessing low-performing schools, and providing school-choice options. The report begins…

This paper recommends developing an infrastructure of federal support and federal assessment of student performance to ensure that schoolwide programs in high poverty neighborhoods are able to meet specific legislative goals. It argues for closer links between the federal government and school districts in helping schoolwide programs develop…

This report summarizes 48 states' current policies on the participation of students with disabilities in large-scale assessments and the accommodations noted in state policies as available for those students. In developing the summary, changes in state assessment policies were also checked. Charts in the report provide information on presentation…