In this article, the author identifies two current--and competing--discourses concerning teaching and public education in general. One is the "official" discourse, embodied in "No Child Left Behind" language, with a focus on accountability, standards, credentials, and testing, accompanied by punitive measures for failing to…

This paper reports on a case study that evaluates the validity of assessing students via a computerized peer-marking process, rather than on their production of an essay in a particular subject area. The study assesses the higher-order skills shown by a student in marking and providing consistent feedback on an essay. In order to evaluate the…

After over 40 years of education reform policies and strategies, America continues its need for systemic education reform. The greatest challenge confronting the nation remains within large urban metropolises where large numbers of minority students attend underfunded and low-performing schools with low standardized test scores and high dropout…

The importance of maps and other graphic representations has become more important to geography and geographers. This is due to the development and widespread diffusion of geographic (spatial) technologies. As computers and silicon chips have become more capable and less expensive, geographic information systems (GIS), global positioning satellite…

Lowering the dropout rate of incoming mathematics and science students, and enhancing the provision of mathematics support for freshmen are two important aims of the University of Amsterdam. The approach recently adopted to support first year students is to set up a diagnostic pretest and posttest and use these tests to identify students being at…

To be considered literate in the information age, students must develop functional, academic, and computer skills. On the basis of a needs assessment, a computer literacy questionnaire and an English proficiency test, an ESP course was designed for graduate students majoring in art education. Since the students had no access to a computer lab or…

This book introduces adult educators and trainers to the principles and techniques of learner evaluation in the various contexts of adult education. The following are among the topics discussed: (1) the purposes of evaluation (the importance of authentic evaluation; principles of evaluation; traps in evaluation); (2) evaluating one's philosophy…

The primary objective of this project was to provide a more detailed description along with "real time" information to the community of educational administration preparation programs in the State of New Jersey as to what are considered to be the critical elements, skills and competencies current Chief School Administrators (CSA) in the…

More than ever before, educators across the United States are enabling a wider and more ethnically diverse proportion of students to achieve success in AP[R]. Significant inequities, however, which jeopardize traditionally underserved students' chances at college success, remain. This "Report" uses a combination of state, national, and…

This report summarizes Austin Independent School District's prekindergarten program for the 2007-2008 school year.

This year the Center on Education Policy (CEP) analyzed data on the achievement of different groups of students in two distinct ways. First, it looked at grade 4 test results to determine whether the performance of various groups improved at three achievement levels--basic and above, proficient and above, and advanced. Second, it looked at gaps…

This year the Center on Education Policy (CEP) analyzed data on the achievement of different groups of students in two distinct ways. First, it looked at grade 4 test results to determine whether the performance of various groups improved at three achievement levels--basic and above, proficient and above, and advanced. Second, it looked at gaps…

The "2009 State Preschool Yearbook" is the seventh in a series of annual reports profiling state-funded prekindergarten programs in the United States. This latest Yearbook presents data on state-funded prekindergarten during the 2008-2009 school year. The first report in this series focused on programs for the 2001-2002 school year and…

This paper offers facts and figures on Utah's education status for 2009. This paper contains the following: (1) Core CRT Language Arts Testing, 2008; (2) Core CRT Mathematics Testing, 2008; (3) 2008 Public Education General Fund--Funding by Source and Expenditures by Function; (4) 2008-09 Public School Enrollment Demographics; (5) Public Schools…

This study replicating two earlier studies investigated the relative effectiveness of two techniques for teaching English grammar. In the "garden path" method, learners are induced to produce errors, which are then corrected. The error avoidance method prevents error production by means of grammatical explanations. Subjects were 56…