This monograph provides a cross section of policy and practice through the voices and experiences of honors faculty, staff, and students from across the nation. While far from comprehensive, this volume does pick up different strands of thinking on diversity to present a rich and complicated understanding of what diversity is, why it is important,…

Learning assistance meets the demands of rigorous college courses through highly varied activities and approaches. The historic role of learning assistance in the larger scope of U.S. higher education is significant though sometimes low profile. Learning assistance bridges access for a more diverse student body. From students' perspectives, it…

Online education has come of age, and along with the advent of online education, there have been numerous calls for improvement in administrator preparation programs. As a result, many administrative preparation programs have revised and reshaped their programs to address this concern. In this regard, this paper will discuss one component of the…

The Center for School Success (CSS) at New Visions for Public Schools was founded in 1999 to document and disseminate innovative educational practices demonstrated by New Visions' schools that hold promise for increasing student achievement throughout New York City. Over the first year, CSS concentrated its initial documentation efforts on…

This qualitative, multi-case research study examines how leaders use data to inform decisions related to technology use, including how they use enGauge program evaluation data, identifies leadership practices and related contextual factors present in four K-12 public school districts. This research study examines the questions: What are the…

This newsletter of best practices describes steps that schools have taken to establish a guidance and advisement system that helps students plan for and succeed in students high school, further study and careers. Articles in this issue include: (1) Advisory Program Boosts Achievement and Career Planning; (2) District-Wide Guidance Program Assists…

The research problem for this qualitative study was "Effective response to No Child Left Behind (NCLB) by school leadership is critical to public school success or failure in Indiana. Because high schools have been the first and most-often to 'fail' under NCLB, knowing principals' concerns and the leadership and implementation of strategies…

The National Staff Development Council (NSDC), a private, nonprofit association, has outlined high standards for educator professional learning. One demonstration of NSDC's commitment to the goal of ensuring all schools support and use high standards for professional learning is the organization's investment in developing an instrument to assess…

Financial aid programs are supposed to improve access and affordability in higher education. The effectiveness of these programs is increasingly being questioned as college attainment figures stagnate and the financial burden on students and families continues to climb year after year. This report identifies the main culprit for this…

Increased class sizes and advising responsibilities are the new realities in California's graduate programs of Educational Administration. In order to effectively meet new challenges, professors must make adjustments in venue, plan meticulously, utilize technology, distribute leadership, and implement alternative grading systems. This is a…

With 17,000 members, NASPE is the largest of the five national associations of the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (AAHPERD) and comprises six Academy Committees (Biomechanics; Curriculum and Instruction; Exercise Physiology; Motor Development and Learning; Sport and Exercise Psychology; and Sport History,…

Online dialogic communities have become a ubiquitous tool that transforms student learning and course delivery. Threaded Discussions extend classroom learning by providing an asynchronous method of communication for the exchange of meaningful ideas that promote critical thinking and develop thoughtful reflective learning. Threaded Discussions…

There is often no simple or single way to interpret assessment results or to make instructional decisions based on results. Thus, This research found that classroom-based evaluation calls for a great deal of judgment, which can be enhanced if the logic of evaluation is understood. This consists of comparisons between observed or actual states of…

The Increasing Course Rigor Pilot Project, a joint initiative of the National Governors Association (NGA) Center for Best Practices and ACT, Inc., is one component of Phase Two of the NGA Center for Best Practices Honor States Grant Program. The project, which began in winter 2006 and concluded in summer 2007, was designed to improve the quality…

Hispanic-Serving Institutions have the opportunity to be trendsetters in higher education. As Latino representation in higher education continues to increase across all states and institution types, Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs)--public or private nonprofit degree-granting colleges with enrollments of 25 percent or more Hispanic…