This paper describes the organization, design, and adaptations of the North York's Benchmarks Project (Ontario, Canada). This project began in response to the interests and innovations of several schools within a large school board. Then the project moved to the regional and whole-board level, implemented as a top-down strategy. The term…

The focus of this hearing is to review Federal and State oversight of child welfare programs and systems designed to prevent abuse and neglect of children, including those under State protection. The purpose being to provide subcommittee representatives the opportunity to learn what Federal, State, and local officials should be doing to ensure…

The Higher Education Coordinating Board (HECB) is required by state law to report to the governor and legislature every two years on the status of Washington's state-level reciprocity agreements with Idaho, Oregon, and British Columbia. Reciprocity agreements allow some Washington students to attend public colleges in other states and pay lower…

At the request of the Superintendent of the Montgomery County, Maryland, Public School System (MCPS), Achieve conducted an evaluation of the MCPS K-12 Curriculum Frameworks and high school semester exams in English and mathematics. The review was designed to determine how well the MCPS Frameworks and exams align with Maryland state academic…

This report identifies the range and extent of innovative workplace practices in place among 16 international organizations participating in the International Workplace Studies Program (IWSP). Information comes from interviews with organization representatives, written reports, summaries prepared by the organizations, and an extensive literature…

The Michigan Department of Education's vision for health education is a continuum of learning experiences which enables people to make informed decisions, modify behaviors, and change social conditions in ways that are health enhancing, with students learning to obtain, interpret, and apply health information and services in ways that protect and…

This report addresses forces affecting Oregon's benchmark goals for education, recommendations about future measurement of the benchmark, research about best practices for improving these standards, and services and programs involved in addressing them. It describes the state of youth and education in Multnomah County through statistics on…

This document describes what students should know and be able to do in the visual and performing arts prior to graduation from South Carolina high schools. The standards are based on the "South Carolina Visual and Performing Arts Framework," adopted by the South Carolina State Board of Education in 1993. Standards for performance in…

This guide is intended to aid in the development of a performance-based curriculum using social studies standards recommended by the National Council for Social Studies. The performance-based orientation encourages students to be accountable for knowing what they are learning, understanding why it is important, and reporting this knowledge and…

U.S. education faces productivity and efficiency crisis. Because local, state, federal budgets are limited, schools must accomplish more with less. Few U.S. youngsters see themselves as workers or their school performance as greatly affecting later life. Teacher and student expectations are unreasonably low. Because schools cannot provide social…

As resources become more constrained in the library community, many organizations are finding that they need to have a better understanding of their costs. To this end, this article will present one approach to conducting a cost analysis (including questions to ask yourself, project team makeup, organizational support, and data organization). We…

To understand how much or how little progress is made in democratising higher education, an examination of transformation in the sector needs to be undertaken. Such an examination will reveal best practice, the sharing of which can move the process of transformation forward by inspiring those further beyond in the process. This article serves to…

Processes are a series of actions, changes, or functions that bring about a desired result. Processes are the way educators work. However, few of them think in these terms. Instead, educators tend to describe their work in terms of functions, like maintaining the online teacher application system, or outcomes, like positive test results. Still…

The Pittsburgh Public School district is one of many urban school systems across the country that is struggling to boost student performance and regain the respect of its community. Achievement gaps are wide; student achievement is low; and public confidence is fragile. To begin addressing these issues, the Council of the Great City Schools…

In March 1997, all State, Territory and Commonwealth education ministers agreed on the national goal: that every child leaving primary school should be numerate and able to read, write and spell at an appropriate level. To provide focus for this goal, ministers also agreed to a sub-goal: that every child commencing school from 1998 will achieve a…