This book explains a systematic approach to curriculum, assessment, instruction, and learning called the achievement cycle. The first chapter defines the term and its related concepts, provides the background knowledge for using the achievement cycle in the school system or classroom, and presents an overview of the rest of the book. The…

"It's about Them" was introduced by David Hardesty to call attention to the central focus of effective public engagement. The seven-part test of engagement set forth by the Kellogg Commission is examined within the context of the cooperative extension system. The impacts of the changes that will shape American society in the early…

This article assesses religion teaching as a profession in terms of selected characteristics that scholars agree are common to all professions. The characteristics that are addressed include essential service, call to serve, special knowledge and skills, specialized and advanced university training, public trust and status, code of ethics and…

The focus of this hearing is on State efforts to comply with Federal child welfare review requirements related to safety, permanency, and child and family well-being. This document commences with the Advisory of May 6, 2004, announcing the hearing. This is followed by witness testimonies from: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services,…

This Handbook brings together theoretical and empirical research on purposes, policies and practices of teachers' continuing professional development (CPD) over the last twenty years. It provides a unique collection of regional writing from key professionals in different regions of the world, featuring: (1) A review of current CPD literature; (2)…

Hugh Burkett, director of The Center for Comprehensive School Reform and Improvement, recently was asked to give the keynote speech at On the Right Track 4, an annual school improvement symposium for California school practitioners. In this month's newsletter, Dr. Burkett shares highlights from his remarks. He sets forth six things that should…

The "Nevada English Language Arts Standards" are intended to give Nevada children the tools and experiences that will help them not only to succeed in school but also to become lifelong and adept readers, writers, listeners, and speakers. The scope of English language arts study extends far beyond the English language arts classroom.…

This paper aims to provide a critical review and comparison of the following sets of standards of practice for teachers: (1) The Victorian Interim Teacher Class Standards (ITCS), especially Interim Teacher Class Standards for Beginning Teachers; (2) Professional Standards for Teachers; (3) The National Competencies for Beginning Teaching; (4) The…

Under the new federal No Child Left Behind law, state assessments must be aligned to grade-level standards/benchmarks, and every school in Indiana and other states will soon be judged based on its ability to raise the percentage of students achieving proficiency on these tests. This will no doubt lead to much greater scrutiny of states'…

This paper discusses the Research and Evaluation Program at the State Library of New South Wales (Australia) and what it has revealed about clients' notions of value and relevance. An overview is provided of the services that have been developed in order to meet clients expectations, including reading room services and the development of the 3Tier…

This paper discusses performance measurement in university libraries, based on examples from the University of Wollongong (UoW) in Australia. The introduction highlights the integration of information literacy into the curriculum and the outcomes of a 1998 UoW student satisfaction survey. The first section considers performance indicators in…

Considering the necessity to facilitate the optimal development of reading ability, and the cooperation of the community, family, school, student, and teacher, this paper presents Washington State's Essential Academic Learning Requirements in Reading as a way to encourage equal access to excellent reading instruction and opportunities to learn for…

The purpose of this document is to provide more detailed guidance around early literacy instruction than afforded by currently available national and state standards documents. In particular, this document: (1) establishes consistent definitions for the terms "standard" and "benchmark"; (2) establishes a consistent format for early literacy…

This document highlights the problems with current federal education program data collection activities and lists several factors that make movement toward a possible solution, then discusses the vision for the Integrated Performance and Benchmarking System (IPBS), a vision of an Internet-based system for harvesting information from states about…

Noting that knowledge of history is the precondition of political intelligence, Nevada's academic standards for history are intended to provide the framework for a comprehensive K-12 history education to prepare students for the responsibilities and challenges of life in the 21st century. It is imperative in today's global economy for Nevada…