This report looks at the early efforts of states to implement the elementary and secondary education provisions of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The findings are drawn from a survey of officials in state education agencies and governors' offices in 44 states and the District of Columbia. Key findings concern the financial…

This report synthesizes findings from five years of state-level research and local case studies of school restructuring by the Center on Education Policy (CEP). The research reported here began in Michigan in the summer and fall of 2004 and gradually expanded to include five additional states--California, Georgia, Maryland, New York, and Ohio--as…

In 2005, all 50 state governors made an unprecedented commitment to voluntarily implement a common, more reliable formula for calculating their states' high school graduation rates by signing the National Governors Association (NGA) Graduation Counts Compact. Four years later, progress is steady. Twenty states now report that they use the Compact…

This report provides an overview of the federal stimulus--also known as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA)--and where California stands in relation to the requirements. It also looks at the thinking behind the four reform areas (teacher and administrator effectiveness; data systems; standards; and turning around low-performing…

Understanding Australia's vocational education and training (VET) system can be daunting for observers. This paper, written as a background paper for a visit from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), describes Australia's VET system and how it relates to the broader set of education and learning options that are…

It is imperative that to transform the national education agenda so that each and every child may succeed. Members, thought partners, and staff of CCSSO, have worked in collaboration to identify four areas of focus that will lead the systems change necessary for a true transformation of teaching and learning. Those areas are Next Generation…

While countries with predominantly academic school-based upper secondary education have been "discovering" vocational education and training (VET) for some time, countries with "vocationalised" education systems such as Austria, Germany or Switzerland are critically reviewing their own situations. This paper takes up the case…

This article describes the Ethics and Citizenship Program, a moral education project developed by the Brazilian government to promote education in ethics and citizenship in Brazilian fundamental and middle schools through four key themes: ethics, democratic coexistence, human rights and social inclusion. Some findings from a research project that…

The authors have been involved in the design and delivery of several LIS training and education programs in Vietnam in recent years. This activity has led them to become aware of library developments and initiatives taking place within Vietnam, and of issues that will affect future development of the library and information industry. Some of these…

Dwindling resources for tertiary education, has resulted in reduced emphasis on intensive, small group, staff-student collaborative project-based service learning. However, training scientists to manage significant issues, such as sustainable water use, requires an ability to engage both industry and community stakeholders. This paper describes…

Documenting student outcomes is a priority for higher education institutions. Federally-mandated graduation rates are often used as the sole measure of student success. However, this measure fails to document outcomes for students with multiple educational objectives and career paths. Driven by this challenge, the City Colleges of Chicago…

India's National Green Corps (NGC) Eco-Clubs are a unique opportunity to educate youth about environmental issues. NGC objectives include: (1) educate children about their immediate environment by increasing awareness; (2) impart knowledge about eco-systems, their interdependence and need for survival, through visits and demonstrations; (3)…

Using student-level data from Durham, North Carolina, we examine the potential impact of school choice programs on the peer environments of students who remain in their geographically assigned schools. We examine whether the likelihood of opting out of one's geographically assigned school differs across groups and compare the actual peer…

In this study, the author explores elementary mathematics instruction in the context of standards-based reform and special education policy. Based on observation of inclusive classrooms and interviews with 12 teachers, the author finds that instructional practice was only somewhat consistent with the policy messages to include students with…

Nonprofit child care centers are frequently observed to produce child care which is, on average, of higher quality than care provided in commercial child care centers. In part, this nonprofit advantage is due to different input choices made by nonprofit centers--lower child--staff ratios, better-educated staff and directors, higher rates of…