This report begins with a discussion of why performance comparisons between charter and noncharter schools can be complicated. It also summarizes the most recent data from California's assessment and accountability systems, comparing types of charter schools and looking at them within the context of the larger system. An overview of the often…

Smart testing is concerned with what is tested and why, whether the testing instruments are up to the task, and how test results are used. Smart testing provides information in a timely fashion, and uses results to make accurate generalizations drawn from the data. This report is concerned with three smart testing components: (1) strong state…

As rural states nationwide struggle with cuts in education funding, declining enrollments and increased costs it becomes crucial to examine those schools that are successful in educating their students. These higher performing schools can then be used as models for education excellence throughout the state. Defining higher-performing is not an…

New forms of governing and managing public schools have proliferated in recent years, spawning the establishment and growth of companies that operate public schools under contract. Among these education management organizations, or EMOs, the largest and most visible is Edison Schools, Inc., with a nationwide network in 2004-2005 of 103 managed…

This document is the annual Accountability Report Card that was created by the Dalton State College Office of Institutional Research and Planning for the academic year 2002-2003. The document addresses improvements made according to indicators in a variety of areas that have also been used in previous years. The results for the 2001-2002 are…

This report outlines a system-wide framework for monitoring the literacy development of children in preschool through second grade. Specific early literacy assessment instruments and instructional approaches are not suggested. Instead, the report focuses on some of the essential elements of an assessment system intended to monitor the progress of…

This report presents the results of a study of faculty recruitment and selection strategies used by self-reported learning-centered community colleges during the 1998-1999 academic year. The study examined six key principles of a learning college: (1) creates substantive change in learners; (2) engages students as partners in learning; (3) offers…

This document discusses the curriculum model for the Saskatchewan Institute of Applied Science and Technology (SIAST). Curriculum development is a vital part in educating adults for employment, especially since adult students have such diverse needs, backgrounds, and interests. Economics, demographics, and technology are all issues that push…

This document contains the reports of the travel grant awardees who participated in the eighth International Congress on Mathematics Education (ICME-8) in Sevilla, Spain, July 14-21, 1996. The support of these awardees marks the importance placed on mathematics education in the United States and participation in the international congresses. This…

This resource book is designed to guide school systems through a decision-making process to design an assessment system that is best suited to their particular needs. The assessment system will collect information from children through assessment measures and perhaps other sources of data, such as health records and demographic data. The…

This Critical Success Factors Report is an accountability document for the North Carolina Community College System; it is also the result of a process undertaken to streamline and simplify accountability reporting by the community college system. The 12 performance measures for accountability, also labeled as the 12 core indicators of student…

The purpose of this study was to determine the relationships between attributes of faculty and administrative involvement, sources of internal and external funding, and characteristics of student outcomes assessment at U.S. two- and four-year higher education institutions. Data from selected items of the National Center for Postsecondary…

This report describes a plan for using authentic assessment tools in the Fine Arts classroom. The targeted populations were classes of fourth and eighth grade students in two suburban school settings. Analysis of the data about the Fine Arts classes, based on surveys completed by teachers, parents, and students, showed that traditional assessment…

Early in 2003, the National Assessment Governing Board established the National Commission on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) 12th Grade Assessment and Reporting, following the recommendation of retiring Governing Board Executive Director Roy Truby. The Governing Board's charge to the Commission was "To review the…

This paper presents a snapshot of world history education to illuminate the challenges that the National Assessment Governing Board faces in creating a National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) world history framework. Using state standards documents, statutes concerning high school graduation, results from the NAEP transcript studies,…