The author provides a perspective on progress in the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) states since 1988, when SREB developed 12 goals to reach by the year 2000. Growth in population and school enrollment trends are highlighted--what was expected and the huge population and job growth that occurred. Looking ahead to 2010, projected job…

Secondary vocational-technical education programs in Mississippi are faced with many challenges resulting from sweeping educational reforms at the national and state levels. Schools and teachers are increasingly being held accountable for providing true learning activities to every student in the classroom. This accountability is measured through…

The issue brief entitled "Connecticut's Charter School Law & Race to the Top" by the Connecticut Coalition for Achievement Now (ConnCAN) recommends changes to the state's charter school law that it argues would improve funding equity and are essential to closing the state's achievement gaps. The brief's specific proposals deserve…

Texas faces numerous challenges but also has abundant opportunities to build the middle class and increase prosperity. Unfortunately, too many Texans are on the sideline, lacking access to opportunities to learn, earn, and save to secure a more prosperous future for themselves and their families. To create jobs, increase income, and promote…

Since 2002, the IDEA Student Ratings of Instruction system has been available through an online survey delivery system -- IDEA Online. Initially, online survey administration was used primarily for online courses. However, the use of online surveys has increased each year in both online and traditional courses. This report summarizes findings from…

This report summarizes analyses performed on IDEA student ratings of instruction collected in traditional (i.e., on-campus) and online courses from 2002 to 2008. Only classes utilizing online survey delivery and identified exclusively as either traditional (N = 5,272) or online (N = 13,416) were included. Classes were removed until all…

This article discusses the AG Bell Academy for Listening and Spoken Language--an organization designed to build capacity of certified Listening and Spoken Language Specialists (LSLS) by defining and maintaining a set of professional standards for LSLS professionals and thereby addressing the global deficit of qualified LSLS. Definitions and…

The rationale for this article is that the actors in the South African higher education system, and particularly those with the responsibility for leading it, need to be clear about the arguments in the transformation debate and in particular about how these get at what is actually happening within it, and to be-consciously and self-critically…

Introduction: Genes have been suggested to interact with predictors of school performance, but evidence is scarce. The purpose was to examine whether a hyperactive temperament leads to different school performance, depending on variability in a serotonin receptor gene (5-HTR2A). Method: The participants were a population-based sample of 909 girls…

According to the author, the Modern Language Association's (MLA's) recent publication of the reports "Foreign Languages and Higher Education: New Structures for a Changed World" and "Report to the Teagle Foundation on the Undergraduate Major in Language and Literature" concerning foreign language education has caused many of them to reexamine the…

Study abroad experiences are becoming increasingly common with business students. In this study, we build upon previous research into the motivations of students to study abroad by using Ajzen's Theory of Planned Behavior as a theoretical basis for identifying the factors which might influence their intention to study abroad. A survey administered…

This article discusses a theoretical model of the parental involvement process that addresses (a) why parents become involved in their children's education, (b) the forms their involvement takes, and (c) how their involvement influences both proximal (e.g., motivation) and distal (e.g., achievement) student outcomes. The authors describe how…

The injunction to learn from history is a key feature of German debates over the politics of memory and history, which, since the end of World War II, have been seen primarily pedagogical. Thus, state schools were asked to serve as society's central location for memory and learning. Research on history education has rarely addressed questions…

What does research reveal about tutoring adolescents in literacy? We conducted a meta-analysis, identifying 152 published studies, of which 12 met rigorous inclusion criteria. We analyzed the 12 studies for the effects of tutoring according to the type, focus, and amount of tutoring; the number, age, and language background of students; and the…

In 2005, the state of South Carolina enacted the Education and Economic Development Act (EEDA), commonly known as the Personal Pathways to Success, to improve student achievement, graduation rates, and preparation for postsecondary education and the workforce. One of the timely aspects of this legislation is the prominent role that school…