This report is the result of a survey conducted in late 2005 of higher education institution chief financial officers throughout the U.S. Midwest region concerning their plans to manage what was expected to be a substantial increase in the price of energy in advance of the 2005-06 heating season. Although the winter turned out to be one of the…

In fall 2003 New Jersey Governor James E. McGreevey and Commissioner of Education William L. Librera asked Achieve to review the new academic standards the state had developed in social studies to learn how New Jersey's new standards compared with those of other states. This summary report outlines the main findings from Achieve's review of the…

This paper advocates a strategy of "full informational capture" to ensure that digital objects rich enough to be useful over time are created in the most cost-effective manner. Digital benchmarking is a systematic procedure to forecast a likely outcome. The benchmarking approach can be applied across the full continuum of the…

This document is designed to be a companion to the "Canadian Language Benchmarks 2000: Theoretical Framework." It builds on the original document with an extensive listing of additional sample task ideas for reading, listening, speaking, and writing benchmarks. The document provides additional examples of tasks for stage I reading…

Nevada's academic standards for geography explain that geography is a field of study that enables people to find answers to questions about the world around them, where things are, and how and why they got there. The aim of Nevada's geography standards is for students to graduate from Nevada schools with an understanding of the people, places, and…

Nevada's nine academic standards for economics call for specific educational outcomes in grades 2, 3, 5, 8, and 12. They contain performance level descriptors. Nevada's standards aim to help students develop fundamental economic concepts; learn about economic performance in the United States; demonstrate a knowledge of how investment,…

Nevada's nine academic standards in music education call for specific educational outcomes in grades 3 and 5, as well as in middle school and secondary school. Nevada's standards relate to singing, playing instruments, listening to music, writing and reading music, and cultural and historical connections in music. The standards present performance…

The geography standards for Colorado schools offer suggestions for geography education that prepare students to cope with the complexities of contemporary life. The standards give students a firm grasp of the place and terrain that surrounds them; the patterns of human development around the world; and the interactions of peoples, places, and…

The Colorado Student Assessment Program (CSAP) has been underway since 1997. Since then, fourth grade students have been assessed annually on the Colorado Model Content Standards for Reading and Writing. In 1998, testing began on third grade reading. Over the course of time, other grades and subject areas will be phased in. In the fall of 1999,…

Success by Eight is a pilot program of the Fairfax County (Virginia) Public Schools for students in kindergarten through grade 2. The initiative is designed to provide a group of six pilot schools with training and additional resources in implementing a specific set of components to prepare students for the third grade. These components are: (1)…

Asserting that there is so little understanding of what "opportunity" means within the context of access to higher education that use of the word may cloud rather than clarify policy debate, this concept paper served as a resource document to aid participants at a 1999 seminar sponsored by the Council for Opportunity in Education. The paper…

This document outlines the performance standards for dance in North Dakota public schools, grades K-12. Four levels of performance are provided for each benchmark by North Dakota educators for K-4, 5-8, and 9-12 grade levels. Level 4 describes advanced proficiency; Level 3, proficiency; Level 2, partial proficiency; and Level 1, novice. Each grade…

Dance should be seen as an authentic avenue for allowing students to learn kinesthetically by using movement that is essential to brain development. Ideally students would be exposed to dance forms and patterns in other art forms like music and drama as well as units within physical education classes. These North Dakota standards may be taught…

Although education cannot be reduced to profit-and-loss statements, schools need clearly defined objectives, processes, and procedures. Schools can learn from corporations' benchmarking practices (standard setting, measurement, and consequences) and their past mistakes, such as the complacency that seriously weakened Xerox and AT&T. Schools…

Describes a process developed by the Language Training Centre at Red River College (RRC) to use the Canadian language benchmarks in analyzing the language levels used in programs and courses at RRC to identify appropriate entry-level language proficiency and the levels that second language students need in order to meet college or university…