Some states have viewed teacher selection as a means of improving student performance and have mandated the use of site-based teacher councils. To assess the utility of this legislative action, an experimental study was conducted. This study uses a 2x3x2 factorial design that varies state legislation, role of the decision maker, and academic…

This qualitative study examined the effects of a high-stakes, standardized test on teachers' instructional planning at a rural school. The research addressed this question: How do mandated curricular standards affect teachers' instructional planning and content selection? Ethnographic interviews (Creswell, 1998) examined four secondary teachers'…

In times of budget shortfalls and ever increasing demand for transparency and accountability for use of tax dollars in the public sector, it is clear that the use and influence of performance measurement has increased. "Performance measurement" is a "fairly inclusive term that may refer to the routine measurement of program inputs,…

This 2010 Annual Report for the Missouri Department of Higher Education takes a close look at the performance of Missouri's system of postsecondary education in Fiscal Year 2010. The annual report follows the format of the state's public agenda for higher education, "Imperatives for Change: Building a Higher Education System for the 21st…

Parents of students with disabilities face a number of difficult choices in determining how to get the best education for their children. Too often, the special education system in public schools fails its students. Parents must become both experts and advocates for their children in order to navigate a burdensome maze of regulations to fight for…

The perspectives of three rural middle school principals as they implement Georgia's A Plus Education Reform Act of 2000 were investigated in this study. A case study approach was used, employing both within case and cross case analyses. Three interviews were conducted with each of the three participants, resulting in a total of nine interviews.…

For decades, educators have wrestled with how to handle the increasingly diverse religions of an increasingly diverse student body. Sometimes, the line between church and state--what schools can and cannot do under the Constitution--can feel confusing and slippery. Today, religion has become a subject one high school teachers describes as even…

During the past 5 years, Oregon has set in motion a set of fundamental changes in state policy that will radically affect schools. It has: (1) reduced property taxes without increasing other taxes in a way that will reduce state/local taxes as a share of income from 12.1 percent of personal income in 1991 to 10.3 percent in 1996; (2) shifted to…

The Educational Testing Service is currently engaged in a large-scale development project related to teacher licensure. This project will develop a new generation of assessments for licensing beginning teachers, based on two research projects. One is Project CHART, an effort to identify state requirements for licensure in all subject areas…

As in many other areas of society, sexual harassment has become an important issue in education. It has left the educational community with many questions about what constitutes sexual harassment, how to prevent it, and how to deal with the legal problems that may arise concerning it. This report dispels several myths about sexual harassment in…

As one in a series of reports by 10 task forces that responded to the Oregon Education Act for the 21st Century and explored the restructuring of the Oregon education system, this report presents recommendations of the Non-Graded Primary Task Force. The report describes the feasibility of implementing non-graded primary programs in all school…

This reference manual guides users in developing or amending school improvement plans for the 1993-96 Performance-Based Accountability Program (PBAP) of the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. The PBAP was established with the passage of the state's School Improvement and Accountability Act (1989). In addition to establishing a…

This guidebook shows how schools can form partnerships with law-enforcement agencies and communities to develop a comprehensive safe-school plan. The planning guide is based on four principles: that safe schools are caring schools, are built through cooperative efforts of all stakeholders, communicate high standards, and stress prevention. This…

This document is intended to give students an overview of laws in Wyoming. Subjects covered include civil and criminal law; courts in Wyoming; juvenile law, juvenile court procedure; rights of children; family law; employment law; automobile-related law; laws affecting the schools; and citizenship rights and responsibilities. The laws and courts…

Lawmakers face the challenge of strengthening the teaching workforce by supporting and demanding excellence. The purpose of this report is to acquaint state legislators with the goals and activities of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) and to underscore the ways in which state legislatures might work with the NBPTS to…