This article reports on the central recommendation of the federal task force for a way to better handle dropout and graduation rates. Made up of 10 academics and government statisticians, the panel comprising the Task Force on Graduation, Completion, and Dropout Indicators was formed in the fall of 2003 to advise the U.S. Department of Education's…

Since the publication of McREL's "2003 Annual Report," McREL staff members wrote more than 100 published articles in practitioner and peer-reviewed journals describing what they know from four decades of research on effective schools as well as years of practical experience working to help educators raise student performance: that…

The creation of an effective learning environment requires cultural competency--the ability to interact effectively with people of different cultures. Cultural competency means knowing and understanding the people that you serve. This study compares American and Chinese student's readiness and willingness to use innovative technology by assessing…

We describe a training program to teach applied behavior analysis (ABA) knowledge competencies to paraprofessional staff (N = 47) at a habilitation services agency for adults with developmental disabilities. Before and following training, staff completed assessment of knowledge tests for three content areas: basic learning principles,…

Popular culture today characterizes middle-class parents as being consumed with anxiety about their children. Drawing on more than 100 consumer reviews of baby monitors published on Epinions.com, the author examines how parents respond to that anxiety. Although Epinions.com reviewers are not representative of the population at large, they do…

These proceedings contain the papers of the International Conference on Mobile Learning 2013, which was organised by the International Association for Development of the Information Society, in Lisbon, Portugal, March 14-16, 2013. The Mobile Learning 2013 International Conference seeks to provide a forum for the presentation and discussion of…

The success of any educational reform depends upon the quality of teachers and in turn the quality of teachers depends to a large extent on the quality of teacher education and quality of teacher education mainly depends upon the teacher training institutions. Education is a nation building activity and teachers are the pillars of the educational…

This study was conducted to examine the promising practice of using technology in teaching math and science in a charter high school in California. The research employed an in-depth qualitative case study method. The main participants were principals, lead teachers, teachers, and support staff. Interviews, observations, and archival documents were…

This dissertation problematizes the "state dossier system" (SDS): the production and accumulation of personal information on citizen subjects exceeding the reasonable bounds of risk management. SDS--comprising interconnecting subsystems of records and identification--damage individual autonomy and self-determination, impacting not only…

This paper is the Office for Civil Rights's (OCR's) "Annual Report to Congress" for fiscal years 2007 and 2008. This report details OCR's accomplishments in enforcing the civil rights laws under which OCR has been granted jurisdiction to address and remedy discrimination. These enforcement efforts include complaint investigation and resolution,…

The need for alternative education programs that work is paramount in light of the nation's public education crisis. The problem is that alternative education programs fail to adequately address the issues that At-Risk students bring to, and face in, the alternative and/or the traditional classroom. This study utilized a qualitative and a…

Access and equity for all students in California colleges and universities is a high priority of the California Postsecondary Education Commission. Over the past year, CPEC staff have reviewed research, collected data, convened an advisory committee, and hosted a panel of experts, students, and advocates on the issues faced by lesbian, gay,…

Ensuring that all Arizona children receive the high-quality education they deserve requires an effective teacher in every classroom along with school and district leadership that is focused on raising student achievement. Arizona's educators, from the classroom teacher to the district superintendent, are the most important component of the state's…

The National Post School Outcomes Center (NPSO), in conjunction with the National Association of State Directors of Special Education (NASDSE), conducted a focus group with several state directors of special education to (a) discuss the collection of their post-school outcomes data and (b) share their experiences and suggestions with other state…

This manual describes the methods, procedures, techniques, and activities that were used to produce the Academic Library Survey of 2004 (ALS:2004). This manual is designed to provide guidance and documentation for users of the ALS data. Included in the manual are the following: (1) an overview of the study and its predecessor studies; (2) an…