Using concepts from the evaluation literature, this case study describes the instrumental, conceptual, and political influence of the Head Start National Reporting System (NRS) and on-going child assessments in a local Head Start program. This study found that a local program intentionally aimed to limit the influence of the NRS. The NRS validated…

Since its inception, the program has tackled the most challenging issue facing the teaching profession: how to align systems for managing schools' human capital with goals for improving student achievement. In addition to pay, the Teacher Advancement Program (TAP) shapes new approaches to on-the-job training, career advancement, and evaluation in…

Marginalized college students are retained at disproportional rates than their counterparts. A major factor of retention is student engagement in the classroom, which can be impacted by course design and instruction. Critical pedagogy aims to value all students' experiences through six elements of course design and instruction: decreasing teacher…

The Chicago School Readiness Project (CSRP), a randomized, classroom-based mental health intervention, aimed to improve teachers' behavior management of preschoolers' dysregulated behavior. The current follow-up study examines potential impacts on academic skills of first graders by enhancing their ATL. This investigation seeks to answer three…

The Texas Projection Measure (TPM) has grown out of the state's need to meet the requirements of No Child Left Behind (NCLB). An examination of the state's method of predicting 8th grade mathematics scores reveals that several factors have been ignored in the process of developing the model, including assumptions in its underlying statistical…

Early Head Start is a federally funded community-based program for low-income families with infants and toddlers and for low-income pregnant women. Created in 1995, Early Head Start strives to promote healthy prenatal outcomes for pregnant women, to enhance the development of children ages birth to three, and to promote healthy family functioning.…

The School Improvement Grants (SIG) program is authorized by section 1003(g) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA). Under section 1003(g)(1) of the ESEA, the Secretary must "award grants to States to enable the States to provide subgrants to local educational agencies for the purpose of providing assistance for school…

The deadline pressure states faced in submitting applications in the federal Race to the Top competition is now being felt at the local level, as school districts scurry to craft work plans that show how they will execute ambitious changes in education policy. Eleven states, plus the District of Columbia, have won a combined $4 billion this year…

This article reviews the findings from our assessments of children and their families in two Head Start programs using the Family Map. Specifically, we used the Family Map assessment tool to identify risks to children associated with alcohol and drug use in families with young children. Practical suggestions are offered to administrators about the…

The National Research Center on Career and Technical Education has supported four studies on one of the major components of Perkins legislation: programs of study. In this article, we present qualitative data linking the research center's longitudinal projects based on programs of study, via a one-time cross-case study of sites deemed highly…

The Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) funds schools located on 63 reservations in 23 states across the nation. Of the 183 schools, 59 are Bureau operated and 124 are tribally controlled. One-hundred and sixteen schools provide instructional programs, 55 provide instructional as well as boarding services and 12 peripheral dormitories provide only…

Since their inception in 2001 and 2004 respectively, "No Child Left Behind" (NCLB) and "The Reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act" (IDEIA) have produced litigious feelings throughout the world of education. One of the most controversial initiatives which evolved from these aforementioned…

In 2001, President George W. Bush signed the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) in an effort to improve the quality of education for all students and to ensure that students of disadvantaged circumstances were not unnoticed. School administrators in Mississippi are seeking ways to meet the requirements of NCLB and to increase the number of successful…

The authors of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB 107-110) Act of 2001 anticipated that a majority of school districts or schools would not be able to attain state and national achievement standards without assistance. Consequently, the Act created a major tenet known as Supplemental Educational Services (SES) programs to improve the learning outcomes…

As one set of responses to the increasing demands of adequate yearly progress exerted by the No Child Left Behind Act, schools have been using professional learning communities as a tool to improve academic performance. The researcher conducted this descriptive quantitative study to query principals from 40 high- and 40 low-performing elementary…