While scholars of educational accountability policy will not be surprised at the power of local implementers in modifying accountability efforts, Kentucky's street-level debate splits two constituencies in defining a fair system. Advocates for the education of all children including the poor and minorities support the continuous improvement model,…

Although most states use a single strategy for statewide assessment, one Midwestern state has chosen a model in which local school districts are responsible for developing strategies to measure and report students' progress on state-adopted content strategies. This paper describes the state assessment system and focuses on the perspectives of…

This policy brief addresses the inclusion of English language learners (ELLs) in large-scale assessments and ELL assessment accommodations. The inclusion of ELL students creates specific accountability policy challenges. States differ in the students they include and their inclusion policies and accommodation practices, and, at present, inclusion…

This report provides information on the degree to which states in the area served by the Southern Region Education Board (SREB) support independent colleges and universities. Most SREB states support independent institutions through student grants that may or may not be based on the student's financial need. In the year of the report, 11 SREB…

In the Wake County Public School System (WCPSS), North Carolina, the Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS) is administered to all third grade students each year. The ITBS, which is one of the assessments used as a screening tool for the Academically Gifted Program, was given to approximately 7,700 third graders in 2000. The ITBS can be given as a…

In 2000, a multi-agency plan was developed for the vocational education of youth in juvenile commitment facilities. Part 1 of the plan describes the Plan Narrative, which provides contextual information and describes events leading up to the development of the plan, the rationale for creating the plan, and the characteristics of vocational…

This report is the result of a conference that examined major civil rights issues facing people who are blind and visually impaired in Illinois and is intended to inform the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights concerning issues of equal protection. The introductory chapter reviews leading types and causes of blindness and visual impairment, incidence…

The results in this report, from the fifth administration of the grades 3, 5, 8, and 10 reading, mathematics, and writing portions of the Delaware Student Testing Program (DSTP), represent an important step in Delawares efforts to educate all students to a higher level. Reading, mathematics, and writing data for grades 3, 5, 8, and 10 are…

This document consists of articles 1 through 25 published in the electronic journal Education Policy Analysis Archives for the year 2002: (1) Testing and Diversity in Postsecondary Education: The Case of California (Daniel Koretz, Michael Russell, Chingwei David Shin, Cathy Horn, and Kelly Shasby); (2) State-Mandated Testing and Teachers Beliefs…

This report describes the range of methods used by state education agencies to report special education information to the public and the challenges related to this reporting. It begins by reviewing the reporting requirements under the No Child Left Behind Act and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and then reports the results of a…

Texas has spent nearly 2 decades in a slow, steady push for educational reform, and it has successfully adjusted its school improvement initiatives when initial attempts proved off the mark. The Texas record in terms of student achievement has been the subject of some scholarly, and much political, debate over the last 2 years, but this evaluation…

This report is the product of the first year of study of the Statewide Systemic Initiatives (SSI) Study on exploring data and methods to assess and understand the performance of states participating in the SSI. The report describes three sets of studies. The first studied valid and reliable measures of student achievement, and how to combine…

This report is designed to help child care administrators use research to guide the development of comprehensive state systems for child care. The report begins with guidelines for establishing and maintaining child care research projects. The remainder of the report is comprised of five sections addressing key research questions: (1) projecting…

This document is designed to show the connections between assessment tools available for primary and intermediate grades in the Kentucky public schools. Sections of the document outline the essential assessment tools and give information about how they support and mirror each other. These tools can be used to bridge the knowledge of primary and…

The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 presents states with new opportunities and flexibility to design programs for teen parents. This report summarizes how welfare reform has changed the environment for teen parents dependent on welfare. The report presents research findings on the costs of supporting teen…