This report highlights 10 of the most advanced and talked-about teacher evaluation systems nationally: Delaware; Rhode Island; Tennessee; Hillsborough County, Florida; Houston, Texas; New Haven, Connecticut; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Washington, DC (referred to throughout just as Washington); Achievement First (a charter management organization,…

This paper presents information on Connecticut's education for 2012. Information is presented on the following: (1) Who Attends Connecticut Public Schools? (2010-2011); (2) Public School Data (2010-2011); (3) Connecticut's National Achievement Gap Rankings; (4) Changes in Connecticut K-12 Education; (5) Competitive Federal Stimulus Grants per…

The research is clear: teachers are the most important factor in raising student achievement in schools. If Connecticut is serious about closing our worst-in-the-nation achievement gap and raising academic performance for all students, there must be an excellent teacher in every classroom. Connecticut's budget crisis will likely lead to widespread…

Closing the achievement gap is about improving teaching and learning, but it's also about money: teachers and principals must be paid, books must be ordered, and facilities must be built. How our schools are financed can play a major role in student achievement. Where money comes from, how much is spent, and what it is spent on are issues that…

Thirty years ago, the Connecticut Supreme Court forced our state to take stock of its system for funding schools. Our poorest towns had thousands of dollars less per child to spend. Today, our poorest districts spend roughly the same as our richest, but Connecticut's poor children still score far below their wealthy peers. Our school finance…

This paper presents Connecticut Coalition for Achievement Now's (ConnCAN's) annual report for 2009. Contents of this annual report include: (1) The Beginning; (2) Our Vision; (3) What We Do; (4) Getting Results; (5) Research--Action; (6) What's Next; (7) Take Action; and (8) The Organization. [For "ConnCAN Annual Report 2008: Faces of Change," see…

This paper presents Connecticut Coalition for Achievement Now's (ConnCAN's) annual report for 2008. The pages of this report are filled with the "Faces of Change" in Connecticut education. These students, teachers, principals, community leaders, and parents are working in their own ways to fix Connecticut's public schools. Over the past four…