The 2007 Hawai'i State Legislature passed Senate Concurrent Resolution 118 S.D.1 HD 1 Improving the Community's Understanding of the Department of Education's Programs and School Expenses Including a Comparison with Other States on Adequacy of Funds. Among the requests contained in the resolution were the following: "Be it further resolved the…

The 2007 Hawai'i State Legislature passed Senate Concurrent Resolution 56 S.D. 1 "Requesting the Hawaii Educational Policy Center to Report on the Retention and Change in Assignment of Teachers Within the Department of Education." The resolution requested a report on the effectiveness and current status of teacher preparation and…

This report highlights the importance of addressing the unique set of needs of middle-level students. The struggle over structuring and content of middle-level education--the K-8 versus middle-school/junior-high argument--mirrors to a considerable extent the broader recurring battle of traditionalism versus progressivism. There are few empirical…

The purpose of this report is to provide an evaluation of the experiences of the 2005-2006 pilot junior kindergarten schools. Data sources included administrative data provided by the Department of Education (DOE) as well as surveys and focus group interviews conducted with pilot school teachers and principals. Surveys were returned from 113…

Colleges and universities have embraced distance education as a solution to meet challenges brought by demands for access, reduced state and federal funding, and strained institutional resources. Paralleling the growth of distance educational courses, programs, and enrollments, is the need to have increasing numbers of faculty delivering…

This Policy Brief describes an analysis conducted with a sample of 5,000 elementary students in 123 K-6 elementary schools in Hawai'i to describe students' proficiency levels and individual growth patterns over time and, based on this information, to make judgments about school effectiveness in meeting performance standards. The goal was to…

The New Economy Research Grant Program awarded funding in 2003 for this study, the first of its type, to examine faculty use of technology and participation in distance education throughout the University of Hawai'i system. The use of technology in delivering education plays an important role in The New Economy by increasing educational access and…

The purpose of this report is to highlight some of the more interesting and compelling research on arts education. The focus is on two major reports: "Champions of Change: The Impact of the Arts on Learning" and "Critical Links: Learning in the Arts and Student Academic and Social Development." Together, these provide enough initial information to…

This Policy Brief explores two very different aspects of accountability and curriculum. One traditional view incorporates standards into a system of accountability and school curricula. An alternative and currently popular perspective sees accountability as not a system but a strategy, and attempts to fix significant responsibility for student…

This report is the first in a series examining the policy issues relating to charter schools in Hawai'i. It addresses the overall challenges to charter schools, the law establishing a charter funding formula, a new program area of the state budget, fringe benefits, and issues needing clarification and resolution. The purpose of this series of…