In fall 2009, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation launched the Measures of Effective Teaching (MET) project to test new approaches to measuring effective teaching. The goal of the MET project is to improve the quality of information about teaching effectiveness available to education professionals within states and districts--information that will…

The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) requires states to prepare and disseminate an annual state report card. This requirement became effective at the beginning of the 2002-03 school year. The state agency also must ensure each local district collects appropriate data and includes this data at the district level and for each school in its annual…

Increasingly, colleges and universities are offering online courses using commercial course packaging. One of the most popular courseware programs is Blackboard. This article describes research that employed a two-pronged approach to investigate how education faculty used Blackboard courseware to facilitate student competence in using technology.…

This descriptive study investigated the benefits and costs of using electronic portfolios (EPs) in preservice teacher education. Grounded within change theory, the study examined the perspectives of faculty in six programs in which EPs have been used on a large scale for two or more years. Benefits identified include increased opportunities for…

The ACT College Readiness Benchmarks are the minimum ACT® college readiness assessment scores required for students to have a high probability of success in credit-bearing college courses--English Composition, social sciences courses, College Algebra, or Biology. This report identifies the College Readiness Benchmarks on the ACT Compass scale…

A crucial national dialogue is under way about higher education and its role in securing America's future. Last fall, a blue-ribbon panel on higher education, established by Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings, issued a report expressing concerns that the United States could be losing its status as the world leader in postsecondary…

As the cost of college continues to rise, more and more graduates are entering public-service careers like nursing, teaching, and social work with unmanageable levels of student debt. Many will struggle to repay their student loans while meeting their own basic needs. While some debts can be manageable for lawyers at private firms, it can be a…

In 2000, the Public Policy of Institute of California entered into an agreement with the San Diego Unified School District to provide the research and financial support to collect, format, and analyze student, teacher, and classroom data needed to create an accurate portrait of what affects student achievement in San Diego. This report is the…

This investigation was a case study to measure the retention and persistence effects of a learning community in developmental English at an urban community college. The study used student demographic and course outcome data to quantify the extent to which learning community participation could contribute toward remedying the historically low…

As the world economy continues to evolve, businesses and industries must adopt new practices and processes in order to survive. Quality and cost control, work teams and participatory management, and an infusion of technology are transforming the way people work and do business. Employees are now expected to read, write, and communicate…

This report presents findings from the first two years of the Early College High School Initiative. However, the focus of the findings is on the work of the grantees, called intermediaries in this initiative. This report draws on qualitative data collected through interviews and site visits to summarize the early work of the intermediaries. After…

This paper provides an overview of U.S. Department of Education programs authorized and funded under federal law. It includes information as well on the laboratories, centers, and other facilities funded by the Department that provide important resources for education. Readers will find funding information, contact information, and a web site for…

In the conversation about underserved populations in New England, higher education often revolves around "school-aged" students of color and students from low-income families. This is understandable; after all, these are the fastest growing populations in the region. In this article, the author says it is time to reinvent education. One place to…

This study explores teaching English as a foreign language in the West Bank, Palestine. It investigates the perspectives of a group of faculty, preservice, and in-service teachers about teaching and learning English in the primary grades under the overarching harsh realities of political conflict and instability. The study demonstrates the…

This paper discusses cohorts of Rio Hondo College (California) fall term students who completed the English/English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) assessment test under the ESL scoring rubric between fall 1996 and spring 2001, and considers the relationships of assessment testing, enrollment, and course success. Report highlights include: (1) the…