Several state boards of education have adopted graduate profiles or portraits to better define the skills and knowledge students should master before they graduate high school. This report discusses the graduate profiles developed by the following states: South Carolina, Utah, Virginia, and Washington. While their entry points and approaches to…

As the author began her teaching career at Central Virginia Governor's School for Science and Technology (CVGS), it became apparent that many of her students were interested in doing research projects in astronomy and the number seemed to increase every year. At first she did not think that she had the tools to do a good job accommodating these…

Educators in Virginia have been working hard to improve student performance. Their efforts are highlighted in this report, which notes trends and common practices in schools that have consistently demonstrated high achievement and in schools that have shown remarkable improvement in recent years. The first section of the report presents a…