Interactive Resources 

 

 

 

 

 

Regional Advisory Committee
www.rac-ed.org
Ten Regional Advisory Committees were established by the Department of Education to assess educators’ challenges in implementing the No Child Left Behind Act.  You can inform the Mid Atlantic Committee’s work by registering and posting your comments online.  The committees’ findings will be used to help the Secretary of Education target funding for 20 new technical assistance centers.

 

 

The Leadership We Need: Using Research to Strengthen the Use of Standards for Administrator Preparation and Licensure Programs
www.mcrel.org/PDF/LeadershipOrganizationDevelopment/4005PI_leadership_we_need.pdf *
Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning (McREL) finds that the principal licensure standards set by the Interstate School Leaders Licensure Consortium (ISLLC) leave out many responsibilities and practices that have been proven effective by research.  The study recommends next steps for policymakers, along with identifying key responsibilities and practices of effective school principals.

 

 

Early Childhood Research & Practice
ecrp.uiuc.edu/v6n2/index.html
The fall issue of Early Childhood Research & Practice explores technology, parent expectations, teacher interactions, and issues specific to Hispanic and Head Start children.  Two articles focus on children in Taiwan and Mexico.

 

 

Achievement in Charter Schools and Regular Public Schools in the United States: Understanding the Differences
www.ksg.harvard.edu/pepg
Caroline Hoxby compares the performance of charter school students to that of their peers in nearby traditional public schools.  Though there is variation nationwide, overall the author finds that a higher percentage of charter school students meet state proficiency standards in both math and reading than do their counterparts in traditional public schools.  Ms. Hoxby further finds that this charter school advantage is heightened by the school’s duration, greater autonomy from the state, and better state funding.

 

 

The Advanced Placement Expansion of the 1990s: How Did Traditionally Underserved Students Fare?
epaa.asu.edu/epaa/v12n68/v12n68.pdf *
Kristen Klopfenstein finds that efforts during the 1990’s to increase access to Advanced Placement (AP) courses to black, Hispanic, and low income students did not result in increased representation of these students.  The author points to recent federal funding changes as support for preparing underserved students for AP courses.

 

 

America's Charter Schools: Results From the NAEP 2003 Pilot Study
nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/studies/charter
Using a representative sample of 150 charter schools, the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) finds little difference between the 2003 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) performance of charter school fourth graders and those in traditional public schools.  Students in district-operated schools scored higher on the math test, but there were no significant differences when comparing students of the same racial/ethnic background.  There were also no measurable differences on the reading test.

 

 

Forum Guide to Building a Culture of Data Quality: A School & District Resource
nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2005801
The National Center for Education Statistics emphasizes the importance of quality data, by offering recommendations for improved data entry.  This guide presents “tip sheets” for school and district staff, guided by questions to consider, action items, and outcomes.

 

 

How Many Home-Schoolers Are There?
ncspe.org/publications_files/PB13.pdf *
Clive Belfield of the National Center for the Study of Privatization in Education discusses the challenges related to quantifying the magnitude of home-schooling and the performance of home-schooled students in the United States.  Mr. Belfield finds that research on home-schooled students should be interpreted with caution, due to such limiting factors as: 1. the lack of standardized procedures for data collection and test administration; 2. small sample sizes; and 3. small subgroups.

 

 

International Comparisons in Education
nces.ed.gov/surveys/international
Recent international comparisons of American students indicate both growth and decline, as compared to students in other countries.  Highlights include the significant improvement of Black fourth and eighth graders on the 2003 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), compared to 1995.  On the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), American 15 year olds performed below the average in math.

 

 

Searching the Attic: How States are Responding to the Nation's Goal of Placing a Highly Qualified Teacher in Every Classroom
www.nctq.org/nctq/images/housse_report_2.pdf *
The National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) reviews "high objective uniform state standard of evaluation" (HOUSSE) provisions from all 50 states, which allow veteran teachers to demonstrate subject-matter competency and be deemed “highly qualified”.  The NCTQ finds too many loopholes in the current HOUSSE provisions and recommends that they be restructured to raise standards and make the underlying reasoning more clear.

 

 

Starting Off Right: Were the District of Columbia Public Schools Ready for Our Students?
www.dcvoice.org/publications/reports/StartingOffRightReport.pdf *
DC VOICE trained community members to interview 43 DCPS principals regarding the degree of school readiness for teaching and learning after summer break.  DC VOICE finds that school personnel have made progress over previous years and are optimistic about Superintendent Clifford Janey’s planned reforms.  The report recommends actions for the system and the community to improve school readiness.

 

 

Teacher Professional Development: Primer for Parents & Community Members
www.publiceducation.org/Teacher_Prof_Dev/home.asp
Designed to help parents and community members support professional development for teachers, this booklet overviews: 1. the need for professional development, 2. how to improve professional development opportunities; and 3. additional resources on this topic.

 

 

Alternative Routes to Teacher Certification
www.ed.gov/admins/tchrqual/recruit/altroutes/report.pdf *
The author finds that ninth and tenth grade students of National Board Certified math teachers outperformed their peers whose teachers did not have this certification in the Miami-Dade Public Schools.  Long-term implications include paying National Board Certified teachers more in order to attract effective teachers to school districts.  In the short-term, districts and schools can adopt methods consistent with National Board Certification.  For more information about National Board Certification, please visit the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards.

 

 

Educational Attainment of High School Dropouts 8 Years Later
nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2005026
By 1994, nearly one-quarter (21%) of students who were eighth-graders in 1988 had dropped out of high school at least once.  This National Center for Education Statistics Issues Brief reports on the progress of these students.  Eight years after eighth grade, 14% percent had earned a high school diploma and 29% had earned a General Educational Development (GED) certificate.  By 2000, 43 percent of the students who had dropped out at least once had enrolled in a postsecondary institution.

 

 

CCDF& 21CCLC: State Efforts to Facilitate Coordination for Afterschool Programs
nccic.org/afterschool/CCDF21CCLC.pdf *
The US Department of Health and Human Services supports improved coordination of the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) and the 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21CCLC), to support states’ afterschool programs.  This brief overviews the related challenges, along with strategies for aligning the two funding streams.

 

 

Estimating Supply & Demand for Afterschool Programs: A Tool for State and Local Policy Makers
nccic.org/afterschool/SupplyDemand.pdf
This resource identifies the steps that state and local policymakers should take to estimate the supply of and demand for afterschool programs.  Lessons learned have been compiled from states across the nation, and an assessment tool is provided.