Brookings Papers on Education Policy: 2002 PDF Download

Author: Diane Ravitch
Publisher: Brookings Institution Press
ISBN: 9780815718833
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 402

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Book Description
Published annually, Brookings Papers on Education Policy (BPEP) analyzes policies intended to improve student performance. In each volume, some of the best-informed analysts in various disciplines review the current situation in education and consider programs for reform. In this fifth annual issue of the series, prominent educators and other social scientists discuss accountability and its consequences for students. Contents include: ¡°Grade Retention and Social Promotion in Texas, 1994-99¡± A. Gary Dworkin, Jon Lorence, Laurence Toenjes, and Antwanette Hill (University of Houston) ¡°Reform, Resistance... Retreat? The Predictable Policies of Accountability in Virginia¡± Frederick Hess (University of Virginia) ¡°School Accountability in California: An Early Evaluation¡± Julian Betts (UC San Diego and Public Policy Institute of California) and Anne Danenberg (Public Policy Institute of California) ¡°Standards and Accountability in Washington State¡± (Paul Hill and Robin Lake (University of Washington) ¡°Volatility in School Test Scores: Implications for Test-Based Accountability Systems¡± Tom Kane (Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University) and Douglas O Staiger (Dartmouth College) ¡°Building a High-Quality Assessment Program: The Philadelphia Example¡± Andy Porter (Wisconsin Center for Education and Research) and Mitchell Chester (Philadelphia School System) ¡°Accountability in Chicago¡± Alfred Hess (Northwestern University)

Author: Diane Ravitch
Publisher: Brookings Institution Press
ISBN: 9780815706762
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 388

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Book Description
In 1983 the seminal report issued by the National Commission on Excellence in Education, "A Nation at Risk," charged that most American high schoolers were following a general course of instruction, choosing neither the college-preparatory track nor the vocational option. This pattern, the report complained, had fostered low expectations and a curricular hodge-podge of classes that failed to prepare students for college or work. The commission called on states to implement academic requirements for all students, regardless of background, including four years of English and three years each of science, mathematics, and social studies. Students should not be sorted by their presumed future destinations, the commission reasoned, but should be offered an equal opportunity to get a high-quality education to fit them either for postsecondary education or the modern workplace. Two decades after the commission called on states to reform the high school environment and raise graduation requirements, the Brown Center on Education Policy at the Brookings Institution convened a a group of prominent scholars to explore the current state of America's high schools, focusing on new research about reforming these institutions that are so important in the lives of the nation's adolescents. The questions considered reflected the diversity of the participants and covered a variety of areas—historical, international, sociological, and practical. Data gathered by the U.S. Department of Education show students today are taking many more advanced courses in mathematics and the sciences, while at the same time test scores do not reflect the increases in enrollments in academic courses. In addition, large score gaps remain among students from different social groups. Reform of the high schools must take into account the elementary and middle schools that prepare students and the postsecondary institutions to which students aspire. Adolescent culture and students' views about school and academic work play important roles in student achievement, as do the family and contemporary society in shaping of adolescent behavior. No matter their background, all participants agreed that the key to a successful high school rests with the extent to which it recognizes and strengthens its commitment to the intellectual growth of its students.

Author: Diane Ravitch
Publisher: Brookings Institution Press
ISBN: 9780815719434
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 270

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Book Description
Contents include: •Test-Based Accountability: The Promise and the Perils Tom Loveless (Brookings) • Can the Federal Government Improve Education Research? Brian Jacob (Harvard University) and Jens Ludwig (Georgetown University ) •Realizing the Promise of Brand-Name Schools Steven F.Wilson (Harvard University) • School Choice: How an Abstract Idea Became a Political Reality Joseph P. Viteritti (Hunter College, CUNY) • Education Reform and Content: The Long View E.D. Hirsch Jr. (Core Knowledge Foundation) • Evidence-Based Reading Policy in the United States: How Scientific Research Informs Instructional Practices Reid Lyon and Vinita Chhabra (National Institutes of Health) and Sally E. Shaywitz and Bennett A. Shaywitz (Yale University)

Author: Frederick M. Hess
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
ISBN: 1250086396
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 274

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Book Description
Forget everything you think you know about school reform. Cutting through the cant, sentiment, and obfuscation characterizing the current school reform debate, Frederick M. Hess lacerates the conventional "status quo" reform efforts and exposes the naivete underlying reform strategies that rest on solutions like class size reduction, small schools, and enhanced professional development. He explains that real improvement requires a bracing regime of common sense reforms that create a culture of competence by rewarding excellence, punishing failure, and giving educators the freedom and flexibility to do their work. He documents the scope of the challenges we face and then provides concrete recommendations for addressing them through reforms to promote accountability, competition, a 21st-century workforce, effective school leadership, and sensible reinvention. Engagingly written and drawing on real world experiences and examples, Common Sense School Reform will generate debate and help set the agenda for the future.

Author: Gary Sykes
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 1135856478
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 1062

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Book Description
Co-published by Routledge for the American Educational Research Association (AERA) Educational policy continues to be of major concern. Policy debates about economic growth and national competitiveness, for example, commonly focus on the importance of human capital and a highly educated workforce. Defining the theoretical boundaries and methodological approaches of education policy research are the two primary themes of this comprehensive, AERA-sponsored Handbook. Organized into seven sections, the Handbook focuses on (1) disciplinary foundations of educational policy, (2) methodological perspectives, (3) the policy process, (4) resources, management, and organization, (5) teaching and learning policy, (6) actors and institutions, and (7) education access and differentiation. Drawing from multiple disciplines, the Handbook’s over one hundred authors address three central questions: What policy issues and questions have oriented current policy research? What research strategies and methods have proven most fruitful? And what issues, questions, and methods will drive future policy research? Topics such as early childhood education, school choice, access to higher education, teacher accountability, and testing and measurement cut across the 63 chapters in the volume. The politics surrounding these and other issues are objectively analyzed by authors and commentators. Each of the seven sections concludes with two commentaries by leading scholars in the field. The first considers the current state of policy design, and the second addresses the current state of policy research. This book is appropriate for scholars and graduate students working in the field of education policy and for the growing number of academic, government, and think-tank researchers engaged in policy research. For more information on the American Educational Research Association, please visit: http://www.aera.net/.

Author: Nancy Love
Publisher: Corwin
ISBN: 1071841440
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 409

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Book Description
"This book offers a compelling message of hope and resolve. The authors′ three-year journey in a multiplicity of diverse, underperforming, high-poverty schools across the nation has resulted in a treasure chest of knowledge and experiences about how to professionally develop data coaches in ways that benefit some of our most underserved students. This book provides powerful resources to those who have the belief, passion, and desire for implementing collaborative data inquiries in schools and districts." —From the Foreword by Ruth S. Johnson Use data as an effective tool for school change and improvement! How can data coaches create a collaborative culture in which data is used continuously and effectively to improve teaching and learning? The Data Coach′s Guide to Improving Learning for All Students provides detailed guidance for helping schools move away from unproductive data practices and toward examining data as a catalyst for systematic and continuous improvement in instruction and student learning. To help both current and aspiring data coaches facilitate school-based data teams and lead teachers in collaborative inquiry, the authors demonstrate a data model that has been field-tested and proven to be effective in: Narrowing achievement gaps between students in all content areas and grade levels Achieving strong, steady gains in local and state assessments in mathematics, science, and reading Using data as a springboard for powerful conversations about race/ethnicity, class, educational status, gender, and language differences Developing shared values and a vision for creating a high-performing, data-informed school culture This culturally responsive resource benefits staff developers, teachers, and administrators interested in creating change through effective data practices, and includes a CD-ROM keyed to the book, with templates, handouts, PowerPoint slides, resources, and sample goals and agendas.

Author: Thomas Kellaghan
Publisher: World Bank Publications
ISBN: 0821379666
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 188

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Book Description
What are students learning? Throughout the world, governments striving to improve educational quality are turning to national assessments to provide this much-needed information in key curriculum areas. The capacity for carrying out national assessments has grown remarkably in recent years, but it has not been matched by widespread use of their findings. This book seeks to maximize an appreciation for the value of such data and to assist countries in exploiting the knowledge that national assessments yield. Using the Results of a National Assessment of Educational Achievement identifies the main factors affecting the use of national assessment findings. These include the political context in which an assessment is carried out, the nature of the assessment (census based or sample based), the assignment of accountability for the results, and the quality of assessment instruments. The book describes the type of information that the main report of a national assessment should contain, as well as other means of communicating findings to technical and nontechnical audiences. It outlines general considerations in translating national assessment results into policy and action, and examines specific procedures for using the data in policy making, educational management, teaching, and promoting public awareness. The topics addressed in this volume should be of interest to policy makers, educators, researchers, and development practitioners.

Author: Robert J. Wright
Publisher: SAGE Publications
ISBN: 1544304005
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 771

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Book Description
Grounded in the real world of public schools and students, this engaging, insightful, and highly readable text introduces the inner-workings of K–12 educational assessment. There has never been a time when it is more important for educators to have an understanding of testing and assessments. Accountability is now a fact of life for all public school educators, and testing is at the core of all educational assessment programs. It is no longer prudent or even possible for educators to ignore this national zeitgeist. Educational Assessment: Tests and Measurements in the Age of Accountability addresses all of the constructs central to understanding the design, construction and evaluation of educational measures. It goes on to provide students with insight into the link between today′s high-stakes testing mandates and the traditions of the past 125 years of "scientific" measurement in the United States. It addresses the problem of understanding and correctly interpreting test scores on local, statewide, national, and international assessments. It also addresses how certain issues such as institutionalized cheating, test preparation, and individual differences among students and their families influence test score outcomes. Key Features Covers traditional topics in an approachable and understandable way: Reliability, validity, performance assessments, standardized achievement tests, and many more topics are included. Analyzes and interprets "hot-button" issues of today′s complex measurement concerns: The score-gap, high-stakes testing, grade retention, drop-out crises, "academic redshirting,", diversity, family influence, and educational technology, are examined. Relates theory to practice: Each chapter includes relevant real-life examples and case studies to demonstrate how the technical-measurement principles impact those involved. Addresses the needs of diverse students: Issues related to students with special needs and the testing of English Language Learners are discussed. Intended Audience: Educational Assessment: Tests and Measurements in the Age of Accountability has been written to meet the needs of students in graduate programs of special education, reading, school counseling, school social work, curriculum supervision, or administration. Providing grounding in all aspects of measurement, this book is perfect for undergraduate and graduate courses such as Educational Tests and Measurements, Assessment in Education, and Student Assessment.

Author: Susan Fuhrman
Publisher: Teachers College Press
ISBN: 9780807744253
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 324

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Book Description
Now more than ever, policymakers face a number of difficult and technical questions in the design and implementation of new accountability approaches. This book gathers the emerging knowledge and lessons learned offered by leading scholars in the field.

Author: Alan R. Sadovnik
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1135916888
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 421

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Book Description
This monumental collection presents the first-ever sociological analysis of the No Child Left Behind Act and its effects on children, teachers, parents, and schools. More importantly, these leading sociologists consider whether NLCB can or will accomplish its major goal: to eliminate the achievement gap by 2014. Based on theoretical and empirical research, the essays examine the history of federal educational policy and place NCLB in a larger sociological and historical context. Taking up a number of policy areas affected by the law—including accountability and assessment, curriculum and instruction, teacher quality, parental involvement, school choice and urban education—this book examines the effects of NCLB on different groups of students and schools and the ways in which school organization and structure affect achievement. No Child Left Behind concludes with a discussion of the important contributions of sociological research and sociological analysis integral to understanding the limits and possibilities of the law to reduce the achievement gap.