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Eric.ed.gov – Partnerships, Policy, and Educational Change: The Role of Mathematics and Science in K-16 Reform

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: Concerns about American competitiveness and innovation have led to increasing scrutiny of science, technical, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education. Leaders in the higher education, business, and legislative communities have all issued calls for expanded opportunities and training in STEM fields to improve the skills of the U.S. workforce. Older arguments for change, including stronger alignment of K-12 and higher education curriculum and the overall reform of teacher preparation, are incorporated within these recent calls, and share similar policy and implementation challenges. This analysis identifies the National Science Foundation Math Science Partnerships program as an emblem of the challenges of engaging K-12 and higher education in major reform efforts within a dynamic policy environment. Link til kilde

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Eric.ed.gov – Mapping Washington’s Educational Progress, 2008

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: Six years after the passage of No Child Left Behind and midway to the nation’s goal of having students on grade level or better in reading and math by 2014, more data than ever before has been collected about the academic performance of American students and schools. Information in this brochure charts student demographics, achievement-to-date and trends for Washington as a state and as compared to national statistics. Information on graduation rates, tutoring/choice programs and flexibility options is also included. Link til kilde

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Eric.ed.gov – Affective and Motivational Characteristics of 60 Urban JHS Math Classrooms: A Class-Level Analysis of Student Beliefs in Three Instructional Activity Settings.

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: This study is an exploratory analysis of class-level data concerning junior high school (JHS) students’ affective and motivational beliefs. It examines class-level information on selected psychological characteristics that students, who read at the fifth-grade level, bring to learning mathematics and that teachers encounter during instruction. Focus is on the variability among 60 classes on 7 affective and motivational indicators and determining whether teachers encounter different psychological characteristics of a class across classes of different mathematical achievement levels and in the same class across different activity settings. Study data are from the fall 1988 administration of the Mathematics Assessment Questionnaire (MAQ) to 1,737 students in 7th- through 9th-grade mathematics classes at 8 junior and senior public high schools in New York City. Students’ responses to four affective beliefs… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – ESEA Briefing Book

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: President Obama and congressional leaders have vowed to take action this year on the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), most recently reauthorized and rebranded as the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. While most observers remain skeptical that everyone will actually see a signing ceremony in 2011, it does appear likely that at least one house of Congress will produce a bill. In this “briefing book,” the authors identify the ten key issues that policymakers must resolve in order to get reauthorization across the finish line, and explore the major options under consideration for each one. The ten issues–which fall under the areas of standards and assessments, accountability, teacher quality, and flexibility and innovation–are these: (1) College and career readiness–Should states be required to adopt… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Fiscal Year 2008 U.S. Department of Education Budget Summary and Background Information

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: Five years ago the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) launched a revolution in our education system by insisting that all students should be proficient in reading and math by 2014 and demanding comprehensive reforms to reach this national goal, including strong assessment and accountability systems, a highly qualified teacher in every classroom, more choices for students and parents, a new emphasis on school improvement, and the use of research-based instructional practices. Under NCLB, States and local school districts have made strides in putting these reforms in place, and the first returns are promising. The latest results from the National Assessment of Educational Progress show that we have reversed a decade of stagnation in student achievement, with scores rising significantly in both reading and math in the… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – The Aftermath of Accelerating Algebra: Evidence from a District Policy Initiative. Working Paper 69

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: In 2002/03, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools initiated a broad program of accelerating entry into algebra coursework. The proportion of moderately-performing students taking 8th grade algebra increased from less than half to nearly 90%, then reverted to baseline levels, in the span of just six age cohorts. We use this policy-induced variation to infer the impact of accelerated entry into algebra on student performance in math courses as students progress through high school. Students affected by the acceleration initiative scored significantly lower on end-of-course tests in Algebra I, and were either no more likely or significantly less likely to pass standard follow-up courses, Geometry and Algebra II, on a college-preparatory timetable. We also find that the district assigned teachers with weaker qualifications to Algebra I classes in the first… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – The OECD, PISA and the Impacts on Educational Policy

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: Large-scale assessment regularly takes place in most jurisdictions across Canada, a fact not lost on the Fraser Institute and other right wing think tanks such as AIMS (Atlantic Institute for Market Studies) which use the test results as the primary basis for compiling school rankings at both the elementary and secondary level (see Gutstein, 2010). The frequency of external testing at different levels (provincial/territorial, national, international)–coupled with the high visibility accorded by the mainstream media to the results, usually in the form of league tables, and the imperatives of short term political mandates–have all contributed to a focus on improving one’s position within the list of rankings, as well as to a narrow focus on the tested subjects–math, science, reading. In this era of accountability-by-numbers, the elevated… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Michigan No Child Left Behind Waiver Analysis

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: The U.S. Department of Education has given Michigan a rare opportunity to devise new educational systems that better serve our state’s students, families and educators. In return, Washington has agreed to waive some provisions of No Child Left Behind. For instance, states will no longer have to ensure that all students are proficient in reading and math by 2014, so long as they adopt more rigorous academic standards and a meaningful system to support schools while holding them accountable. The consequences of the waiver are high. Michigan’s approved waiver request will impact: (1) How well Michigan’s teachers are able to prepare students to meet new academic standards; (2) The helpfulness and reliability of information the state will provide to parents, students and educators on how well their… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – KASB Comparing Kansas, 2017

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: The Kansas Association of School Boards (KASB) Comparing Kansas report data provides information related to the Kansas State Board of Education’s Kansans Can outcomes and the “Rose Capacities” identified by the Kansas Supreme Court as a standard of constitutional funding and adopted as educational goals by the Kansas Legislature. It also allows Kansas educational performance, funding, and other factors to be compared to other states. This is the second year KASB has produced this report using the same data elements and calculations. For each state, this report offers education performance information on 15 indicators in the following areas: (1) Postsecondary–high school completion or higher, some college or higher, and four-year degree or higher; (2) Graduation–adjusted cohort graduation rate for: all students, economically disadvantaged students, students with limited… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Children’s Kindergarten Outcomes and Program Quality in the North Carolina Pre-Kindergarten Program: 2013-2014 Statewide Evaluation

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: The 2013-2014 North Carolina Pre-Kindergarten (NC Pre-K) Evaluation study was designed to examine the longitudinal outcomes through kindergarten for children who attended the Pre-K program, along with comparisons to previous cohorts of program attendees. A sample of 561 children was included in the study, with data gathered at the beginning and end of NC Pre-K (2012- 2013) and kindergarten (2013-2014) to examine their growth in skills. Researchers conducted individual assessments of children’s language, literacy, math, and general knowledge skills and gathered teacher ratings of behavior skills. For 119 Spanish-speaking dual language learners (DLLs) in the sample, parallel assessments were conducted in both English and Spanish to examine their progress when measured in both languages. In addition, program characteristics and services were examined for the 2013-2014 NC Pre-K… Continue Reading