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The 2021-22 AASA Superintendent Salary & Benefits Study marks the ninth consecutive edition of this study. The 2021-2022 version employed a slightly revised and updated survey instrument. The survey tracks the demographics, salary, benefits, and other elements of the employment agreements of school superintendents throughout the country. The study is intended to provide superintendents with actionable information needed to negotiate and manage their compensation and benefits. [For "2020-21 AASA Superintendents Salary & Benefits Study: Non-Member Version," see ED619868.]

The George W. Bush Institute's School Leadership Initiative (SLI) District Cohort Research Project is a five-year effort with four school districts to test two frameworks--Principal Talent Management (PTM) and Effective Implementation. This collaboration is designed to improve how districts prepare, recruit, support, and retain principals. This guidebook, which focuses on principals' Working Environment, is the fourth in a series. Each guidebook addresses one or more components of the Bush Institute's PTM Framework, including Principal Preparation, Principal Recruitment and Selection, Principal Supervision, Principal Professional Learning, Principal Performance Evaluation, Principal Compensation and Incentives, and the Working Environment for Principals. This guidebook focuses on one aspect of the working environment: how central offices can organize themselves to serve schools so that schools can serve all children well. This guidebook provides concrete guidance on how to effectively focus central office culture on addressing school needs and supporting principals. The conclusion summarizes how these strategies may be used.

Talented leaders are essential to building and sustaining successful organizations. This is especially true for schools, where principal leadership plays a major role in fostering student success. Research shows that principals are a significant school-level factor affecting student achievement, second only to classroom teachers. Like other types of leaders, great principals recruit and retain the best talent (teachers), set ambitious visions for their buildings, and create a culture of collaboration and constant improvement. Because of this, it is critical that school districts implement policies and practices aligned with a coherent system of principal talent management, enabling them to attract and retain the most effective principals. This Principal Talent Management (PTM) Framework is a guide to help school district leaders and policymakers understand the fundamental components and the interconnectivity of effective PTM systems. As such, the Framework is intended to support efforts to strengthen the policies and practices districts use in a holistic effort to attract, support, and retain the best principals. Specifically, this guide: (1) Summarizes the available evidence and expert thinking on each major factor and component of a PTM system; (2) Provides a list of promising practices for each PTM component, along with the evidence that supports each practice; (3) Highlights examples of these promising practices in select districts based on document review and interviews with district leaders involved in the systematic improvement of PTM in their schools. Although the individual PTM components are discussed separately, PTM is, at its core, a systems-building approach to improving the quality of principal leadership. Districts that are beginning to address their own PTM needs may choose, initially, to focus on one or two of the components that are most urgent. Ultimately, however, they should broaden to address each component within a coherent system. To this end, the guide also provides a set of recommendations to support a holistic approach to developing and implementing PTM systems. These recommendations offer guidance to school district leaders, legislators, researchers, and others as they work toward implementing and improving such efforts. This guide was first developed and released in the 2016. Since that time, the Bush Institute has been working with a cohort of four school districts as part of the School Leadership Initiative to learn more about these practices and policies. This guide has now been updated to reflect the latest research from the field as well as some of our own learnings. [For the 2016 version, see ED588478. Additional support was provided by the BNSF Railway Foundation, Carstens Family Funds, and Sammons Enterprises, Inc.]

Talented leaders are essential to building and sustaining successful organizations. This is especially true for schools, where principal leadership plays a major role in fostering student success. Research shows that principals are a significant school-level factor affecting student achievement, second only to classroom teachers. Like other types of leaders, great principals recruit and retain the best talent (teachers), set ambitious visions for their buildings, and create a culture of collaboration and constant improvement. Because of this, it is critical that school districts implement policies and practices aligned with a coherent system of principal talent management, enabling them to attract and retain the most effective principals. This Principal Talent Management (PTM) Framework is a guide to help school district leaders and policymakers understand the fundamental components and the interconnectivity of effective PTM systems. As such, the Framework is intended to support efforts to strengthen the policies and practices districts use in a holistic effort to attract, support, and retain the best principals. Specifically, this guide: (1) Summarizes the available evidence and expert thinking on each major factor and component of a PTM system; (2) Provides a list of promising practices for each PTM component, along with the evidence that supports each practice; and (3) Highlights examples of these promising practices in select districts based on document review and interviews with district leaders involved in the systematic improvement of PTM in their schools. Although the individual PTM components are discussed separately, PTM is, at its core, a systems-building approach to improving the quality of principal leadership. Districts that are beginning to address their own PTM needs may choose, initially, to focus on one or two of the components that are most urgent. Ultimately, however, they should broaden to address each component within a coherent system. To this end, the guide also provides a set of recommendations to support a holistic approach to developing and implementing PTM systems. These recommendations offer guidance to school district leaders, legislators, researchers, and others as they work toward implementing and improving such efforts.

Rising health insurance costs have been a source of fiscal distress for school districts. In this paper, I closely examine data from the National Compensation Survey (NCS) of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) to address a few basic questions: (1) Are district costs for teachers' health insurance higher, on average, than employer costs for private-sector professionals?; (2) If so, how much of this represents greater access to and participation in employer plans?; (3) How does the difference in employer cost break out between that of the policies' total premiums and the employer's share of those premiums?; and (4) What is the impact of collective bargaining on total premiums, employer cost and employee contributions? To address the first question, I convert BLS' published estimates of employers' hourly cost to annual cost, since a shorter work year for teachers inflates the hourly cost of year-round benefits. Using unpublished BLS data on annual hours worked, I find average annual employer insurance costs for teachers to be 25 to 29 percent higher than for private-sector professionals. Adjusting for participation rates, the cost is 15 to 18 percent higher. Direct estimates of employer medical premiums present a mixed picture: higher employer premiums for teachers with single coverage, but not family coverage. In both cases, total medical premiums are higher for teachers than for private-sector professionals, but for family coverage the teachers cover the extra premiums themselves. Employees incur out-of-pocket costs, in addition to premiums. One reason teachers' insurance plans are more expensive is that plan design features (such as generally lower deductibles) reduce their out-of-pocket costs. The BLS data show that unionization is associated with higher total premiums, higher employer costs, and lower employee contributions in both the public and private sectors. This suggests that the high unionization rate among teachers plays a significant role in districts' higher average cost. Varying strength of teachers unions across states also helps explain the wide variation in district costs. In some nonunion states, teacher health insurance benefits are not particularly generous, due to high out-of-pocket costs (e.g. high deductibles) or high teacher shares of premiums (as in Arkansas). In other states, with strong unions, district insurance costs can be very expensive. It is in those states that the opportunities for district cost reduction are most promising. I examine newly available data from Wisconsin to quantify the impact of that state's recent change in collective bargaining law, Act 10. I find a sharp reduction in district costs from lower-cost policies and higher teacher contributions: 13 to 19 percent in the first year after Act 10, and 18 to 23 percent after the second year, relative to projected district costs. [Tables and Figures providing data on employee and employer health care benefits statistics are included.]

Making robust and reliable information about schools accessible is one of the most powerful ways to foster engagement and promote informed decisions that will shape our communities. Though education data is frequently collected and aggregated at the state level, data is rarely synthesized across cities. This report provides comparable information at the district and city level so mayors can engage in their city's education landscape by understanding each city's context, charting progress, and identifying challenges in public education. It also helps mayors engage with policymakers, parents, superintendents, educators, and other key stakeholders as they improve public education. The Mayors' Report Card, based on key topics in education and compiled by the Bush Institute's Education Reform Initiative, looks at 33 cities across the nation and presents the information for policymakers and parents in an easy-to-use and illustrated format. This report contains a district report card for each city, showing basic facts such as enrollment and school revenue, student achievement data, early childhood data, information on teachers, and college and career readiness data. The following are appended: (1) Student Achievement: Combined NAEP Score by Subgroup, 2013; (2) College Readiness: Average Composite ACT Scores, 2014; (3) Early Childhood: Pre-K Availability, 2012; (4) Teachers: Average Salaries and Cost of Living, 2011; and (5) Sources and Methodology.

The field of education is asking how research and evidence can bolster the knowledge of its practitioners. Educators increasingly are asked to use research and evidence to support their choices of programs, practices, and processes. The promise of using research in this way is more effective teaching and learning. But not all research and evidence is alike. Simply calling a paper, report, or essay "research" does not necessarily mean it conforms to standards of the research community. This brief is a guide to middle grade practitioners about how to use research to improve instruction and to identify effective programs, materials, and resources. Practitioners can use this brief to determine whether research supports their current practices and whether the implementation of those practices is in line with the evidence.

For students to learn, they must be present and engaged in school. As a result, absenteeism is a concern for all schools. Poor attendance is associated with a host of negative short- and long-term outcomes, such as academic failure, disengagement, leaving school, and problem behaviors in school and community. Despite the challenges, evidence suggests that even small changes in attendance are related to meaningful outcomes for students This brief provides guidance for schools or districts looking to integrate strategies for improving attendance within the Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) framework. [For "Improving Attendance in a Remote Learning Environment," see ED609390.]

The 2014 AASA Superintendents Salary and Benefits Study is intended to provide superintendents with actionable information needed to manage their compensation. This edition marks the third year the association has undertaken a comprehensive study on public school superintendent compensation. Using a commercially prepared mailing list of American public school superintendents, more than 9,000 email invitations to participate were distributed during the month of September 2014. At the same time, state association executive directors were contacted to encourage their members to respond to the Internet survey. Superintendents had the capacity to forward the link to their staff members for input in completing the survey in their area of expertise. The 2014 survey resulted in 1,711 responses, or about 19 percent of those surveyed. This report of findings is divided into 9 sections and solely relies on measures of central tendency for this initial analysis of the data collected. These data were generally disaggregated by gender, district enrollment, and racial/ethnic group. The survey's key findings included: (1) Base salaries ranged from $36,000 to $315,000, with an average salary of $122,000 and a median salary of $113,000; (2) Respondents are predominately male (79 percent), White (94 percent) and from intermediate-sized districts (300-2,499 students) regardless of their gender; (3) Female respondents were, on average, older than male respondents (53.1 to 51.7 percent respectively); and (4) A three-year trend of improving economic conditions continues. Slightly more than half of the respondents (53 percent) reported their districts' economic conditions as stable. (50 percent in 2013; 45 percent in 2012). The survey revealed a small trend toward longer longevity compared with 2013 results. Over half of respondents described their districts' economic conditions as stable for the first time; this year, 53 percent said so, compared to 50 percent in 2013 and 45 percent in 2012. Despite this positive change, nearly four in 10 respondents still described their districts' economic conditions as declining. [For the 2013 report, see "2013 Superintendents Salary & Benefits Study" (ED553307).]

The Many-Facet Rasch (MFR) Model is traditionally used to evaluate the quality of ratings on constructed response assessments; however, it can also be used to evaluate the quality of judgments from panel-based standard setting procedures. The current study illustrates the use of the MFR Model by examining the quality of ratings obtained from a standard setting employing the Multiple Yes-No (MYN) modified Angoff standard setting procedure to set the cuts on the Advanced Placement® (AP®) Environmental Science exam. The locations of the panelists, judged item difficulties, rounds, and performance standards using the MFR Model were examined. Results revealed evidence of acceptable quality of the ratings obtained from the panelists. Thus, the current study provides an important contribution of validity evidence for the AP Environmental Science standard setting, as well as an illustration of the utility of the MFR Model to evaluate standard setting judgments.

National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) has expended considerable effort to ensure high quality in data collection by developing standardized materials and survey operation procedures and using well-trained professional administrators. However, schools are allowed to minimize the disruption associated with pulling students out of classrooms by having all students assessed at one time. This policy is intended to encourage sampled schools to participate, but may have unintended negative consequences for the testing conditions experienced by these students. This study examined NAEP testing conditions in schools and investigated whether being assessed in less than optimal testing conditions is associated with lower student achievement on the assessments. The testing conditions study confirms that NAEP assessed most students in 2010 in conditions that were consistent with best practices. Also, students assessed in large sessions did not necessarily have lower achievement. However, in general, achievement was lower when the number of problems in a session increased, particularly when the session had as many as 6-10 problems. Appended are: (1) 2010 Session Debriefing Form; (2) Classification of NAEP Assessment Administrators' Comments Provided on Session Debriefing Forms; (3) Number of Sessions and Students in the Testing Conditions Study, by Assessment Subject; and (4) Percentage of Students and Average Achievement (in Normits) for Each Type of Testing Condition Problem, by Assessment Subject. (Contains 23 tables and 7 footnotes.) [This report was prepared for the National Center for Education Statistics.]

Step-by-step, schools from the elementary through high school levels are making the transition to 21st-century learning. Some have crossed the threshold almost entirely. In today's progressive classrooms, yesterday's rows of quiet listeners have given way to small groups of active learners, thoroughly engaged in discussions and explorations. And where's the teacher? Instead of standing front and center to deliver instruction, he or she is apt to be on the move, observing, asking questions, and guiding students to make their own sense of the world. Even the classroom walls have expanded, with technologies connecting students to the wider global community. In many schools, the Internet has opened access to a vast world of information, and students are learning critical-thinking skills to filter out the noise and decide which sources are reliable, which information to trust. Kids now create and share their own content too. This means students need to master new technologies and also learn to navigate online communities safely and responsibly. This guide is intended to bring more parents into the conversation about improving education. Readers will get a glimpse of outstanding online resources and projects, sorted by grade levels, and a list of tips to help bring 21st-century skills home. The guide also lists organizations that offer more in-depth information about project-based learning, social and emotional learning, and other strategies to improve education.

The aim of this paper is to address two research questions related to the policy goal of having all children ready to learn at kindergarten entry. First, to what extent are children's socioemotional skills and behavior higher when they experience higher quality preschools? Second, are the effects of preschool center quality on these school readiness skills different by demographic (i.e. race/ethnicity, gender, maternal education) or child characteristics (i.e. child's initial cognitive/achievement skills, attention, problem behaviors)? All data included in these secondary data analyses were collected in preschool center-based care. While policymakers justifiably attach considerable weight to experimental evaluations of child care programs, there is much to be learned from rigorous analyses of longitudinal data that are more representative of the population. This paper applies meta-analytic techniques to summarize results from original analyses of four longitudinal data sets to estimate variation in preschool. In summary, the consistency of these generally null results and the precision with which they are estimated across the different databases, multiple outcomes, and multiple child care quality measures suggests the following: (1) there are no significant preschool center quality main effects on socioemotional child outcomes, (2) there is generally an absence of "differential" preschool center quality effects on these socioemotional school readiness outcomes for subgroups of children defined by demographic or child characteristics, and (3) preschool center quality may not be adequately measured in currently available databases. (Contains 14 tables.)

The number of students seeking postsecondary education at public or private nonprofit institutions has increased by 31 percent over the last decade, and close to 90 percent of the overall student population is now enrolled in these types of schools. As demand for a postsecondary education has grown, so has the cost, and families are finding college increasingly difficult to afford. To help students pay for college, the Department of Education (Education) provides assistance through Title IV of the Higher Education Act, awarding $133 billion in federal student aid in the 2009-2010 school year. To help ensure transparency and accountability in the public and private nonprofit postsecondary education sectors, GAO was asked to review schools in these sectors with respect to their (1) revenue trends; (2) expenditure trends; (3) student graduation rates; and (4) disclosure of information to students on cost of attendance, graduation rates, and future employment. GAO reviewed relevant federal laws and regulations, reports, and Education records and data on revenues, expenditures, completion rates, and student characteristics. GAO also interviewed Education and postsecondary association officials and conducted site visits to a nonrepresentative sample of nine schools representing a range of size, type, and geographic location. The results of the site visits are not generalizable to all public and private nonprofit schools. Education provided technical comments, which were incorporated as appropriate. Appended are: (1) Objectives, Scope, and Methodology; (2) Variables Used in Analysis of Revenue and Expenditure Trends; (3) Revenue Sources at Public and Private Nonprofit Schools; (4) Information on How Schools Ensure Federal Student Aid Dollars Are Appropriately Awarded to Students; (5) Faculty and Staff Compensation at Public and Private Nonprofit Schools; (6) Rates and Status of Nongraduates after 6 Years, Public and Private Nonprofit Students; (7) Status of Public and Private Nonprofit Undergraduate Students after 6 Years of First Entry; and (8) GAO Contact and Staff Acknowledgments. (Contains 20 tables, 6 figures and 67 footnotes.)

To respond to Congress' interest in student outcomes at different types of schools, this report addresses the following questions: (1) What does research show about graduation rates, employment outcomes, student loan debts, and default rates for students at for-profit schools compared to those at nonprofit and public schools, taking differences in student characteristics into account?; and (2) How do pass rates on licensing exams for selected occupations compare among graduates of for-profit, nonprofit, and public schools? This study found a relatively small number of studies that compared student outcomes across sectors and accounted for differences in student characteristics. This body of research also has certain limitations. For example, while the Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study (BPS) has some of the best available data on outcomes and student characteristics, it does not represent the experience of more recent students. Because the most recent cohort of students started during the 2003-2004 school year, BPS does not include outcomes for students who enrolled more recently. Further, while two studies in this review conducted regression analyses that account for multiple student characteristics simultaneously (which allows for a more rigorous comparison), other studies analyzed subgroups of students, accounting for a single characteristic at a time. Despite these limitations, the author and his colleagues believe that the studies included in this review provide insight on the comparative outcomes of students attending different types of schools. Appended are: (1) Scope and Methodology; (2) List of Studies and Ongoing Research Included in Our Literature Review; (3) Detailed Analysis of Licensing Exam Pass Rates; (4) Briefing Slides; and (5) GAO Contact and Staff Acknowledgments. (Contains 25 tables, 9 figures and 45 footnotes.)

Science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) workers drive the nation's innovation and competitiveness by generating new ideas, new companies and new industries. However, U.S. businesses frequently voice concerns over the supply and availability of STEM workers. Over the past 10 years, growth in STEM jobs was three times as fast as growth in non-STEM jobs. STEM workers are also less likely to experience joblessness than their non-STEM counterparts. Science, technology, engineering and mathematics workers play a key role in the sustained growth and stability of the U.S. economy, and are a critical component to helping the U.S. win the future. In 2010, there were 7.6 million STEM workers in the United States, representing about 1 in 18 workers. STEM occupations are projected to grow by 17.0 percent from 2008 to 2018, compared to 9.8 percent growth for non-STEM occupations. STEM workers command higher wages, earning 26 percent more than their non-STEM counterparts. More than two-thirds of STEM workers have at least a college degree, compared to less than one-third of non-STEM workers. STEM degree holders enjoy higher earnings, regardless of whether they work in STEM or non-STEM occupations. Appended are: (1) Detailed STEM occupations and Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) codes; and (2) Detailed STEM undergraduate majors. (Contains 5 figures, 4 tables and 10 endnotes.)

Although a postsecondary education is vitally important to many individuals and the nation's ability to compete globally, high college tuition rates are prompting concerns that it may remain an elusive goal for some. To help students finance their education, Congress recently raised the ceiling on the amount individual students can borrow under the federal Stafford Loan program (referred to in legislation as "loan limits"). Congress initially did so for first- and second-year undergraduate students as well as for graduate and professional students in academic year (AY) 2007-08, and subsequently for all qualified undergraduate students receiving unsubsidized Stafford loans in AY 2008-09. The Ensuring Continued Access to Student Loans Act of 2008 directed GAO to assess the impact of these increases in the loan limits on tuition and other expenses and borrowing. Since information was available only on the first loan limit increase, we focused on the AY 2007-08 loan limit increase, framing our study with three key questions: (1) What are the patterns in prices and undergraduate enrollment at institutions of higher education since the AY 2007-08 loan limit increases took effect? (2) To what extent did undergraduate students borrow Stafford loans at their maximum levels in AY 2007-08? (3) What are the characteristics of students in AY 2007-08 who borrowed more than the prior loan limits? In summary, we found that: (1) After the change to the Stafford loan limits beginning in AY 2007-08, the price and the numbers of undergraduate students enrolling in the nation's institutions of higher education increased at a rate generally consistent with prior years. This pattern was consistent across most institutional sectors. (2) In terms of students borrowing Stafford loans, between AY 2003-04 and AY 2007-08, there was a decline in the proportion of eligible borrowers who borrowed their maximum--an amount that varies based on students' financial and personal circumstances, but is ultimately statutorily capped. These declines in borrowing were largely driven by first- and second-year students. (3) A snapshot look at first- and second-year students in AY 2007-08 who borrowed more than they could have under the previous loan limits showed that they primarily attended college exclusively full-time, were dependent students, and were most commonly enrolled in public 4-year institutions. When we compared these borrowers to all other first- and second-year Stafford loan borrowers, we found similarities across many characteristics, with the exception of dependency status and institutional sector. (Contains 6 tables, 5 figures and 18 footnotes.)

Almost 40 percent of all public school students in the District of Columbia (D.C. or District) were enrolled in charter schools in the 2010-11 school year. The D.C. School Reform Act established the Public Charter School Board (PCSB) for the purpose of authorizing and overseeing charter schools. Congress required GAO (US Government Accountability Office) to conduct a management evaluation of PCSB. GAO addresses the following: (1) the mechanisms in place to review the performance and operations of PCSB, (2) the procedures and processes PCSB has in place to oversee and monitor the operations of D.C. charter schools, and (3) the resources available to charter schools for their operations and facilities. GAO interviewed officials from D.C. agencies and 7 charter schools and reviewed oversight procedures for PCSB and charter schools. GAO also reviewed the processes for providing resources to charter schools and analyzed data on these resources. GAO recommends that the Mayor of the District of Columbia direct the Department of Real Estate Services to disclose all factors considered in reviewing charter school offers for former D.C. school buildings and make available to schools, in writing, the reasons the offers were rejected. The District agreed with our recommendations and noted that the Department of Real Estate Services has already taken steps to improve the process for awarding former D.C. school buildings to charter schools. Appended are: (1) D.C. Charter School Characteristics; (2) Description of Academic and Nonacademic Components of the Performance Management Framework as of December 2010; (3) Comments from Public Charter School Board; (4) Comments from the District of Columbia Mayor's Office; and (5) GAO Contact and Staff Acknowledgments. (Contains 6 tables, 5 figures and 27 footnotes.)

This classroom guide is intended to inspire and expand teachers' thinking about effective assessment in project-based learning (PBL). The tips listed in this guide are organized to follow the arc of a project. First comes planning, then the launch into active learning, and then a culminating presentation. Reflection is the final stage, and it's equally important for students and teachers. At each stage, paying attention to assessment will pay dividends. The top ten tips for assessing PBL are: (1) Keep it real with authentic products; (2) Don't overlook soft skills; (3) Learn from big thinkers; (4) Use formative strategies to keep projects on track; (5) Gather feedback--fast; (6) Focus on teamwork; (7) Track progress with digital tools; (8) Grow your audience; (9) Do-it-yourself (DIY) professional development; and (10) Assess better together. This guide also offers a bonus tip on how to assemble a PBL tool kit. (Contains 37 online resources.)

By understanding how the brain works, educators are better equipped to help students with everything from focusing attention to increasing retention. That's the promise of brain-based learning, which draws insights from neurology, psychology, technology, and other fields. Bringing this information to the classroom can help teachers engage diverse learners, offer effective feedback that leads to deeper understanding, and create a rich learning environment that attends to students' social and emotional needs along with their developing brains. In this guide, teachers get practical tips across the K-12 spectrum, a reading list, and a variety of resources to help them learn more about this fascinating field. A bonus project that will get students thinking critically about thinking is also included. The top six tips for brain-based learning are: (1) Create a safe climate for learning; (2) Encourage a growth mind-set; (3) Emphasize feedback; (4) Get bodies and brains in gear; (5) Start early; and (6) Embrace the power of novelty. A list of resources is included.

This guide addresses the practical aspects of managing a classroom, with suggestions and resources appropriate for grades K-12. Most of the tips are applicable to students of all ages, but the actual techniques will look different for the various grades. For instance, "build community" might mean playing name games with elementary students but involve setting up a photo booth for middle school students. "Integrate positive classroom rituals" may sound like it's all about elementary learners, but look for suggestions to make the morning meeting an important part of the day for teens and tweens too. The top ten tips for classroom management are: (1) Build community; (2) Design a safe, friendly, and well-managed classroom environment; (3) Include students in creating rules, norms, routines, and consequences; (4) Create a variety of communication channels; (5) Always be calm, fair, and consistent; (6) Know the students you teach; (7) Address conflict quickly and wisely; (8) Integrate positive classroom rituals; (9) Keep it real; and (10) Partner with parents and guardians. (Contains 53 online resources.)

Communication between home and school is good for kids. Keeping families up-to-date about upcoming events is important, but it's not enough to fully engage parents as partners. When schools and families really work together, that sets the stage for all kinds of benefits. The National Coalition for Parent Involvement in Education reports that family-school partnerships lead to gains for just about everyone involved in education. What's more, students with involved parents tend to do better regardless of family background. From better social skills to more regular attendance to increased graduation rates, kids of all socioeconomic levels show gains across a variety of indicators when their families connect with school, according to research by the Southwest Educational Development Laboratory. This practical guide shares tips, tools, and strategies to strengthen the bonds between schools, families, and communities. Many suggestions have come from "Edutopia" community members who have contributed a host of good ideas in blogs and online discussion groups (edutopia.org/groups). Technology tools offer great potential for connecting home and school. Several tips focus on ways to use these tools to bring parents closer to the classroom. This guide includes suggestions for using popular social-media tools such as Facebook as well as technology platforms designed specifically for school settings. This guide offers ten tips: (1) Go where your parents are; (2) Welcome everyone; (3) Being there, virtually; (4) Smart phones, smart schools; (5) Seize the media moment; (6) Make reading a family affair; (7) Bring the conversation home; (8) Student-led parent conferences; (9) Get families moving; and (10) Build parent partnerships. (Contains 30 online resources.)

[Slides] presented at the College Board National Forum in Washington, D.C., October 2010. This presentation examines the implementation of Common Core Standards for English Language Arts in STEM classrooms and the implications for effective teaching of STEM subjects.

The nation and its public school enrollment are in the midst of dramatic racial change (Frey, 2001; Orfield, 2009). Soon, the nation's public schools will enroll a majority of non-White students, a demographic reality that has already occurred in the two largest regions of the country, the South and the West. As the nation's enrollment grows more diverse and complex--Latino students, for example, outnumber Black students nationally--segregation is also on the rise. Nearly 40% of the nation's Black and Latino students are in racially isolated schools, where there are few White students (Orfield, 2009). For Black students in particular, this level of segregation is higher than it has been in four decades, prior to the implementation of more wide-ranging desegregation efforts. Given these demographic trends, and the implications of them for students and society, this paper explores the composition and segregation of schools in the mid-Atlantic region. The data analyzed in this paper is from an annual dataset collected by the U.S. Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics. In particular, data for the District of Columbia and the five states in the mid-Atlantic region are drawn from the 1990-91, 2000-01, and 2007-08 Common Core of Data, Public School Universe. These data provide student enrollment counts for each school, as well as counts by race-ethnicity and eligibility for free or reduced price lunch (FRL). By merging data for each school, we are able to analyze enrollment and segregation changes from 1990 to 2007. In the body of the paper, school-level data is aggregated to the state level to describe enrollment, enrollment change, and segregation. In six appendices (one per state, Appendices B-G), these same measures are reported for each district/local education agency (LEA) within each state. The paper first describes the racial and economic characteristics of students in schools and districts in the mid-Atlantic region. It also examines racial and enrollment change in the region over time. It next analyzes the extent of student segregation using several common segregation measures, first examining racial segregation and then economic segregation. The overlap of racial and economic segregation is also explored. Appended are: (1) Supplemental tables; (2) Delaware; (3) District of Columbia; (4) Maryland; (5) Pennsylvania; (6) Virginia; and (7) West Virginia. (Contains 16 figures, 106 tables, and 10 footnotes.)

How well do youth offending teams (YOT) work? In which areas of their work is their performance excellent and where is improvement needed? This research examined annual performance assessments of services for children and young people undertaken by Ofsted in 57 local authorities from January 2006 to April 2009, together with relevant data relating to the national performance indicators on youth offending issues. The findings cover YOTs' performance with regard to: (1) management and leadership; (2) work in courts; (3) work with children and young people in the community; (4) work with children and young people with custodial sentences; and (5) victims and restorative justice. The research found that there has been an improvement in the quality of management and leadership of YOTs and while some areas of work are very good, others show room for improvement. This report is important reading for all those working in YOTs and for policy makers seeking to understand the performance of YOTs over time. Appended are: (1) List of abbreviations; (2) List of YOT inspection reports included in the analysis; (3) List of Annual Performance Assessments, Ofsted; (4) National Performance Indicator data: full definitions; (5) Methodological considerations; (6) YOT inspection scores; (7) Number of references to safeguarding, child protection and public protection in Ofsted reports; (8) National Performance indicators data relating to young people and crime; (9) Evolution of YOT inspection process; and (10) References. (Contains 23 tables, 1 figure and 1 note.)

Each year, the federal government makes a significant financial investment in the education and training of the U.S. physician workforce. A quarter of that physician workforce is composed of international medical graduates (IMG) and they include both U.S. citizens and foreign nationals. Little is known about IMGs with respect to how much they borrow overall, or the outcome of their medical studies, leading some policy makers to question the federal return on investment in IMGs. Therefore, Congress mandated that GAO study the performance of IMGs educated at these schools and other aspects of a foreign medical education, including the potential effect of the new 75 percent pass rate requirement on school participation in the federal loan. This report examines the following questions: (1) What amount of federal student aid loan dollars has been awarded to U.S. students attending foreign medical schools? (2) What do the data show about the pass rates of international medical graduates on license examinations? (3) To what extent does Education monitor foreign medical schools' compliance with the pass rate required to participate in the federal student loan program? (4) What is known about schools' performance with regard to the institutional pass rate requirement? (5) What is known about where international medical graduates have obtained residencies in the United States and the types of medicine they practice? (6) What is known about discipline and malpractice involving foreign educated physicians? In summary, the GAO found the following: (1) From 1998 to 2008, U.S. students enrolled at foreign medical schools borrowed $1.5 billion in FFEL loans to attend free-standing medical schools. Although this amount represents less than 1 percent of all federal student loans borrowed during this period, borrowing has grown significantly, in part because of increases in tuition, student enrollments, and the availability of additional loan funds for graduate and professional students. (2) IMGs, as a group, have consistently passed their medical licensing exam at lower rates over the past decade than their U.S.-educated peers, but have narrowed this performance gap for most of the exam steps. (3) Education has not been able to fully enforce the institutional pass rate requirement needed for continued federal student loan eligibility. The three private organizations that administer each step of the exam have declined to release student scores on grounds that the data are proprietary in nature and should not be used for marketing purposes. As a result, Education reviews pass rates only when a school applies for the program, when it periodically seeks recertification, or when there is a change in ownership. (4) A GAO analysis of 2008 pass rate data of institutions located in countries that participate in the federal loan program indicates that while a majority of foreign medical schools in these countries met the current 60 percent student pass rate requirement, very few--11 percent--would likely meet the newly required 75 percent pass rate. (5) IMGs have entered into residency programs in all states, though they are concentrated in the eastern United States, and a larger proportion tend to practice in primary care than do U.S.-educated graduates. Nationwide, in academic year 2008-2009 there were 109,482 medical residents, over 30,000 of whom were IMGs (about 27 percent). Overall, few significant differences exist between all IMGs and U.S.-educated physicians with regard to either disciplinary actions that would revoke or suspend their licenses or with regard to malpractice payments--and rates of disciplinary actions are low for physicians as a whole. Appended are: (1) Briefing Slides; (2) Objectives, Scope, and Methodology; (3) Comparison of Average Cost of Attendance at U.S. and Selected Foreign Medical Schools; (4) Performance on Licensing Exam by Number of Attempts on Each Exam Step, and by Nationality of IMG; (5) International Medical Graduates and Residencies; (6) Summary of Responses by Focus Group Participants at the Five Foreign Medical Schools We Visited; (7) Comments from the U.S. Department of Education; and (8) GAO Contact and Staff Acknowledgments. (Contains 3 tables, 4 figures, 14 footnotes, and a bibliography.)

During the rush of the school year, free time is an all-too-scarce commodity for busy teachers. Summer's another story. More relaxed schedules allow a little breathing room to reflect, collaborate, plan ahead--or just unwind. The time off is all important for helping teachers get reinvigorated and ready for the new school year. Whether your summer plans call for getting fit, heading off on an adventure, or just watching the stars under the nighttime sky, this resource-packed guide shares ideas to help you make the most of your break from the bell schedule. It presents ten tips to help you relax, reflect, and recharge for the coming school year.

To help teachers get off to a good start, this paper presents the updated "Back-to-School Guide" that is brimming with new-media ideas and resources. It outlines ten tips, along with easy-to-use tools, that will help teachers build their classroom community, survey students to bring out their ideas, and make learning more collaborative. Links to resources for incorporating everything from infographics to citizen science projects are included.

This educator guide is organized into seven chapters: (1) Overview; (2) The Design Challenge; (3) Connections to National Curriculum Standards; (4) Preparing to Teach; (5) Classroom Sessions; (6) Opportunities for Extension; and (7) Teacher Resources. Chapter 1 provides information about Environmental Control and Life Support Systems used on NASA spacecraft. Chapter 2 provides a brief description of the challenge, time requirements, and materials and cost estimates. A more detailed list of materials appears in chapter 4. Chapter 3 provides correlations to the National Science Education Standards, the Standards for School Mathematics, and the Standards for Technological Literacy. Chapter 4 contains all of the basic information you need to know, and lists everything you need to do, before using the challenge in your classroom. Chapter 5 provides information that will guide you through each session. Chapter 6 describes optional activities that are related to the basic challenge. These extensions are described but not actually developed for you. Chapter 7 contains a list of useful websites, information regarding NASA's Educator Resource Center Network, and black line masters for classroom use. This educator guide has been set up to help you find things quickly and to minimize your need to "jump around." A glossary is included. (Contains 6 tables.)

Tension between university communities and the surrounding residential communities has existed almost since the creation of higher education. Historically, there have been murders and riots. More recently, there have been protests and simmering animosity. In the 1980s, there was a greater recognition that the fate of the residential communities impacted the fate of the universities, and steps have been taken to address the disconnect ever since. Most of the literature about university-community engagement since then has focused on the university perspective, and the good that has been done through university outreach programs. This study looks primarily at the residential community perspective, learning about the experiences of people who live near higher education institutions in Philadelphia and trying to understand what they want from the relationship. Ultimately, this study presents a foundation for what can be and how the two communities can and should work together in mutually beneficial ways.

Writing is an important issue in the UK today. While children's and young people's writing standards steadily improved until 2006, levels have not increased in recent years. Writing is much more than just an educational issue--it is an essential skill that allows people to participate fully in today's society and to contribute to the economy. Since relatively little is known about young people's views about writing in the UK, the key objectives of this survey were: to explore how much young people enjoy writing, what type of writing they engage in, how good at writing they think they are and what they think about writing. This research provides everyone with an up-to-date insight into young people's attitudes towards writing. Most young people write regularly and young people write technology-based materials, such as text and instant messages, most frequently. While owning a mobile phone does not appear to alter young people's writing behaviour, having a profile on a social networking site or having a blog is connected to enjoyment of writing and confidence in writing. Young people today use computers regularly and believe that computers are beneficial to their writing. Appended are: (1) Writing attitudes questionnaire; (2) Technology and young people's background characteristics; (3) Reasons for writing ability by demographic background; and (4) Writing frequency of 18 types of format for whole sample. (Contains 13 tables and 8 figures.) [This paper was created in collaboration with Booktrust.]

In meeting the inclusion provisions for English language learners (ELLs) in state assessment systems, it is important to assure the meaningful representation of what students know and can do. States have relied on accommodations as one of the principle means to increase the validity of ELL test scores. Yet current knowledge about effective accommodations for ELLs is limited. Moreover, because accommodations were originally implemented to support students with disabilities, many states have not distinguished between accommodations for ELLs and students with disabilities. In contrast to students with disabilities who need accommodations that address their particular disability, ELLs need accommodations that provide "linguistic" support. This support is needed to help them demonstrate what they know and can do on assessments given in English. Additionally, it is important to recognize the heterogeneity of the ELL population. To increase the validity and reliability of assessment results for ELLs, policy makers will need to carefully consider how to accommodate ELLs at varying stages of English language proficiency (ELP), native language literacy, and with differing educational backgrounds. The aim of this Guide is to support states in refining assessment policies so they are more responsive to the linguistic needs of ELLs. It is designed to help state education agencies build policies that coherently address ELLs, and that clearly distinguish the accommodation of ELLs from the accommodation of students with disabilities. The paper also provides an overview of research on accommodations and highlights studies on specific accommodations for ELLs. This is followed by a discussion of the relevant findings from the Descriptive and Best Practices studies, which form the foundation for the organization and content of the Guide. A glossary of terms is included. (Contains 1 table.) [This publication was supported by the U.S. Department of Education's (ED) LEP Partnership.]

NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) is one of the biggest employers of engineers in the world--about 90,000 among its own employees and its corporate partners. So it's not surprising that NASA wants kids to learn more about engineering, become interested in the things engineers do, and experience the world of engineering firsthand. Meanwhile, "Design Squad" is all about engaging kids in engineering by offering them opportunities to give it a try. By teaming up to develop the "On the Moon" guide, NASA and "Design Squad" help teachers bring hands-on engineering and the adventure of space exploration to life for kids. This guide offers six hands-on challenges that bring engineering and NASA's moon missions to life for kids in schools and afterschool programs. The challenges take an hour (except "Feel the Heat," which takes 1 1/2 to 2 hours), use readily available materials, give kids many ways to succeed, and can be done with large groups. The activities also meet many of the national science, technology, and mathematics standards. Activities in this guide include: (1) Launch It; (2) Touchdown; (3) Roving on the Moon; (4) Heavy Lifting; (5) On Target; and (6) Feel the Heat. ["On the Moon" was produced by the WGBH Educational Outreach department, in collaboration with NASA.]

This guide was prepared as a tool useful for informal education venues (4-H, Boys and Girls Clubs, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, etc.), science clubs and related programs, and can be adopted for formal education settings. An exciting and productive study in rocket science can be implemented using the selected activities for the above-mentioned settings. The guide's activities can be correlated to meet formal education's core curriculum objectives or used for ancillary enrichment and extension activities. The series of activities in this guide require basic, inexpensive materials. They demonstrate fundamental principles of rocket science. The activities were selected and organized around the target concepts of altitude, velocity and acceleration (i.e., height, distance and speed). The Adventures in Rocket Science Activity Matrix on page v organizes the activities by suggested grade level bands as well as target concepts. The guide includes a compilation of NASA-developed and originally developed activities that emphasize hands-on involvement, prediction, data collection and interpretation, teamwork, and problem solving. Project background and an edited, student-friendly version of "The History of Rocketry" is included. The guide includes an appendix with construction directions for various project activities, safety guidelines and a glossary of terms. Appended are: (1) Assembly Instructions; (2) Rocket Safety Code; (3) Rocket Principles; and (4) Rocketry Resource Materials. [This document was produced and funded through the NASA Explorer Institute (NEI) and is an expansion of the NASA guidebook "Rockets" by Deborah Shearer, Greg Vogt, and Carla Rosenberg.]

The Human Exploration Project (HEP) units have several common characteristics. All units: (1) Are based upon the Technological Literacy standards (ITEA, 2000/2002); (2) Coordinate with Science (AAAS, 1993) and Mathematics standards (NCTM, 2000); (3) Utilize a standards-based development approach (ITEA, 2005); (4) Stand alone and coordinate with ITEA-CATTS Engineering by Design[TM] curricular offerings; (5) Reflect a unique partnership between NASA scientists and engineers and education professionals; and (6) Incorporate leading-edge insight and practical experiences for students on how NASA works and plans. These unit guides are designed to be practical and user-friendly. Design is a creative problem-solving process that leads to the development of new products and systems. In this unit, students will learn about and apply this process in developing a lunar plant growth chamber design. The criteria and constraints for this system are based on the unique conditions of the lunar environment and the current transportation technologies available. The current focus of NASA is reviewed as well as the new systems that are being developed for future missions. The science of the lunar environment and basic plant needs are presented. Resource documents including a Standards for Technological Literacy Program Responsibility Matrix are appended. [Cover title varies.]

Many adult basic education programs use the Tests of General Educational Development (GED[R] Tests) to measure the skills and knowledge associated with a high school program of study as well as to assess the achievement gains of adult learners through participation in their programs. Using data from the 2003 National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL) and the 1992 National Adult Literacy Survey (NALS), this study provides evidence of the validity of the GED credential as an indication of achieving the literacy skills and knowledge equivalent to those skills and knowledge demonstrated by adults with high school diplomas and aids many adult education programs in evaluating their effectiveness through adult learners' performance on the GED Tests. (Contains 9 tables and 18 figures.)

The purpose of the analyses reported in this paper was to compare performance on the GED (General Educational Development) Tests, U.S. edition, across three groups of examinees: (a) graduating high school seniors in the GED Tests U.S. 2001 norm group, (b) GED Tests candidates who took one or more tests in the U.S. in 2002-2004, and (c) GED Tests candidates who passed the tests in the U.S. in 2002-2004. By comparing graduating high school seniors and GED Tests examinees, this report provides evidence of the academic value of the GED Tests credential. This report also identifies several academic content and cognitive levels in which GED Tests examinees are likely to have difficulties. Performance of the three groups was compared through comparison of standard scores, percentile rank distributions, and item difficulty statistics for the tests and each of the content and cognitive levels measured by the GED Tests. The results should be useful primarily to employers and admissions officers evaluating applicants who have a credential based on passing the GED Tests. Additionally, adult education administrators and teachers should find this information useful when planning and developing instructional programs for GED Tests candidates. A glossary is appended. (Contains 10 tables, 2 figures, and 2 footnotes.) [For the executive summary, see ED510055.]

Lunar Nautics is a hands-on curriculum targeted to youth in grades 6 to 8, that allows the students to design, test, analyze and manage a space mission from initial concept to project funding. Lunar Nautics provides opportunities for development of problem solving skills and critical thinking skills that are needed to design, organize and manage a space mission through its life cycle. The curriculum is designed as a template curriculum that can be applied to any space mission: past, present or future. Each section of this guide contains background information, demonstrations and activities that support the section topic and the overall design and engineering goals of Lunar Nautics. This guide is divided into sections that touch upon space mission awareness, concept understanding, teamwork, design and proposal development. Educators can use this guide with great flexibility in a variety of formats such as week long day camps, after-school programs, a classroom unit or simply as supporting curriculum. An appendix providing useful information for the Lunar Nautics program is included. (Contains 3 figures.) [This paper was produced by the Discovery Place, Inc.]

In May 2005, the International Technology Education Association (ITEA) was funded by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to develop curricular units for Grades K-12 on Space Exploration. The units focus on aspects of the themes that NASA Engineers and Scientists--as well as future generations of explorers--must consider, such as Energy and Power, Transportation and Lunar Plant Growth Chambers (the STS-118 Design Challenges). Moreover, the units are embedded within a larger model program for technology education known as Engineering byDesign[TM]. Design is a creative problem-solving process. In this unit, students will design and build a lunar plant growth chamber using the engineering design process. This Design Challenge has been written with two tracks in mind. Track 1 provides a more comprehensive learning experience, and teachers are encouraged to consider exploring this alternative, perhaps working with other teachers in the school to provide students with resources and a laboratory-classroom with the necessary equipment. The Design, Build and Evaluate Challenge is a twelve-to-eighteen day challenge for those teachers and students who have the resources available to build a larger model with operational subsystems. Teachers need to determine what tools and materials are available to students and whether students will build a full-sized or scaled-down version of the LPGC. This extension continues after the Preliminary Design Review (PDR) in Lesson 3 with the students constructing their working prototype and presenting it at the Critical Design Review (CDR) in Lesson 4. The Design and Evaluate Challenge is a five-to-seven day challenge. It requires students to design and build a small model of a Lunar Plant Growth Chamber (LPGC). This challenge ends with Lesson 3, culminating with the Preliminary Design Review (PDR). Resource documents are appended.

The Field Trip to the Moon program uses an inquiry-based learning approach that fosters team building and introduces students to careers in science and engineering. The program components include a DVD and classroom investigations. The compelling DVD (not included here) provides essential information about Earth and the Moon. The hands-on activities, which take up where the show leaves off, motivate students to use their cooperative learning skills to design a self-sufficient lunar station. Working in teams, students develop critical thinking skills, problem-solving techniques, and an understanding of complex systems as they discuss solutions to the essential questions they are presented. This educator's guide includes classroom investigation procedures, questions to guide student investigations, material list, and worksheets. [Portions of this document were produced by the American Museum of Natural History.]