Hand in Hand with Special Education-A Guide for Parents (pdf)
West Virginia Department of Education
“This publication is intended to help parents and other family members, the West Virginia Department of Education, and local boards of education assure a quality education for all exceptional children, [including] how they can work as partners with educators to provide appropriate educational services for children.”
Date Published: no date
Spotlight: 2009-12
The State of State Standards—and the Common Core—in 2010
Carmichael, S. B., Martino, G., Porter-Magee, K., & Wilson, W. S.
“This study examines the English language arts…and mathematics content standards of the fifty states and the District of Columbia, and compares their rigor and clarity to those recently published by the Common Core State Standards Initiative." Access an analysis for each state or read the full report for detailed reviews of each state's standards, ...
Date Published: 2010-07
Spotlight: 2010-08
College- And Career-Ready Students; School Turnaround Grants (pdf)
U.S. Department of Education
In one of a series “outlining the research that supports the proposals in its blueprint for revising” ESEA, this policy statement by ED focuses on the rigor of standards and assessments, accountability and support, capacity-building at all levels, and comparability and equity. It outlines “emerging research [showing] that low-performing schools tha...
Date Published: 2010-05
Spotlight: 2010-05
Central Office Transformation for District-wide Teaching and Learning Improvement (pdf)
Honig, M. I., Copland, M. A., Rainey, L., Lorton, J. A., & Newton, M.
"This report summarizes main results from a national study of how leaders in urban school district central offices fundamentally transformed their work and relationships with schools to support districtwide teaching and learning improvement. All three study districts had been posting gains in student achievement and credited their progress, in part...
Date Published: 2010-04
Spotlight: 2010-07
Handbook on Effective Implementation of School Improvement Grants
Perlman, C. L., & Redding, S. (Eds).
“The purpose of this Handbook is to bolster the effective implementation of the intervention models and strategies outlined in the 2009 School Improvement Grant (SIG) program…in order to achieve the program's clear goal--rapid improvement of persistently low-achieving schools. Especially, this Handbook offers succinct and practical explanations of ...
Date Published: 2010-01
Spotlight: 2010-01
This School Works for Me: An Implementation Guide for School District Administrators
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
“This guide synthesizes lessons learned from some of the nation's largest school districts on improving student achievement at scale” by addressing “six key questions: Which of your students are most likely to drop out-and why? What kind of school choices do you provide…and how well are those schools and programs performing? What policy changes are...
Date Published: 2010-01
Spotlight: 2010-03
Use of Education Data at the Local Level: From Accountability to Instructional Improvement (pdf)
U.S. Department of Education, Office of Planning, Evaluation, and Policy Development
This report “builds on the picture of local practices in implementing data-driven decision making provided in the earlier reports by presenting data from the national district survey as well as from site visits conducted during 2007-08…in 12 districts….A comparison of this portrait with the ideal of all schools using data systems to improve…outcome...
Date Published: 2010-01
Spotlight: 2010-02
Using Student Achievement Data to Support Instructional Decision Making (pdf)
Hamilton, L., Halverson, R., Jackson, S., Mandinach, E., Supovitz, J., & Wayman, J. (NCEE 2009-4067)
“This guide provides a framework for using student achievement data to support instructional decision making. These decisions include, but are not limited to, how to adapt lessons or assignments in response to students' needs, alter classroom goals or objectives, or modify student-grouping arrangements. The guide also provides recommendations for c...
Date Published: 2009-09
Spotlight: 2009-11
Performance Management in Portfolio School Districts (pdf)
Lake, R. J., & Hill, P. T.
“The report integrates the results to provide examples and ideas about how school districts can hold all publicly funded schools, no matter who staffs and operates them, accountable to the same standards of performance. We use the term portfolio district to refer to any district that is trying to match diverse provision of schools with common accou...
Date Published: 2009-08
Spotlight: 2009-09
Educational Rights and Responsibilities: Understanding Special Education in Illinois
Illinois State Board of Education - Special Education and Support Services
This comprehensive guide was developed for parents and others to learn about the educational rights of children who have disabilities and receive special education services. It also includes a glossary of terms and acronyms.
Date Published: 2009-06
Spotlight: 2010-02
Effects of the California High School Exit Exam on Student Persistence, Achievement, and Graduation (pdf)
Reardon, S. F., Atteberry, A., Arshan, N. & Kurlaender, M. – IREPP Working Paper# 2009-12
This study investigates “the effects of a high school exit exam requirement on students' achievement, persistence in high school, and graduation rates,” finding that “the exit exam requirement had no positive effect on student achievement, small negative or zero effects on students' persistence in high school, and large negative effects on graduati...
Date Published: 2009-04
Spotlight: 2009-07
A Critical Mission: Making Adolescent Reading an Immediate Priority in SREB States: The Report of the Committee to Improve Reading and Writing in Middle and High Schools (pdf)
Southern Regional Education Board
This report advocates the following state policies:define the specific reading skills students need in order to master each key subject; identify the best teaching strategies to help middle grades and high school students develop their reading comprehension skills in each subject; ensure that these strategies are applied statewide …by including the...
Date Published: 2009-04
Spotlight: 2009-05
The State of Preschool 2008
W. Steven Barnett, W. S., Epstein, D. J., Friedman, A. H., Boyd, J. S., & Hustedt, J. T.
This report profiles, state by state, state-funded prekindergarten programs and highlights national trends in state preschool spending, access, and quality. Interactive datasets are also available.
Date Published: 2009-04
Spotlight: 2009-08
A Toolkit for Title I Parental Involvement
Ferguson, C.
This toolkit explains in detail the Title I, Part A parental involvement provisions and gives 33 tools to help states, districts, and schools increase family engagement in supporting children’s learning.
Date Published: 2009-02
Spotlight: 2009-06
Assisting Students Struggling with Reading: Response to Intervention and Multi-Tier Intervention for Reading in the Primary Grades. IES Practice Guide (pdf)
Gersten, R., et al. (NCEE 2009-4045)
"In the primary grades students with reading difficulties may need intervention to prevent future reading failure. This guide offers specific recommendations to help educators identify students in need of intervention and implement evidence-based interventions to promote their reading achievement. It also describes how to carry out each recommendat...
Date Published: 2009-02
Spotlight: 2009-04
High School Literacy: A Quick Stats Fact Sheet (pdf)
Rutenberg, D.
“Deliberate literacy instruction in high school offers some potentially promising outcomes ” generally and for particular subgroups. This is in response to NAEP data showing that literacy often begins to decline in 8th grade, but “reading and writing are rarely taught as separate subjects" beyond that. Teachers of high school content courses rarely...
Date Published: 2009-01
Spotlight: 2009-01
Principals' Hiring of Teachers in Philadelphia Schools: A Research Report on Improving Teacher Quality (pdf)
Ramirez, H. A., Schofield, L. S., & Black, M.
This study of the implementation of new teacher recruitment and hiring policies--incentives and school-based hiring--focuses on the principal's key role. In Philadelphia schools, a lack of principal accountability and buy-in limited the success of these policy innovations. The lack of buy-in resulted not from poor district policy or communication, ...
Date Published: 2009
Spotlight: 2009-10
An Evaluation of the Effect of Increased State Aid to Local School Systems Through the Bridge to Excellence Act (Final Report)
MGT of America, Inc.
“The study [of Maryland's the Bridge to Excellence program] found that student proficiency levels for all students and for NCLB subgroups…significantly improved statewide….The study found that schools that have higher percentages of classes taught by highly qualified teachers had student proficiency levels accelerating faster than those with lower ...
Date Published: 2008-12
Spotlight: 2009-06
Improving the Skills and Knowledge of the High School Teachers We Already Have (pdf)
Jennifer Dounay & Kathy Christie
This policy brief examines 7 high-leverage components to strengthen teacher professional development at the high school level and provides state policy suggestions for each: conceptual knowledge; college/workforce readiness in teacher expectations; communities of practice/mentorship; data, assessment, and differentiated instruction; focus on instru...
Date Published: 2008-10
Spotlight: 2009-03
Relationships, Rigor, and Readiness: Strategies for Improving High Schools (pdf)
Quint, J., Levy Thompson, S., Bald, M., with Bernstein, J., & Sztejnberg, L.
"This report offers lessons from the last in a series of three high school reform conferences," which "provided a forum for practitioners to share research and practice-based lessons about helping students transition successfully into high school, stay on track to graduation, and be prepared for moving into postsecondary education, training, or the...
Date Published: 2008-10
Spotlight: 2008-11
Improving Adolescent Literacy: Effective Classroom and Intervention Practices - IES Practice Guide (pdf)
Kamil, M. L., Borman, G. D., Dole, J., Kral, C. C., Salinger, T., & Torgesen, J. (NCEE #2008-4027)
"The goal of this practice guide is to present specific and coherent evidence-based recommendations that educators can use to improve literacy levels among adolescents in upper elementary, middle, and high schools. . . .The target audience for the practice guide is teachers and other school personnel who have direct contact with students, such as c...
Date Published: 2008-08
Spotlight: 2008-09
Preparing High School Students for Successful Transitions to Postsecondary Education and Employment (pdf)
Bangser, M.
This 24-page brief "reviews lessons from studies of selected policies and programs designed to improve students’ preparation for postsecondary pathways. Special emphasis is placed on ways to help those who traditionally face substantial barriers to success, including low-income students, African American and Latino students, and students with disab...
Date Published: 2008-08
Spotlight: 2008-10
Developing Early Warning Systems to Identify Potential High School Dropouts [Early Warning System Guide] (pdf)
Issue Brief by Heppen, J. B., & Bowles Therriault, S.
This guide discusses the factors that help predict the probability that individual students will eventually drop out of high school prior to graduating and includes step-by-step instructions for building early warning systems at both the school and district level. States’ roles are also discussed.
Date Published: 2008-07
Spotlight: 2009-02
Early Warning System Tool (Excel file)
Heppen, J. B., O’Cummings, M., & Bowles Therriault, S.
This tool allows educators to input student-level data and automatically calculate whether individual students are on track to graduate or at risk of dropping out. (Please maximize the document’s screen in Excel in order to access all the spreadsheet tabs in the tool.)
Date Published: 2008-07
Spotlight: 2009-02
Approaches to Evaluating Teacher Effectiveness: A Research Synthesis (pdf)
Goe, L., Bell, C., & Little, O.
This research synthesis examines how teacher effectiveness is currently measured and provides practical guidance for how best to evaluate teacher effectiveness. It defines the components that characterize effective teachers, extending this definition beyond their contribution to student achievement gains to include how teachers impact classrooms, s...
Date Published: 2008-06
Spotlight: 2008-12
Preparing to Serve English Language Learner Students: School Districts with Emerging English Language Learner Communities
Zehler, A. M., Adger, C., Coburn, C., Arteagoitia, I., Williams, K., & Jacobson, L. (Issues & Answers Report, REL 2008–No. 049)
“This report aims to help school districts deal with the challenges of newly enrolling or rapidly increasing English language learner students by offering background information and sharing the experiences of districts that have addressed similar challenges in providing services and infrastructure to support the success of English language learner ...
Date Published: 2008-06
Spotlight: 2008-07
Teaching English Language Learners: What the Research Does – and Does Not – Say (pdf)
Goldenberg, C. in American Educator, Vol. 32, No. 2
Goldenberg examines 2 recent reviews of research, Finding: teaching students to read in their first language promotes higher levels of reading achievement in English; general best practices in instruction and curriculum apply to ELLs as well; and teachers of ELLs have to alter their instruction according to their ELLs’ language limitations. Helpful...
Date Published: 2008-06
Spotlight: 2008-08
The Evaluation Exchange: Building the Future of Family Involvement
Harvard Family Research Project (HFRP)
"Examining family involvement in policy, practice, and research, this issue explores where the field is today and where it needs to go in the future. The issue draws on HFRP's 25-year history of family involvement expertise and features innovative initiatives, new evaluation approaches and findings, and interviews with experts. It includes perspect...
Date Published: 2008-05
Spotlight: 2008-05
Foundations for Success: The Final Report of the National Mathematics Advisory Panel
National Mathematics Advisory Panel
"On the basis of its deliberation and research, the Panel can report that America has genuine opportunities for improvement in mathematics education. This report lays them out for action." The report, the culmination of eight earlier subcommittee and task group reports, makes recommendations concerning these topics: Curricular Content, Learning Pro...
Date Published: 2008-03
Spotlight: 2008-03
Does Teacher Professional Development Have Effects on Teaching and Learning? Analysis of Evaluation Findings from Programs for Mathematics and Science Teachers in 14 States
Blank, R. K., de las Alas, N., & Smith, C.
"CCSSO reviewed evaluation studies from 25 professional development programs for teachers of mathematics and science from programs nominated by 14 states." This final report summarizes the study’s analysis of quality of programs in relation to recent research evidence, and identified which professional development designs and methods of evaluation...
Date Published: 2008-02
Spotlight: 2008-06
Assessments Based on Modified Academic Achievement Standards: Critical Considerations and Implications for Implementation (pdf)
Assessment and Accountability Comprehensive Center
This document presents key information "about assessments based on modified academic achievement standards," that is, "2% assessments" for students with disabilities. It also "describes critical issues and considerations related to the development and implementation of 2% assessments, and presents examples of general approaches states have taken (o...
Date Published: 2007-11
Spotlight: 2007-12
National Assessment of Title I: Final Report
Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education
This 2-volume report and Summary of Key Findings presents findings from the congressionally mandated National Assessment of Title I on the implementation and impact of the program. Volume I contains key findings on the implementation of the program under NCLB, and Volume II presents a report on follow-up findings from Closing the Reading Gap, an ev...
Date Published: 2007-10
Spotlight: 2008-01
Virginia’s Statewide System of Support (pdf)
Virginia Department of Education
The toolkit for improving school performance includes a variety of resources and support with links, organized into six strands as follows: 1) standards and instructional resources; 2) assessments and data-driven decision making; 3) instructional support, interventions, and acceleration; 4) teacher quality and leadership development; 5) partnership...
Date Published: 2007-10
Spotlight: 2007-04
How the World’s Best-Performing School Systems Come Out on Top (pdf)
Barber, Michael, & Mourshed, Mona
This report examines the practices of the 10 top global performers and another seven improving school systems on the PISA tests (Program for International Student Assessment), concluding that it is most important to attract the right people to be teachers, develop them into effective instructors, and ensure “the system is able to deliver the best p...
Date Published: 2007-09
Spotlight: 2007-11
Organizing Instruction and Study to Improve Student Learning: IES Practice Guide (pdf)
Pashler, H., Bain, P., Bottge, B., Graesser, A., Koedinger, K., McDaniel, M., and Metcalfe, J.
"(This) guide draws on the best available evidence and expertise to provide teachers with specific strategies for organizing instruction and students' studying of material to facilitate learning and remembering, and for helping students use what they have learned in new situations."
Date Published: 2007-09
Spotlight: 2007-10
Working Together: School-Family-Community Partnerships, a Toolkit for New Mexico School Communities
New Mexico Highlands University
This kit includes tools for teachers/administrators, professional development, and families, available in both English and Spanish, covering six areas of partnerships for healthy school communities: improving communications; promoting positive parenting; enhancing student learning; increasing volunteerism; supporting decision making and advocacy; a...
Date Published: 2007-09
Spotlight: 2009-11
Communicating About Changes to Adequate Yearly Progress and Adequate Yearly Progress Changes for 2007 (Word doc)
Washington Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction
"This toolkit is designed to help school and district leaders communicate about the changes to AYP and to provide communications guidance to school and district leaders whose schools are facing their first year of not making AYP or their first step of school or district improvement."
Date Published: 2007-08
Spotlight: 2007-08
Effective Literacy and English Language Instruction for English Learners in the Elementary Grades: IES Practice Guide (pdf)
Gersten, R., Baker, S.K., Shanahan, T., Linan-Thompson, S., Collins, P., & Scarcella, R.
This guide aims to reach district-level administrators who develop practice and policy options for their schools, as well as administrators, curriculum specialists, and teachers who face the challenge of providing effective literacy instruction for English language learners in elementary grades. One major theme in the recommendations is the importa...
Date Published: 2007-07
Spotlight: 2007-09
Strengthening Teacher Quality in High-Need Schools—Policy and Practice
Hammond, L.D., & Prince, C.D.; CCSSO
The Council of Chief State School Officers’ newly released report, Strengthening Teacher Quality in High-Need Schools: Policy and Practice, is “designed for state policymakers, teachers, teacher mentors, professors and deans at teacher preparation programs, and other stakeholders."
Date Published: 2007-07
Spotlight: 2007-08
Beyond NCLB: Fulfilling the Promise to Our Nation’s Children of the Commission on No Child Left Behind
The Aspen Institute
This 222-page report presents the NCLB Commission’s "Roadmap to the Future," including recommendations on the main categories of policy and educational practice of NCLB.
Date Published: 2007-01
Spotlight: 2007-03
Turning Around Low-Performing Schools and Districts (pdf)
R & D Alert, West Ed
"This issue of R&D Alert describes resources, strategies, and research findings that offer promise for making a difference in academically troubled schools and districts."
Date Published: 2007-01
Spotlight: 2007-04
Building a System of Excellent High Schools: A Framework and Tool for Discussion and Action (pdf)
Feist, M., Joselowsky, F., Nichols-Solomon, R., & Raynor, A. F.
"This tool was designed to deepen the understanding of what it takes to develop a system of excellent high schools. It provides a framework and guidelines for district leaders, community stakeholders, educators, administrators, parents and students to discuss, assess and map out the process of transforming their high schools to meet the needs of al...
Date Published: 2007
Spotlight: 2008-02
Emerging Evidence on Improving High School Student Achievement and Graduation Rates: The Effects of Four Popular Improvement Programs (pdf)
Corinee M. Herlihy and Janet Quint
"This issue brief draws on findings from four studies by MDRC, a nonpartisan, nonprofit research firm, that shed light on both the nature of the problems found in low-performing high schools and on the effectiveness of promising interventions that attempt to address those problems."
Date Published: 2006-11
Spotlight: 2007-01
Policy Brief of the Consortium for School Improvement: State Support to Schools in Need of Improvement
Washington, DC: Council of Chief State School Officers
"State Support to Schools in Need of Improvement” is a policy brief that describes systems of support in eight states—Alabama, Arizona, Illinois, Indiana, New Mexico, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Virginia."
Date Published: 2006-09
Spotlight: 2006-11
School District Leadership That Works: The Effect of Superintendent Leadership on Student Achievement (pdf)
Waters, J.Timothy, & Marzano, Robert J.
"To determine the influence of district superintendents on student achievement and the characteristics of effective superintendents, McREL ...conducted a meta-analysis of research...on the influence of school district leaders on student performance."
Date Published: 2006-09
Spotlight: 2007-02
School Improvement Guide to Connecticut Accountability for Learning Initiative and NCLB Requirements in Connecticut Schools (pdf)
Connecticut State Department of Education, Bureau of Curriculum and Instruction, School Improvement Unit
This resource provides information and tools which clarify and explain the requirements of NCLB and Connecticut’s Accountability for Learning Initiative (CALI). Sample letters and other resources are given. (Note: An update of this document is now available at http://www.csde.state.ct.us/public/cedar/nclb/sip/index.htm)
Date Published: 2006-08
Spotlight: 2007-03
Missouri School Improvement Program Standards and Indicators Manual—Accreditation Standards for Public School Districts in Missouri (pdf)
Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
This manual guides school districts through school improvement reviews. Included are resource standards (e.g., for program of studies, professional support staff), process standards (e.g., instructional design and practices, differentiated instruction and supplemental programs), and performance standards for K–12 districts and for K–8 districts.
Date Published: 2006-07
Spotlight: 2007-06
School Improvement Fieldbook: A Guide to Advancing Student Achievement in Georgia Schools (pdf)
Georgia Dept. of Education, Division of School Improvement
The 2006-2007 System Improvement Fieldbook includes the Comprehensive Plan for ALL school systems. Systems identified as Needs Improvement receive additional supporting information from the Division of School Improvement regarding NCLB requirements. Includes information and templates for improvement, corrective action, restructuring, implementing s...
Date Published: 2006-05
Spotlight: 2007-02
A Toolkit for Family Involvement in Education (pdf)
Oregon Department of Education
"The Oregon Department of Education has compiled the Family Involvement Toolkit to assist schools and districts in creating and supporting high quality family involvement programs."
Date Published: 2006-04
Spotlight: 2006-10
Resource Book for School and District Improvement Under NCLB
Indiana Department of Education
This periodically updated resource includes: 1) chart of consequences for not making AYP, 2) optional school improvement planning template, 3) LEA assurances, 4) sample letters to parents, 5) description of technical assistance for restructuring, and 6) district improvement plan templates.
Date Published: 2006-03
Spotlight: 2007-05
Systemic Change Framework Rubrics Assessment Handbook and Transformed, Inclusive Schools: A Resource Guide to Fundamental Change in Urban Schools
National Institute for Urban School Improvement
These two publications are intended to be used in tandem. The first, Systemic Change Framework Rubrics Assessment Handbook provides rubrics designed to help schools assess their status, identify specific goals, and determine the means for measuring improvement efforts.
Date Published: 2006
Spotlight: 2007-07
Principal's Planning Guides
(Texas) School Improvement Resource Center
Scroll down for guides. Each of twelve free, downloadable guides includes NCLB guidelines, definitions, district implications/considerations, strategic steps for a campus, and recommended resources. Guides available include: Special Education; ELL/EP; Parental Involvement; Mathematics; TEKS-Based Instruction at TAKS Standards; Benchmarking; Managem...
Date Published: 2005-2007
Spotlight: 2008-08
The Iowa Professional Development Model Training Manual
Iowa Department of Education
The Iowa Professional Development Model Training Manual presents a 4-part manual along with case studies and reference works cited.
Date Published: 2005
Spotlight: 2007-09
Aiming High Toolkit: Promoting Standards-Based Education to Improve Student Achievement (word doc)
Warren, Eileen
The purpose of this 215-page, 10-chapter toolkit is to "introduce research-based principles of high school reform; offer concrete, how-to processes for instituting strategies that will increase student achievement; and provide tools, guides, and models to accompany the California Department of Education's publication, Aiming High." It contains nume...
Date Published: 2004-06
Spotlight: 2007-12
Common Core State Standards Initiative
National Governors Association & Council of Chief State School Officers
The website, presents the final version of the Common Core State Standards, a “set of expectations for student knowledge and skills that high school graduates need to master to succeed in college and careers.” The common core standards for language arts and mathematics for each grade, K-12, as well as supporting resources for identification of the ...
http://www.corestandards.org/
Spotlight: 2010-06
Alabama Accountability Roundtable (ART)
Alabama Department of Education
Technical assistance to schools is coordinated through the Accountability Roundtable and provided by the State Support Team (SST), in the areas of curriculum, instruction, fiscal responsibility, management, and leadership. The SST provides technical assistance and support to all schools with focused assistance to LEAs and schools that do not make A...
http://www.alsde.edu/html/sections/section_detail.asp?section=88&footer=sections
Spotlight: 2007-01
California Dropout Research Project
University of California Linguistic Minority Research Institute
"The purpose of this project is to synthesize existing research and undertake new research to inform policymakers and the larger public about the nature of—and potential solutions to—the dropout problem in California." The project has produced a series of statistical and policy briefs, reports, and research syntheses. A February 2008 report docume...
http://www.lmri.ucsb.edu/dropouts/
Spotlight: 2008-05
Data Driven Decisions for Academic Achievement (D3A2)
The Data Driven Decisions for Academic Achievement (D3A2) project is a long-term initiative focused on developing the capacity of educators while improving instruction and student achievement.
D3A2 will provide systemic access to timely data and educational resources aligned to Ohio’s Academic Content Standards.
http://www.d3a2.org/
Spotlight: 2006-12
Michigan Department of Education's School Improvement Website
Michigan Department of Education
Michigan's Office of School Improvement, in conjunction with school improvement specialists and educators across the state, have developed a nationally recognized "School Improvement Framework" based on current research and best practice to support school and district continuous improvement efforts. This website is filled with general school improv...
http://www.michigan.gov/mde/0,1607,7-140-28753_38959---,00.html
Spotlight: 2007-01
Mississippi Department of Education (website)
Mississippi Department of Education
The drop-down menu under "Hot Topics" on the Mississippi Department of Education website provides general information, instructions, sample documents, completed applications, and explanatory videos on School Improvement Grants (SIGs); American Investment and Recovery Act (ARRA); a revised Statewide Accountability Model (2009), including a new schoo...
http://www.mde.k12.ms.us/
Spotlight: 2010-07
Ohio’s Use of The Surveys of Enacted Curriculum
Ohio Department of Education
The Surveys of Enacted Curriculum (SEC) is a research-based data tool that allows teachers, administrators, and policy makers to examine the extent of alignment between the enacted curriculum (what teachers teach), the intended curriculum (what the standards require), and the assessed curriculum (what the state tests). Ohio has designed a “trainer ...
http://www.ode.state.oh.us/GD/Templates/Pages/ODE/ODEDetail.aspx?page=3&TopicRelationID=1331&ContentID=14463&Content=31771
Spotlight: 2008-02
Parent Involvement Analysis
Academic Development Institute
The Parent Involvement Analysis online tool guides a school-based team through an inventory and self-assessment of parent involvement policies and practices, resulting in objectives for improvement that can become part of the school improvement plan. The process also provides benchmarks to gauge progress and includes electronic reporting to the dis...
http://www.adi.org/PIA/
Spotlight: 2010-04
School and District Improvement Planning
Kentucky Department of Education
The Kentucky Department of Education website offers many planning and monitoring tools, resources, and links for schools and districts to facilitate school and district improvement.
http://www.education.ky.gov/KDE/Administrative+Resources/School+Improvement/Comprehensive+Improvement+Planning/
Spotlight: 2006-11
School Improvement in Maryland: The New mdk12.org
Maryland State Department of Education
This website helps schools analyze state assessment data to improve student achievement, and includes the Voluntary State Curriculum, publicly released items from the High School Assessment, graphed data from state assessments, and professional development modules related to data use and analysis. New sections for students, parents, teachers, admin...
http://mdk12.org/
Spotlight: 2008-04
Technical Assistance Database
Appalachia Regional Comprehensive Center
This is a database of products/services provided by the 5 national federally-funded content centers. Search by resource name, provider, format, or one of these areas: achievement gap; accountability; assessment; curriculum & instruction; ELLs; high school; highly qualified educators; leadership; mathematics; middle grades; migrant education; parent...
http://www.arcc.edvantia.org/resources.php
Spotlight: 2008-02
The Indiana Accountability System for Academic Progress
Indiana Department of Education
The Indiana Accountability System for Academic Progress (ASAP) features a searchable database of schools working on related school improvement initiatives; searches may be made according to school improvement model, improvement focus areas, or improvement strategy. Select schools to be graphed and compared.
http://www.doe.state.in.us/asap/sip.html
Spotlight: 2007-05
