Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning (McREL) is a nationally recognized, private, no... more Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning (McREL) is a nationally recognized, private, nonprofit organization dedicated to improving education for all students through applied research, product development, and service. Established in 1966, McREL now maintains a staff of around 110 in its Denver, Colorado, office.
This policy brief draws together research, ideas, and initiatives on improving teaching quality, ... more This policy brief draws together research, ideas, and initiatives on improving teaching quality, especially materials from states in the Mid-Continent Regional Educational Laboratory's region. It is intended to help-policymakers-think about which policies might foster improved teacher quality and how to combine policies into an integrated strategy for giving all students access to effective teachers. It is organized around three broad strategies aimed at: improving the teacher talent pool, fostering and supporting quality teaching, and countering threats to teacher quality. Improving the teacher talent pool involves raising the bar on teacher preparation, requiring assessments for new teachers, and rethinking teacher licensing. Fostering and supporting quality teaching involves creating programs to mentor new teachers, creating focused professional development, and creating better ways to evaluate teachers. Countering threats to teacher quality involves removing ineffective teachers, eliminating out-of-field teaching, and providing incentives to keep good teachers. Overall, policies are required at various levels and at various stages during teachers' careers. (Contains 28 references.) (SM) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document.
This document is covered by a signed "Reproduction Release (Blanket)" form (on file within the ER... more This document is covered by a signed "Reproduction Release (Blanket)" form (on file within the ERIC system), encompassing all or classes of documents from its source organization and, therefore, does not require a "Specific Document" Release form. This document is Federally-funded, or carries its own permission to reproduce, or is otherwise in the public domain and, therefore, may be reproduced by ERIC without a signed Reproduction Release form (either "Specific Document" or "Blanket").
This issues brief discusses the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. Specifically, it reports on the... more This issues brief discusses the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. Specifically, it reports on the results of focus groups that explored wheie people stand on standards-based education and whether they are likely to support or abandon struggling schools. The focus groups consisted of more than 60 participants who represented a broad cross-section of the Kansas City, Missouri, community, including students, parents of public-and private-school children, taxpayers who iaere not parents, educators, business owners, and policymakers. This brief reports on key themes that surfaced during the focus-group sessions. Initially, people expressed opinions on standards that were in line with public-opinion polls that have revealed support for standards, assessments, and accountability. But as the focusgroup participants further discussed the issues, four themes emerged: (1) Standards are meaningless without tests, but accountability should be based on more than just test scores; (2) true accountability makes schools more responsive to parents and communities, not to outside officials; (3) parents and students are a crucial yet often missing part of most accountability systems; and (4) the biggest problems with public schools have little to do with standards or academics. (WFA) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document.
This paper examines the accomplishments of the Mid-Continent Research for Education and Learning ... more This paper examines the accomplishments of the Mid-Continent Research for Education and Learning (McREL) district research partners. Informed by 2 years of collaborative experience, the report documents the process McREL used in selecting partner sites and guides future field-based research partnerships by discussing problems encountered and lessons learned regarding the establishment and maintenance of research partnerships. The ultimate goal of establishing the McREL district research partnerships was to explore collaborative-action research as a viable strategy for promoting systemic reform that leads to sustainable, improved achievement for all learners. The report outlines the selection of sites, the establishment of design teams, the design and process of research, and the evaluation of partnerships. The document concludes that collaborative partnerships can be used to move research findings into the field more quickly under the right conditions. Partnering, however, is a complex process and requires both partners to redefine their roles and usual work methods to accommodate a collaborative approach that involves individuals from different professional cultures. More sensitive methods, both for assessing a district's capacity for partnering and for creating a model that depicts the evolving nature of district-McREL partnerships, need to be developed. An annotated interview guide and interview summary assessment compose the bulk of the document.
This paper describes partnerships created by Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning (M... more This paper describes partnerships created by Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning (McREL) that were designed to facilitate school improvement through collaborative action research. After analysis of these partnership experiences, several recommendations were developed for creating and sustaining effective partnerships between research organizations and schools or districts. McREL selected seven partner sites, one from each state in the region McREL serves, to represent various geographic locations and student populations. As the work of these projects progressed, wide variance became evident in the stability of the partnerships, and only four were maintained for 3 years as initially planned. After documenting and analyzing the development and outcomes of the partnerships, five factors were identified that influenced the sustainability and effectiveness of the partnerships: (1) the political and cultural context of the school districts influenced multiple facets of the partnership ; (2) partners' motivation to engage in the partnership was increased as they saw that their efforts made a difference; (3) establishing clear goals kept the partnership on course; (4) partnerships were strengthened by partners' different yet complementary resources and skills; and (5) committed leadership at various levels was critical. The implications of these findings for the development of future partnerships with school districts are discussed. (Contains 24 references.) (SLD) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document.
Many people contributed to this report and the insights it contains, chief among them Wayne Craig... more Many people contributed to this report and the insights it contains, chief among them Wayne Craig, who has served as the Executive Director of McREL's Melbourne, Australia, office as well as McREL Honorary Senior Fellow David Hopkins. Together, they served as the principal architects of the successful "inside-out" approach in the Northern Metropolitan Region described in this report. This publication would not have been possible without them. We'd also like to thank an external advisory panel of practicing educators and thought leaders who pushed our thinking with their thoughtful feedback and critique of drafts of this document, including
This monograph serves two purposes: (1) to stimulate further reflection and discussion among educ... more This monograph serves two purposes: (1) to stimulate further reflection and discussion among education leaders and policymakers to revitalize and strengthen the role that school leaders play in school reform; and (2) to assist researchers in identifying areas of future work. It synthesizes some of the most current literature pertinent to leadership and offers ideas and suggestions that may serve as the basis for further study about the leadership strategies that help bring about meaningful and longlasting reform. The intent is to identify the major issues involved in developing leaders who sustain effective change. Leaders need to examine carefully whether the changes they are implementing are the best ones for their students in the long run. School leaders also need to balance competing demands and to create environments in which diverse viewpoints can come together to create a common vision for what schools should be. To make and sustain meaningful, long-lasting changes, the conception of what "leadership" means must be expanded from a narrow focus on improving the skills of a single man or woman to the building of the capacity of the community of teachers, students, parents, as well as administrators to lead. (Contains 24 references.) (DFR) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document.
assessment practices to high-stakes, large-scale assessments for general and special student popu... more assessment practices to high-stakes, large-scale assessments for general and special student populations. We also work with state and local educators to build their capacity in assessment literacy. 1 February 2015 Re-Balancing Assessment choice in how we solve a problem), mastery (a sense of competence in what we're doing), and purpose (understanding why what we're doing is important). Thus, we call for replacing our current, unbalanced formula of summative assessments and external pressure with a new, more balanced formula for assessment and accountability centered around curriculum-embedded performance assessments or CEPAs-classroom-based instructional units that provide multiple opportunities for learning and both formative and summative evidence-gathering. Done well, CEPAs can harness the power of real-time feedback, personalized learning, and real-world application to help students develop requisite foundational knowledge and deeper learning. Moreover, as we will discuss, CEPAs may be used for summative, including state accountability, purposes. While they are not a silver bullet, CEPAs could drive many other beneficial changes in the education system, including better classroom practice, more motivating and engaging school environments, and greater professional collaboration among educators. Perhaps most promising, CEPAs could undergird a state-level accountability system that measures what matters most: the extent to which students are developing and demonstrating the kinds of deeper learning they will need for success in college, career, and life. F=ma. This simple formula for relating the force exerted on an object, the mass of the object, and its acceleration, along with several other laws, comprise a body of science known as Newtonian physics-elegant formulas and laws that for centuries appeared to capture and predict the world as we knew it. There was just one problem. By the 20 th century, scientists observed that on the outer edges of science, Newton's tidy laws no longer seemed to work. At a grand scale, they were insufficient to predict the behavior of large bodies. And at the subatomic scale, photons and electrons seemed to defy the rules of Newtonian physics.
This brief synthesizes seven papers commissioned for a series of meetings convened by Mid-Contine... more This brief synthesizes seven papers commissioned for a series of meetings convened by Mid-Continent Research for Education and Learning to discuss raising the achievement of low-performing students. The purpose of the brief is to identify some causes of the low performance of marginalized students, and then offer research-based solutions for what district and state policymakers can do to help teachers improve the academic achievement of these students. Reasons for low achievement are grouped into six main areas: (1) weak or inappropriate curricula; (2) ineffective instruction; (3) disengaging classroom discourse; (4) poor student self-concept; (5) unsuccessful adjustment to school culture; and (6) prejudice. Among the ways to improve student achievement are: provide all students with rigorous curricula; help teachers improve instruction; provide support to students; create smaller classes and school units; increase parent involvement; identify and fix the ways low performance is manufactured; and establish strong, yet fair, accountability. (Contains 26 references.) (SLD) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document.
is the founder and executive director of the Community Training and Assistance Center (CTAC), a n... more is the founder and executive director of the Community Training and Assistance Center (CTAC), a national nonprofit organization that builds the capacity of school and district leaders, teachers, parents, and community organizations to achieve sustainable, high-impact change. Slotnik has authored or co-authored numerous evaluations and reports, including comprehensive, longitudinal evaluative studies of the impact of performance-based compensation on student achievement, teacher effectiveness, and systems change. In addition, he provides briefings to members of the U.S. Congress, the U.S. Department of Education, state legislatures and departments of education, and the media. For more information about CTAC, please visit www.ctacusa.com.
The Learning One to One Foundation provides expert guidance for whole-school reform, teacher, par... more The Learning One to One Foundation provides expert guidance for whole-school reform, teacher, parent, and student training to adopt FRE, an on-line app that enhances the students learning experience, and continuous support to improve academic and technology performance. Learn more at 1to1.com.
Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning (McREL) is a nationally recognized, private, no... more Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning (McREL) is a nationally recognized, private, nonprofit organization dedicated to improving education for all students through applied research, product development, and service. Established in 1966, McREL now maintains a staff of around 110 in its Denver, Colorado, office.
This policy brief draws together research, ideas, and initiatives on improving teaching quality, ... more This policy brief draws together research, ideas, and initiatives on improving teaching quality, especially materials from states in the Mid-Continent Regional Educational Laboratory's region. It is intended to help-policymakers-think about which policies might foster improved teacher quality and how to combine policies into an integrated strategy for giving all students access to effective teachers. It is organized around three broad strategies aimed at: improving the teacher talent pool, fostering and supporting quality teaching, and countering threats to teacher quality. Improving the teacher talent pool involves raising the bar on teacher preparation, requiring assessments for new teachers, and rethinking teacher licensing. Fostering and supporting quality teaching involves creating programs to mentor new teachers, creating focused professional development, and creating better ways to evaluate teachers. Countering threats to teacher quality involves removing ineffective teachers, eliminating out-of-field teaching, and providing incentives to keep good teachers. Overall, policies are required at various levels and at various stages during teachers' careers. (Contains 28 references.) (SM) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document.
This document is covered by a signed "Reproduction Release (Blanket)" form (on file within the ER... more This document is covered by a signed "Reproduction Release (Blanket)" form (on file within the ERIC system), encompassing all or classes of documents from its source organization and, therefore, does not require a "Specific Document" Release form. This document is Federally-funded, or carries its own permission to reproduce, or is otherwise in the public domain and, therefore, may be reproduced by ERIC without a signed Reproduction Release form (either "Specific Document" or "Blanket").
This issues brief discusses the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. Specifically, it reports on the... more This issues brief discusses the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. Specifically, it reports on the results of focus groups that explored wheie people stand on standards-based education and whether they are likely to support or abandon struggling schools. The focus groups consisted of more than 60 participants who represented a broad cross-section of the Kansas City, Missouri, community, including students, parents of public-and private-school children, taxpayers who iaere not parents, educators, business owners, and policymakers. This brief reports on key themes that surfaced during the focus-group sessions. Initially, people expressed opinions on standards that were in line with public-opinion polls that have revealed support for standards, assessments, and accountability. But as the focusgroup participants further discussed the issues, four themes emerged: (1) Standards are meaningless without tests, but accountability should be based on more than just test scores; (2) true accountability makes schools more responsive to parents and communities, not to outside officials; (3) parents and students are a crucial yet often missing part of most accountability systems; and (4) the biggest problems with public schools have little to do with standards or academics. (WFA) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document.
This paper examines the accomplishments of the Mid-Continent Research for Education and Learning ... more This paper examines the accomplishments of the Mid-Continent Research for Education and Learning (McREL) district research partners. Informed by 2 years of collaborative experience, the report documents the process McREL used in selecting partner sites and guides future field-based research partnerships by discussing problems encountered and lessons learned regarding the establishment and maintenance of research partnerships. The ultimate goal of establishing the McREL district research partnerships was to explore collaborative-action research as a viable strategy for promoting systemic reform that leads to sustainable, improved achievement for all learners. The report outlines the selection of sites, the establishment of design teams, the design and process of research, and the evaluation of partnerships. The document concludes that collaborative partnerships can be used to move research findings into the field more quickly under the right conditions. Partnering, however, is a complex process and requires both partners to redefine their roles and usual work methods to accommodate a collaborative approach that involves individuals from different professional cultures. More sensitive methods, both for assessing a district's capacity for partnering and for creating a model that depicts the evolving nature of district-McREL partnerships, need to be developed. An annotated interview guide and interview summary assessment compose the bulk of the document.
This paper describes partnerships created by Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning (M... more This paper describes partnerships created by Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning (McREL) that were designed to facilitate school improvement through collaborative action research. After analysis of these partnership experiences, several recommendations were developed for creating and sustaining effective partnerships between research organizations and schools or districts. McREL selected seven partner sites, one from each state in the region McREL serves, to represent various geographic locations and student populations. As the work of these projects progressed, wide variance became evident in the stability of the partnerships, and only four were maintained for 3 years as initially planned. After documenting and analyzing the development and outcomes of the partnerships, five factors were identified that influenced the sustainability and effectiveness of the partnerships: (1) the political and cultural context of the school districts influenced multiple facets of the partnership ; (2) partners' motivation to engage in the partnership was increased as they saw that their efforts made a difference; (3) establishing clear goals kept the partnership on course; (4) partnerships were strengthened by partners' different yet complementary resources and skills; and (5) committed leadership at various levels was critical. The implications of these findings for the development of future partnerships with school districts are discussed. (Contains 24 references.) (SLD) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document.
Many people contributed to this report and the insights it contains, chief among them Wayne Craig... more Many people contributed to this report and the insights it contains, chief among them Wayne Craig, who has served as the Executive Director of McREL's Melbourne, Australia, office as well as McREL Honorary Senior Fellow David Hopkins. Together, they served as the principal architects of the successful "inside-out" approach in the Northern Metropolitan Region described in this report. This publication would not have been possible without them. We'd also like to thank an external advisory panel of practicing educators and thought leaders who pushed our thinking with their thoughtful feedback and critique of drafts of this document, including
This monograph serves two purposes: (1) to stimulate further reflection and discussion among educ... more This monograph serves two purposes: (1) to stimulate further reflection and discussion among education leaders and policymakers to revitalize and strengthen the role that school leaders play in school reform; and (2) to assist researchers in identifying areas of future work. It synthesizes some of the most current literature pertinent to leadership and offers ideas and suggestions that may serve as the basis for further study about the leadership strategies that help bring about meaningful and longlasting reform. The intent is to identify the major issues involved in developing leaders who sustain effective change. Leaders need to examine carefully whether the changes they are implementing are the best ones for their students in the long run. School leaders also need to balance competing demands and to create environments in which diverse viewpoints can come together to create a common vision for what schools should be. To make and sustain meaningful, long-lasting changes, the conception of what "leadership" means must be expanded from a narrow focus on improving the skills of a single man or woman to the building of the capacity of the community of teachers, students, parents, as well as administrators to lead. (Contains 24 references.) (DFR) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document.
assessment practices to high-stakes, large-scale assessments for general and special student popu... more assessment practices to high-stakes, large-scale assessments for general and special student populations. We also work with state and local educators to build their capacity in assessment literacy. 1 February 2015 Re-Balancing Assessment choice in how we solve a problem), mastery (a sense of competence in what we're doing), and purpose (understanding why what we're doing is important). Thus, we call for replacing our current, unbalanced formula of summative assessments and external pressure with a new, more balanced formula for assessment and accountability centered around curriculum-embedded performance assessments or CEPAs-classroom-based instructional units that provide multiple opportunities for learning and both formative and summative evidence-gathering. Done well, CEPAs can harness the power of real-time feedback, personalized learning, and real-world application to help students develop requisite foundational knowledge and deeper learning. Moreover, as we will discuss, CEPAs may be used for summative, including state accountability, purposes. While they are not a silver bullet, CEPAs could drive many other beneficial changes in the education system, including better classroom practice, more motivating and engaging school environments, and greater professional collaboration among educators. Perhaps most promising, CEPAs could undergird a state-level accountability system that measures what matters most: the extent to which students are developing and demonstrating the kinds of deeper learning they will need for success in college, career, and life. F=ma. This simple formula for relating the force exerted on an object, the mass of the object, and its acceleration, along with several other laws, comprise a body of science known as Newtonian physics-elegant formulas and laws that for centuries appeared to capture and predict the world as we knew it. There was just one problem. By the 20 th century, scientists observed that on the outer edges of science, Newton's tidy laws no longer seemed to work. At a grand scale, they were insufficient to predict the behavior of large bodies. And at the subatomic scale, photons and electrons seemed to defy the rules of Newtonian physics.
This brief synthesizes seven papers commissioned for a series of meetings convened by Mid-Contine... more This brief synthesizes seven papers commissioned for a series of meetings convened by Mid-Continent Research for Education and Learning to discuss raising the achievement of low-performing students. The purpose of the brief is to identify some causes of the low performance of marginalized students, and then offer research-based solutions for what district and state policymakers can do to help teachers improve the academic achievement of these students. Reasons for low achievement are grouped into six main areas: (1) weak or inappropriate curricula; (2) ineffective instruction; (3) disengaging classroom discourse; (4) poor student self-concept; (5) unsuccessful adjustment to school culture; and (6) prejudice. Among the ways to improve student achievement are: provide all students with rigorous curricula; help teachers improve instruction; provide support to students; create smaller classes and school units; increase parent involvement; identify and fix the ways low performance is manufactured; and establish strong, yet fair, accountability. (Contains 26 references.) (SLD) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document.
is the founder and executive director of the Community Training and Assistance Center (CTAC), a n... more is the founder and executive director of the Community Training and Assistance Center (CTAC), a national nonprofit organization that builds the capacity of school and district leaders, teachers, parents, and community organizations to achieve sustainable, high-impact change. Slotnik has authored or co-authored numerous evaluations and reports, including comprehensive, longitudinal evaluative studies of the impact of performance-based compensation on student achievement, teacher effectiveness, and systems change. In addition, he provides briefings to members of the U.S. Congress, the U.S. Department of Education, state legislatures and departments of education, and the media. For more information about CTAC, please visit www.ctacusa.com.
The Learning One to One Foundation provides expert guidance for whole-school reform, teacher, par... more The Learning One to One Foundation provides expert guidance for whole-school reform, teacher, parent, and student training to adopt FRE, an on-line app that enhances the students learning experience, and continuous support to improve academic and technology performance. Learn more at 1to1.com.
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