Improving School Performance
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This resource was produced in response to a request from a state department of education (SDE) served by the Southeast Comprehensive Center (SECC) at SEDL that requested information regarding teacher shortages, specifically merit pay, compensation strategies, and other actions taken or under consideration by SDEs to address this issue. |
States are carefully reviewing their teacher evaluation systems to make them more meaningful and comprehensive by including multiple measures. This paper looks at one of those multiple measures—the use of student perceptual data to inform a performance-based teacher evaluation. |
Rapid changes in technology and increased competition from industrialized nations have changed the landscape and meaning of college and career readiness. As part of a strategy to better prepare students, 31 states have implemented college- and career-readiness standards (CCRS), with 20 states also requiring that students complete high school graduation requirements that will make them college and career ready. This briefing paper provides details on the meaning of college- and career-readiness standards, effective implementation of these standards, next steps in the implementation process, and progress being made by state departments of education in the southeast region toward this crucial goal. |
Time can be interpreted as a resource and, as such, the amount of time devoted to the education of children is often examined as a separate and central resource in the educational process (Baker, Fabrega, Galindo, & Mishook, 2004). However, despite its simplistic appearance, time in an educational setting is a complex issue. This is partially because the amount of time actually spent on instructional tasks and the efficiency of instruction are hard to determine—instructional time is dependent on its relationship to curriculum and instructional quality (Baker et al., 2004). However, discussions regarding education and the notion of time typically gravitate toward a focus on the school year and on the school day, and it is from this perspective that the concept is examined. |
A state department of education served by the Southeast Comprehensive Center requested information on flex quarter schedules and extended school years, specifically strategies, strengths and weaknesses, and examples of states that have implemented these initiatives. |
In this edition of the Southeast Comprehensive Center (SECC) eBulletin we highlight data on high school graduation rates. |
In this edition of the Southeast Comprehensive Center (SECC) eBulletin we highlight school readiness, how early experiences matter, the role of preschool in supporting readiness, and state and local efforts to implement recommendations from the National Governors Association (NGA). |
This brief addresses the question: What research or promising practices should an individual district or a cooperative among several districts consider with regard to the establishment of an alternative high school in a rural area? |
The Early Warning Data System (EWDS) Tool was originally developed to calculate automatically the high-yield indicators related to dropout. The tool tracks research-based ninth-grade indicators related to high school dropout, such as attendance and academics, and automatically flags students who are below the specified benchmarks leading to graduation. It provides leading indicators so that school staff can quickly review data and plan interventions as early as 20 to 30 days after the beginning of the school year. Additional data points are incorporated at each grading period and at the end of the year to allow for intervention planning for summer or the beginning of the following year. |
This issue of the Southeast Comprehensive Center (SECC) eBulletin summarizes some of the best practices in turning around schools and provide readers with references and resources to gain a deeper knowledge of the literature on turning around low-performing schools and strategies to help state departments and districts in their attempt to reform challenging schools. |
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) provides funding for the establishment and implementation of data systems that track student progress and foster continuous improvement. Doing so will capture the continuum of information ranging from prior to entry into school throughout the college and career levels for individuals. Creating such data systems will allow pertinent information about students and teachers to be maintained at all levels and will serve to advise the academic plan for all persons. Such a system will provide more than just the warehousing of these data. Adults who are responsible for educating students and preparing them for post-secondary education and careers will be able to access the information necessary to pair resources and instruction with the specific needs of individual students at all points along the pre- and post-school-level continuum. |
This brief was developed by SEDL's Texas Comprehensive Center to answer the question, "What strategies can be implemented to aid students and their parents in the transition from eighth grade into high school?" The transition from eighth grade to high school results in a higher drop-out rate and more grade retentions than any other grade. However, when districts and schools develop and implement a sound transition program, the outcomes for ninth graders are improved. |
A follow-up to 101 Questions, this book extends the conversation on accountability, standards, and assessment and includes discussions of Power standards, grading, and writing to improve student achievement |
