Improving School Performance
A-Z List of Products in this Category
Rapid Response: GED Test and State Assessment Completion for High School Diploma
(2009)
This paper was produced by SEDL’s Southeast Comprehensive Center (SECC) in response to a request for information about how many states are allowing high school students who complete the General Educational Development (GED) tests to receive a high school diploma instead of a GED, thereby increasing the high school graduation rates.
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Rapid Response: School Restructuring
(2009)
This resource was developed in response to a request from a state departments of education in the Southeast Comprehensive Center’s region that had started the process of working on a takeover plan and wanted to compile research from other states in the area of school and district takeover. The requestor was interested in the development of a white paper on this process thus far in other states, to provide possible direction for its state.
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Rapid Response: Statewide Uniform Grading Practices
(2009)
This resource was produced in response to a request from a state department of education (SDE) served by the Southeast Comprehensive Center (SECC) that requested information on whether or not other states have uniform grading practices (grading policies and grading scales), and if so, what types of grading scales are used (e.g., 90–100=A, 80–89=B, etc.). In response to this request, SECC staff conducted searches for information on uniform grading practices by reviewing SDE Web sites and education-based resources. They also contacted state department staff and educational research and dissemination organizations for additional information.
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Rapid Response: Web-Based State Longitudinal Data Systems
(2009)
This resource was produced in response to a request from a state department of education (SDE) served by the Southeast Comprehensive Center (SECC). The SDE requested information on Web-based state data systems that can generate customized reports for stakeholders for analyzing student and school performance. The SDE also would like to identify any states that have Web-based data systems that guide school improvement planning through the retrieval of school data; multiyear, disaggregated student assessment data; and suggested resources for addressing areas in need of improvement. The requester is particularly interested in obtaining access to view other data systems, such as those in the states of Massachusetts and Iowa.
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Response to Intervention (RtI) 2009 Regional Summit on Funding Models
(2009)
The objectives of the Response to Intervention Summit on Funding Models were to increase knowledge of funding models for RtI implementation, to develop strategies and action steps for addressing RtI funding, and to increase networking opportunities for improved implementation of funding models
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Southeast Comprehensive Center Spotlight
(2009)
The Southeast CC Spotlight highlights resources, materials, technical assistance, and professional development services offered by the Southeast Comprehensive Center (SECC) at SEDL. The newsletter also focuses on the work that SECC does with the states of Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, and South Carolina to build their capacity to implement the programs and goals of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB).
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Texas Focus: The Newsletter of the Texas Comprehensive Center
(2009)
Meeting the goals of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) is tough for everyone involved--schools, districts, and states. That's why the Texas Comprehensive Center (TXCC) is producing Texas Focus, a quarterly newsletter. Each edition will focus on challenges that Texas educators face. In addition, the newsletter offers a review of the TXCC's recent events and activities as well as national news regarding NCLB. We hope you will find information here that stimulates your thinking and increases your knowledge about resources, practices, and programs that support the achievement of the goals and purposes of NCLB.
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Working Systemically Online Survey
(2009)
SEDL offers free access to the Working Systemically online survey, which is a data collection instrument allows a coordinator to set up and deploy a 34-question online survey to gather data from teachers, administrators, and other school stakeholders regarding the working systemically principles (e.g. use of data, communicating priorities, access to materials, professional development, etc.). The results are automatically tallied for the coordinator, and results can be viewed by subgroups customized by the survey coordinator. Sign up for a free survey coordinator account today!
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Rapid Response: Career And Technical Education
(2008)
This resource was developed in response to a request: "A state department of education (SDE) served by the Southeast Comprehensive Center has requested that the SECC identify successful U.S. high schools that focus more on technical rather than traditional academic subjects. Also, the SDE would like information on the following: 1. Do these schools require Carnegie units? How are technical courses coded if Carnegie units are awarded? 2. How is credit given for technical job-training classes? 3. What types of terminal degrees are offered at these schools?
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Rapid Response: Educating Overage Students
(2008)
This resource was produced in response to a request: "A state department of education would like information on how states are educating overage students who may be at least two grades behind and are at risk of dropping out of high school. In particular, some districts want to enroll students with their age group, in an alternative setting, or in a vocational program."
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Rapid Response: Project-based Learning
(2008)
This resource was produced in response to a request: "How are states across the nation using project-based learning (PBL)? Has PBL been implemented in elementary, middle, and high schools? If so, when was it implemented, and what results have schools and districts experienced?" In response to this request, the Southeast Comprehensive Center (SECC) queried several state departments of education as well as the REL Southeast at the SERVE Center, the National High School Center, and the National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing (CRESST) to obtain information on the use of PBL in schools nationwide.
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Rapid Response: Pros and Cons of 6-Week and 9-Week Marking Periods
(2008)
This resource was produced in response to a request: "What are the pros and cons of 6-week and 9-week marking periods?" In response to this request, the Southeast Comprehensive Center (SECC) queried numerous organizations by e-mail and telephone. The SECC also used several Web search engines to obtain information on school grading (marking) periods. The results are provided along with references and resources that may provide additional information on this topic.
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Rapid Response: Response to Intervention Practices
(2008)
SEDL's Southeast Comprehensive Center developed this resource in response to a request from a state department of education (SDE) for the following information about Response to Intervention (RtI) practices: For Tiers II and III, what does the research indicate about pupil/teacher ratios for optimal or maximum small group instruction? Do small group size numbers change with grade levels? What does the research indicate about intervention effectiveness beyond implementation fidelity—group size, minutes per day, and days per week?
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Rapid Response: Strategies for Improving Achievement in High-Needs Schools
(2008)
This resource was produced in response to a request: "Are there states that have had success in improving achievement at high-needs schools? What strategies have been successful?" In response to this request, the Southeast Comprehensive Center (SECC) queried numerous organizations by e-mail and telephone. The SECC also used several Web search engines to obtain information on strategies for improving achievement in high-needs schools. The results are provided along with references and resources that may provide additional information on this topic.
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Rapid Response: Summative Teacher Evaluation
(2008)
This resource was created in response to a request: "What research is available on summative teacher evaluation, specifically how long an observation should be conducted and how many are required for validity? What exists in other states?" In response to this request, the Southeast Comprehensive Center (SECC) queried state departments of education (SDEs) and other organizations throughout the U.S. by e-mail and telephone. The SECC also searched numerous Web sites that focus on teacher quality, teacher evaluation, and professional development. This report contains a synopsis of the findings on summative evaluation, a table of the information obtained from contacts and Web sites, and descriptions of resources and references that provide additional information on teacher evaluation processes, tools, and programs.
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SEDL Monthly (Sept. 2008): Helping Struggling Students
(2008)
This edition of SEDL Monthly includes information regarding: Response to Intervention (RtI), organizing for effective instruction, a database of resources for best practices, the What Works Clearinghouse review of reading interventions, and the National Center on Response to Intervention.
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The Professional Teaching and Learning Cycle: Introduction
(2008)
The professional teaching and learning cycle (PTLC) is a professional development process in which teachers collaboratively plan and implement lessons aligned to state standards. PTLC is a critical component of the Working Systemically approach that directly impacts classroom instruction and student learning.
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Arkansas Education Renewal Zones Initiative - 2007 Final Evaluation Report
(2007)
SEDL staff conducted a multiyear evaluation of the ERZ initiative in eight sites across the state of Arkansas. The evaluation included both formative and summative data collection and reporting functions. The primary goals of the evaluation were to document the context in which the ERZ initiative takes place in each site, the implementation of the initiative according to the guidelines specified in the legislation, and the short- and long-term outcomes resulting from the implementation of the initiative.
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Evaluation of the Texas High School Completion and Success Grant Initiative, Cycle 2 Final Report
(2007)
SEDL and its partners, Gibson Consulting and Academic Information Management, Inc., conducted an evaluation study to determine the degree to which THSCS grant funds have been implemented by grantees to support high school student retention and increase graduation rates and access to higher education. SEDL coordinated and conducted site visits, surveys, and best practices research and served as quality assurance on all project deliverables.
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Evaluation of the Texas High School Completion and Success Grant Initiative, Cycle 2 Interim Report
(2007)
SEDL and its partners, Gibson Consulting and Academic Information Management, Inc., conducted an evaluation study to determine the degree to which THSCS grant funds have been implemented by grantees to support high school student retention and increase graduation rates and access to higher education. SEDL coordinated and conducted site visits, surveys, and best practices research and served as quality assurance on all project deliverables.
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Education Renewal Zones: Increasing Partnerships and Sharing Resources for School Improvement
(2006)
SEDL staff conducted a multiyear evaluation of the ERZ initiative in eight sites across the state of Arkansas. The evaluation included both formative and summative data collection and reporting functions. The primary goals of the evaluation were to document the context in which the ERZ initiative takes place in each site, the implementation of the initiative according to the guidelines specified in the legislation, and the short- and long-term outcomes resulting from the implementation of the initiative. SEDL collaboratively developed a program logic model that was used to identify qualitative and quantitative outcome measures to be monitored as the initiative is implemented.
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Evaluation of Educator Professional Development Programs Implemented at the Regional and Local Levels Final Report
(2006)
SEDL, Gibson Consulting, Academic Information Management, Inc., and two other firms evaluated the statewide teacher training activities funded through the Texas Student Success Initiative, which encompassed the Texas Reading, Mathematics, and Science Teacher Academies. SEDL conducted a literature review of best practices in professional development; expert reviews of academy training materials and resources; and surveys to ascertain how teachers perceived the training and if they were implementing the strategies in the classroom.
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SEDL Letter, Volume XVIII, Number 2: A Culture of Data
(2006)
Building a culture of quality data means administrators, teachers, and other staff members must have access to the data they need and must know how to analyze the data and use it to make instructional decisions. The current issue of SEDL Letter examines these issues. It looks at a recent research study about state data and discusses how school staffs can take the first steps in learning to analyze data effectively.
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SEDL's Working Systemically Model: Final Report
(2006)
From December 2000 through December 2005, the Southwest Educational Development Laboratory (SEDL) developed and refined a systemic model to improve student achievement in reading or mathematics in sites composed of low-performing districts and schools. This report describes the Working Systemically model developed under this contract, presenting analyses of data related to its impact in 12 sites distributed across SEDLÕs five-state region.
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Teacher Resources and Student Achievement in High-Need Schools
(2006)
With the growing federal, state, and local policy emphasis on teacher quality and student achievement, the Southwest Educational Development Laboratory (SEDL) investigated teacher resources and their relationship to student achievement in Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas. The purpose of this study was to provide policymakers with information about the relationship between teacher salary, experience, and education, and the relationship between these teacher resources and student achievement, particularly in high-need schools.
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SEDL Policy Forums (2001-2005)
(2005)
From 2001-2005, SEDL invited a regional network of education policymakers and influencers to an annual policy forum. These policymakers come from state departments of education, legislative committees, and governor's offices in the five states in the region: Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas. The participants exchanged information on topics of common interest, and also heard about the latest developments in research, policy, and practice from national experts on the topics featured.
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Tools for Transitions: Resources for Educators Helping Students Displaced by Hurricane Katrina
(2005)
Students and their families who have been displaced by hurricane Katrina face a myriad of challenges, both personal and academic. In turn, the Texas schools now serving many of those students must find ways of helping student evacuees to succeed in an environment in which the curriculum may be as unfamiliar to them as the classroom and the faces in it. This set of training materials is intended to help address those challenges. It is designed for professional developers — regional Education Service Center staff, local curriculum supervisors, and others — who in turn will work with teachers whose classes include Katrina evacuees.
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Alignment in SEDL's Working Systemically Model
(2004)
In December, 2000, the U.S. Department of Education awarded the Southwest Educational Development Laboratory (SEDL) a 5-year research and development (R&D) contract to develop and refine a systemic model to improve student achievement in reading or mathematics in low-performing districts and schools. The Working Systemically model is based on the premise that student achievement will improve as districts and schools build their capacity to work systemically. This report describes 2003-2004 school year activities taken to implement the model in a sample of sites in the southwest region; reports on the districts' and schools' progress to align their curriculum, instruction, and assessment with state standards (one critical aspect of working systemically); and presents preliminary student achievement data for the sites.
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Case Studies of Rural Schools Implementing Comprehensive School Reform Models
(2004)
Small, rural schools will likely continue to educate significant portions of students in the U.S. while facing the challenges of limited resources, isolation, declining enrollments, aging facilities, limited curricula, and diminishing political influence. These challenges prompted the question of whether small, rural schools could benefit from CSR grants. The study addressed two major objectives. Will small, rural schools be able to utilize additional funds to adopt and implement a comprehensive school improvement effort? If these small, rural schools are able to garner the additional resources and implement a comprehensive school reform model, will such efforts positively impact student learning?
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School Finance Adequacy: The State Role: (Insights on Education Policy, Practice, and Research, Number 16)
(2004)
Perhaps the most visible school finance issue today is adequacy. Defined as the provision of adequate resources to enable all children to meet a stateÕs proficiency standards, school finance adequacy is being addressed in some way in almost every state, especially since the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) has upped the ante with its Adequate Yearly Progress provisions. At the same time, most states and districts are facing reduced revenue growth and tighter budgets. State governments in particular feel this pinch because in recent years they have assumed increased fiscal responsibility for funding education. In this issue, we discuss how adequacy can be determined and the challenges it presents to policymakers.
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SEDL Letter, Volume XVI, Number 1: School Finance and Policy: Dollars and Sense
(2004)
This issue of SEDL Letter examines a variety of finance issues that policymakers and administrators may face-resource allocation, school finance adequacy, and efficiency. We also examine how technology planning can help meet the needs of all students and hear from a parent how well-defined, fairly implemented discipline policy is for the good of administrators, teachers, parents, and students.
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Follow-up Study of Rural Schools: Implementing CSR Programs in the Southwest
(2003)
To determine whether isolated and small rural schools could fully participate in the Comprehensive School Reform (CSR) program, the Southwest Educational Development Laboratory (SEDL) conducted a follow-up CSR study in Fall 2002 and its predecessor study (Carlson, 2000). The follow-up study focused on the same five rural schools featured in the predecessor study to learn the degree to which they were able to fully implement their CSR programs over the three-year period of their respective grants.
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Follow-up Study of Schools Implementing Comprehensive School Reform in the Southwest
(2003)
Comprehensive School Reform (CSR) programs were implemented in 1998 in five states working with the Southwest Educational Development Laboratory (SEDL). SEDL's five-state region includes Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas. This study examined the implementation status of CSR programs since funding ended. Two hundred and sixty-eight surveys were distributed to schools that received CSR funding. In addition, on-site visits were conducted to a sample of school in each state. School and student performance, as available, was also examined.
This study examines the following four aspects of the Comprehensive School Reform programs:
- Student performance
- Program components still in place
- Factors contributing to program continuation
- Information on the model provider
For more information on Comprehensive School Reform (CSR), please visit:
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National Staff Development Council Standards Assessment Inventory: Summary Report of Instrument Development Process and Psychometric Properties
(2003)
The National Staff Development Council (NSDC) contracted with the Southwest Educational Development Laboratory (SEDL) to develop a new NSDC standards assessment instrument. This request was in response to a series of questions over the years about the psychometric properties of the old instrument and NSDC’s desire to update it. SEDL’s Evaluation Services (ES) agreed to develop a reliable and valid staff development assessment instrument aligned with NSDC’s standards for quality professional development. The instrument is to be completed by teachers and other school staff and is intended to measure the degree to which a school’s professional development program adheres to the standards.
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A Description of SEDL's Intensive Sites: Working Systemically to Create High-Performing Learning Communities
(2002)
This paper provides a report of the field sites identified by SEDL for its school improvement work across the five-state region of Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas during 2000-2005. SEDL developed a scope of work with these sites that responded to the U.S. Department of Education's request for proposals to "transform low-performing schools into high-performing learning communities." The first section of the paper is a brief commentary about the preparation that SEDL undertook for identifying the districts within the five states, and the criteria for the selection of sites. A second section gives a brief account of the experiences of SEDL in recruiting the sites and its entry and planned work in the sites. The third section identifies and describes the sites in which SEDL is working, and the status of the work at each of the sites at the end of FY01; this section is the major focus of this report.
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SEDLetter, Volume XIII, Number 1: Changes and Challenges for Rural Schools
(2001)
This issue of SEDLetter includes the articles: (1) When Rural Traditions Really Count, (2) Service Learning Sparks Community and Student Achievement in Balmorhea, (3) Change is a Constant in Cochiti, (4) Oklahoma's Master Teacher Project Leads Teacher Along a Professional Path, (5) Changing Practice to Meet Student Needs in Humphrey. (6) Parkin Elementary School Networks for Success, and (7) Resources for Rural Schools.
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Instructional Coherence: The Changing Role of the Teacher
(2000)
This paper shows that policymakers and researchers have changed their views about school improvement and the role of teachers in the process of translating policy coherence into improved instructional coherence and student learning.
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Philanthropic Support for Public Education in the Southwest
(2000)
This report examines the relationship between philanthropy and public schools in five states -- Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas -- that comprise the "Southwestern Region" served by Southwest Educational Development Laboratory (SEDL) under its federal contract as a Regional Educational Laboratory.
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Educator Exchange Resource Guide
(1999)
This guide is for teachers and administrators interested in participating in or beginning their own teacher exchange program with another country.
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Progress of Education in Louisiana, The
(1999)
This paper describes the history and progress of education in Louisiana and how various factors influence teaching in the state, including educational reform initiatives in Louisiana and changes in critical policies.
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Renovar el Sentido de la Enseñanza
(1999)
Este folleto anima a profesores a recordar por qué se hicieron profesores en primer lugar, y después ayuda a cambiar sus prácticas para hacerlas más significativas para sus estudiantes y el aprendizaje de ellos.
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Restoring Meaning to Teaching
(1999)
This booklet engages teachers in recalling why they became teachers in the first place, and then changes their practice to make it more meaningful for children and their learning.
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Professional Learning Communities: Communities of Continuous Inquiry and Improvement
(1997)
This literature review includes examples of schools that have organized professional learning communities and discusses five dimensions of those communities: supportive and shared leadership, shared values and vision, collective creativity, supportive conditions, and shared personal practice. The publication also discusses steps for transforming a school into a professional learning community.
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SEDLetter, Volume IX, Number 3: Constructivism
(1996)
This issue of SEDLetter includes the articles: (1) The Practice Implications of Constructivism, (2) Resources for Constructivism, (3) Is it Constructivism?, and (4) New Community Networks: Wired for Change.
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Teaching for Diversity
(1994)
This publication examines two related policy issues critical for teacher education: the need for teachers to teach increasingly diverse student populations, and the need to increase the numbers of racial and ethnic minority teachers.
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Leadership Characteristics that Facilitate Change
(1992)
This guide explores the personal qualities that contribute to a person's leadership practices and examines how personal qualities influence educational leadership. The main topics discussed are some key leadership concepts, characteristics found in effective educational, and implications of these characteristics when leaders implement or initiate school change.
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School Context: Bridge or Barrier to Change?
(1992)
This guide examines some contextual factors that can support or block efforts to improve schools. It discusses the role of school resources, policies, and rules in change, how attitudes and beliefs of school administrators, faculty, and students shape school change, cultural norms in school change, and definitions of at-risk students and context.
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