Early Reading Success & College

posted in: News & Announcements |

In most states, a school district’s number of proficient third-grade readers is highly predictive of the number of 8th graders who will be proficient five years later.  The significance of this fact is that 8th-grade reading skill is highly predictive of high school outcomes and preparedness for work and college.   In other words, third grade reading success is vitally important because it predicts the trajectory of a child’s educational career.  The above chart school district reading scores illustrates … Read More

Early Reading Success Predicts Later Educational Success

posted in: Home Carousel, home-carousel |

In most states, a school district’s number of proficient third-grade readers is highly predictive of the number of 8th graders who will be proficient five years later.  The significance of this fact is that 8th-grade reading skill is highly predictive of high school outcomes and preparedness for work and college.   In other words, third grade reading success is vitally important because it predicts the trajectory of a child’s educational career.  The above chart school district reading scores illustrates … Read More

2009 VAAA – Barfield Elementary School

Second Place, Middle Division, Elementary Schools Judy Goodwin, Principal 350 Barfield-Crescent Road Murfreesboro, TN 37128 Rutherford County Schools Recipe For Success: Maintaining a positive school environment for students, staff, parents, and community is a cornerstone of Barfield Elementary School’s success. The typical employee at our school has a positive, upbeat attitude, a terrific work ethic, and a genuine concern for children. It is our belief that if we hold our students to high standards, we must be the … Read More

About the Authors

Teacher Evaluation and Student Achievement (2000) by James H. Stronge and Pamela D. Tucker is part of the National Education Association’s Student Assessment Series edited by Glen W. Cutlip. It is not available online. Click here for purchase information. James H. Stronge is Heritage Professor in the Educational Policy, Planning, and Leadership Area at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. One of his primary research interests is in educational personnel evaluation. He has worked with numerous educational … Read More

Direct Instruction and the Teaching of Early Reading

posted in: Briefings & Reports |

Direct Instruction and the Teaching of Early Reading, Wisconsin’s Teacher-Led Insurgency (click here for full article) (click here to download a PDF of this article) By Mark C. Schug, Sara G. Tarver, & Richard D. Western Thiensville, WI: Wisconsin Policy Research Institute, 2001.   Briefing Everyone knows reading is the foundation of learning. Students know it. Parents know it. Teachers know it. So why isn’t it taught using only the most carefully tested methods? Direct Instruction (DI) is arguably the most … Read More

Parents and School

The 150-Year Struggle for Control in American Education The following material was excerpted from Chapter 2. Parents and Schools is not available online.   The Peripheral Parent: Making the Most of Marginality In the 1920S, there was widespread support in the United States for the idea that parents and teachers should work together. However, Americans were still uncertain about the nature and extent of this cooperation. It remained unclear to what degree parents should join in the education … Read More

Rethinking Special Education for a New Century

Chester E. Finn, Jr., Andrew J. Rotherham, and Charles R. Hokanson, Jr. (Eds.). Washington, DC: Thomas B. Fordham Foundation, 2001.   Summary: Recommending sweeping changes in federal special ed policy, this new volume of 14 papers scrutinizes the education now being received by 6 million U.S. children with disabilities. Jointly published with the Progressive Policy Institute, the report will help shape discussion of the next reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). It identifies the problems … Read More

Rethinking Special Education

(click here for full article) (Click here to download the PDF of this article) Edited by Chester E. Finn, Jr., Andrew J. Rotherham, and Charles R. Hokanson, Jr Washington,DC: Thomas B. Fordham Foundation, 2001.   Briefing Special programs for disabled students partly account for the poor achievement and the high and rising costs of American schools. Of course, programs for blind, deaf, and other children with scientifically evidenced disabilities are clearly justified. But most of the roughly 6.1 … Read More

The Impact of Funding Adequacy Litigation

posted in: Briefings & Reports |

By Richard Phelps, Ph.D. Economist Education Consumers Consultants Network   As one may recall from history class, the U.S. constitution includes no mention of education. Therefore, as one may also recall from history class, that issue remains in the domain of our country’s original founding entities, the states. Most state constitutions do provide some general, vague guarantee for the public provision of education. But, most of these constitutions were written between the late 1700s and late 1800s, when … Read More

Private Sector Alternatives for Preventing Reading Failure

Groff, P.  (1987).  Private sector alternatives for preventing reading failure, Washington, DC:  National Advisory Council on Educational Research and Improvement. Editor’s note:  Chapters IV-VI contain outdated names, addresses, and references, and therefore were omitted _________________ A directory of national organizations providing a rationale for their need;  An assessment of the professional training they provide for prospective or inservice teachers of reading By Patrick Groff, Professor of Education San Diego State University   I. Introduction The major purpose of … Read More

1 2