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Full-Text Articles in Education
Preschool Education In Australia, Andrew Dowling, Kate O’Malley
Preschool Education In Australia, Andrew Dowling, Kate O’Malley
Policy Briefs
Early childhood education (ECE) in Australia will soon experience a ‘radical makeover.’ In 2008, all Australian governments made a commitment through the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) that by 2013, all children in the year before formal schooling will have access to high quality early childhood education programs delivered by degreequalified early childhood teachers, for 15 hours per week, 40 weeks of the year, in public, private and community-based preschools and child care. The purpose of this policy brief is to summarise the current structure of preschool in Australia in contemplation of this major policy shift. This paper describes the …
Recognizing The Accomplishments Of Ade Commissioner Ken James, Nathan C. Jensen, Gary W. Ritter
Recognizing The Accomplishments Of Ade Commissioner Ken James, Nathan C. Jensen, Gary W. Ritter
Policy Briefs
This summer, Dr. Ken James announced his resignation as Education Commissioner at the Arkansas Department of Education (ADE). Dr. James’ last day was June 30, 2009 and Diana Julian stepped in as interim commissioner. Today, Governor Mike Beebe announced Tom Kimbrell as his choice for the next commissioner. As we await the official appointment of the new commissioner, the OEP felt it was appropriate to highlight Dr. James’ contributions to Arkansas education.
Oep Welcomes New Commissioner: Tom Kimbrell, Nathan C. Jensen, Gary W. Ritter
Oep Welcomes New Commissioner: Tom Kimbrell, Nathan C. Jensen, Gary W. Ritter
Policy Briefs
The Office for Education Policy is excited to welcome the new Arkansas Education Commissioner – Dr. Tom Kimbrell.
Competing In The Federal Race To The Top, Nathan C. Jensen, Gary W. Ritter
Competing In The Federal Race To The Top, Nathan C. Jensen, Gary W. Ritter
Policy Briefs
The federal Race to the Top is a national competition between states intended to support education reform and innovation in classrooms. States at the forefront of school reform are eligible to compete for $4.3 billion in Race to the Top grants. Since this is a competitive grant, it is possible that some states will not receive awards, and President Obama assures that “politics won’t come into play.”
What Is Highly Qualified For Arkansas Teachers?, Nathan C. Jensen, Gary W. Ritter
What Is Highly Qualified For Arkansas Teachers?, Nathan C. Jensen, Gary W. Ritter
Policy Briefs
In response to the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, state departments of education, including the Arkansas Department of Education (ADE), established rules to define a “highly qualified” teacher (HQT). While the spirit of this provision is clear and reasonable, the devil is, of course, in the details. That is, what exactly does highly qualified mean? Observers had good reason to be suspicious early on when many states claimed to have 95% or more of teachers being highly qualified. (For instance, according to Education Commission of the States, 100% of North Dakota teachers are considered highly qualified and 14 …
The New Arkansas School Performance Report, Sarah C. Mckenzie, Gary W. Ritter
The New Arkansas School Performance Report, Sarah C. Mckenzie, Gary W. Ritter
Policy Briefs
The Arkansas Department of Education has just released the Arkansas School Performance Report, a yearly report on academic achievement in all of Arkansas’ schools.1 One important addition to the Report this year is an academic improvement rating for all elementary and middle schools in the state. This rating should be of interest to all school observers who desire more nuanced information about school and student performance than is provided in commonly used school performance indices, such as the Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) rating. We applaud the Arkansas Department of Education for collecting and releasing this invaluable information on student growth.
Knowing What Works For Arkansas, Sarah C. Mckenzie, Gary W. Ritter
Knowing What Works For Arkansas, Sarah C. Mckenzie, Gary W. Ritter
Policy Briefs
The Office for Education Policy aims to serve as a resource to aid lawmakers and educators in education related decisions. The OEP recently became partners with the What Works Clearinghouse (WWC), a research unit of the U.S. Department of Education, which reviews K-12 curricula and interventions. The goal of this article is to highlight the resources offered through the WWC, and draw attention to some of the WWC services and products that may be useful to educators in Arkansas.
Quality Counts 2009, Sarah C. Mckenzie, Gary W. Ritter
Quality Counts 2009, Sarah C. Mckenzie, Gary W. Ritter
Policy Briefs
In an attempt to gauge the educational progress of the nation and each state, Education Week has published state report cards since 1997 in its annual Quality Counts series. The 13th annual report — Quality Counts 2009 — was released in early 2009. As for the overall score, Arkansas was one of only ten states in the United States that received a B. Arkansas got the highest possible grade (A+) for financial equity among districts, and its grade for “Transitions and Alignment” — or how well a state’s educational system is coordinated from elementary school to college — was a …