Helen Apthorp

Competency-based education--also known as proficiency-based, mastery-based, and performance-based education--has received increased attention in recent years as an education approach that may help ensure that students graduate from high school with the knowledge and skills necessary for college and their careers. In competency-based education, students must demonstrate mastery of course content to be promoted to the next class or grade, rather than spending a required number of hours in a cla...

Formative assessment is a process that engages teachers and students in gathering, interpreting, and using evidence about what and how students are learning in order to facilitate further student learning during a short period of time. The process offers the potential to guide educator decisions about midstream adjustments to instruction that address learner needs in a timely manner. Formative assessment can be implemented in classrooms in various ways. For example, formative assessment can b...

This report summarizes the research on the association between state interventions in chronically low-performing schools and student achievement. Most of the research focused on one type of state intervention: working with a turnaround partner. Few studies were identified that examined other types of interventions, such as school closure, charter conversion, and school redesign. Most studies were descriptive, which limits the conclusions that can be drawn about the effectiveness of the interv...

This report provides descriptive information about the location and native language use of schools in the REL Central Regio with high enrollment of American Indian students, whether Bureau of Indian Education schools or non-Bureau of Indian Education high-density American Indian schools (schools with 25 percent or more American Indian student enrollment). Of the 208 schools with high American Indian student enrollment (33 BIE and 173 HDAI schools), 83% are located in the region's rural areas....

This report on professional teaching standards in the Central Region examines what K-8 general education teachers are expected to know and be able to do in order to teach English language learner students. It reviews the standards for coverage of six topics that the research literature suggests are important for improving student achievement. Key findings include: (1) All seven Central Region states include knowledge and skills for teaching English language learner (ELL) students in their tea...