Heather Barney

Despite recent progress in reading achievement among primary-grade children, many are not moving beyond basic decoding to fluency and comprehension as they go on to higher grades. RAND evaluated the impact of reading coaches: master teachers who offer ongoing on-site instructional support for teachers; and, on teaching practices and student outcomes in Florida middle schools. This title presents results from a RAND evaluation of the implementation and impact of the reading coach program in Florida middle schools.

Describes accountability models in the manufacturing, job training, legal, and health care sectors; summarizes their effectiveness; and draws specific lessons for educators. Examines five accountability models--two from the manufacturing sector; a performance incentive model used in the evaluation of job training programs for the poor; accountability in the legal sector; and accountability in health care as shown by clinical practice guidelines, use of statistical risk-adjustment methods, and the public reporting of health performance measures. The authors summarize the models' effectiveness and draw lessons for implementing the No Child Left Behind Act.

This work analyzes three urban school districts' efforts to improve the instructional quality and performance of their schools, and assesses the contribution to those efforts made by an intermediary organization, the Institute for Learning. It analyzes three urban districts' efforts to improve the instructional quality and performance of their schools and assesses the contribution to those efforts made by an intermediary organization, the Institute for Learning. The authors identify constraints and enablers of district success, assess the nature and effect of district-intermediary partnerships, and make recommendations for districts undertaking similar instructional reforms.

Presents first year findings from an evaluation of teacher education reform at four institutions under the Teachers for a New Era initiative. Teachers for a New Era encourages improvements in teacher education through grants and technical assistance, expecting grantee institutions to implement the program's design principles. The authors helped evaluate the initial progress of the first four TNE grantees and derive some early lessons learned from the effort. The report profiles each institution, summarizes its design proposal, describes its implementation progress and the relevant state policy contexts, and provides an overview of the first year.