Mining the Research

• Measuring What Matters: A Stronger Accountability Model for Teacher Education. Center for American Progress (July 2010). This report suggests that the current teacher education system is flawed. "Our current system for holding U.S. teacher education programs accountable doesn't guarantee program quality or serve the needs of schools and students," say the authors. The Center for American Progress makes recommendations for how to prepare teachers for the classroom.
• Better Benefits: Reforming Teacher Pensions for a Changing Workforce. Education Sector (July 2010). The recent economic crisis and financial mismanagement by school systems has left many states in a predicament regarding teacher pensions. Several states are facing fiscal disaster due to lack of funding for teacher pensions.
• The Effectiveness of Mandatory-Random Student Drug Testing. National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance (July 2010). This survey of over 4,000 students found that students subject to drug testing were less likely to use illicit substances than their peers who do not face drug testing.
• The National Indian Education Study. National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance (2010). The National Indian Education Study (NIES) is a two-part study that addresses educational issues concerning American Indian and Alaska Native students in the United States. This study looks at how 4th and 8th grade students in this population performed on the National Assessment of Educational Progress exams in 2005, 2007, and 2009.
• Accommodations for English Learner Students: The Effect of Linguistic Modification of Math Test Item Sets. National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance (June 2010). This study looks at the effects of simplifying the language on math exams for English language learners. The results show the students understood the exams better, which suggests this change allows for a more accurate assessment of a student's skills.

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