The Georgia Prekindergarten Program (Pre-K), established in 1993, provides Georgia's fouryear-old children with high quality preschool experiences in order to prepare them for kindergarten. Immediate gains resulting from Pre-K can be lost if teachers in later grades are not prepared to capitalize on the increasing capabilities of students. To sustain the positive effects of the Pre-K program, teachers in later grades need both to recognize that students are better prepared for school and to adapt their instructional practices to take advantage of their students' increasing capabilities. Research implies that teachers adopt practices in their classrooms relative to how their beliefs match assumptions inherent in new programs. Thus, this study investigates teacher awareness of the impact of Pre-K on students, teacher beliefs about instructional practices, current instructional practices, and the relationship between beliefs and practices.

The Council for School Performance launched this study to examine the implications of the Pre-K program for teachers of children in kindergarten through third grade. Through a survey of teachers in Georgia, the Council has found that teachers believe that the Pre-K program has positively affected students in elementary school, despite observations that students are, overall, changing for the worse. The majority of teachers believe in child-centered instructional practices, but this belief has not been adopted into their own instructional practices. Overall, teachers are as likely to use child-centered practices as they are to use teacher-directed activities.

Although gender differences have been identified in scholarly research, there is little state reporting of indicators by gender. The purpose of this paper is to identify the gender gaps in K-12 education that have been reported in the literature, to discuss how and when these gaps manifest themselves, and to recommend which of the educational performance indicators should be reported by gender in Georgia. Ultimately, the purpose of reporting indicators by gender is to aid in the efforts to close gender gaps in education.

A review of the literature reveals that gender gaps exist at both empirical and experiential levels. Empirically, gaps exist in math, science, and reading proficiency scores, as well as in course enrollment in higher level math and science and graduation rates. Experientially, gaps exist in self esteem levels, personal perceptions of ability, teacher interaction with students, as well as in the advice and opportunities that are afforded students. While studies show that girls and boys start kindergarten on a generally equal footing, by grade twelve girls are generally in a lower academic position than their male counterparts, particularly in the areas of math and science. Research shows that the most critical age for the development of gender gaps is early adolescence, particularly grade seven in which girls= educational performance in math and science begins to plummet.

Based on the research and data reported in this paper, the following indicators are recommended to be reported by gender. They are separated into indicators that are currently available by gender, and indicators that are recommended to be reported by gender in the future.

Although gender differences have been identified in scholarly research, there is little state reporting of indicators by gender. The purpose of this paper is to identify the gender gaps in K-12 education that have been reported in the literature, to discuss how and when these gaps manifest themselves, and to recommend which of the educational performance indicators should be reported by gender in Georgia. Ultimately, the purpose of reporting indicators by gender is to aid in the efforts to close gender gaps in education.

A review of the literature reveals that gender gaps exist at both empirical and experiential levels. Empirically, gaps exist in math, science, and reading proficiency scores, as well as in course enrollment in higher level math and science and graduation rates. Experientially, gaps exist in self esteem levels, personal perceptions of ability, teacher interaction with students, as well as in the advice and opportunities that are afforded students. While studies show that girls and boys start kindergarten on a generally equal footing, by grade twelve girls are generally in a lower academic position than their male counterparts, particularly in the areas of math and science. Research shows that the most critical age for the development of gender gaps is early adolescence, particularly grade seven in which girls= educational performance in math and science begins to plummet.

Based on the research and data reported in this paper, the following indicators are recommended to be reported by gender. They are separated into indicators that are currently available by gender, and indicators that are recommended to be reported by gender in the future.

The Georgia Prekindergarten Program (Pre-K), established in 1993, provides Georgia's fouryear-old children with high quality preschool experiences in order to prepare them for kindergarten. Immediate gains resulting from Pre-K can be lost if teachers in later grades are not prepared to capitalize on the increasing capabilities of students. To sustain the positive effects of the Pre-K program, teachers in later grades need both to recognize that students are better prepared for school and to adapt their instructional practices to take advantage of their students' increasing capabilities. Research implies that teachers adopt practices in their classrooms relative to how their beliefs match assumptions inherent in new programs. Thus, this study investigates teacher awareness of the impact of Pre-K on students, teacher beliefs about instructional practices, current instructional practices, and the relationship between beliefs and practices.

The Council for School Performance launched this study to examine the implications of the Pre-K program for teachers of children in kindergarten through third grade. Through a survey of teachers in Georgia, the Council has found that teachers believe that the Pre-K program has positively affected students in elementary school, despite observations that students are, overall, changing for the worse. The majority of teachers believe in child-centered instructional practices, but this belief has not been adopted into their own instructional practices. Overall, teachers are as likely to use child-centered practices as they are to use teacher-directed activities.

The Georgia Prekindergarten Program (Pre-K), established in 1993, provides Georgia's fouryear-old children with high quality preschool experiences in order to prepare them for kindergarten. Immediate gains resulting from Pre-K can be lost if teachers in later grades are not prepared to capitalize on the increasing capabilities of students. To sustain the positive effects of the Pre-K program, teachers in later grades need both to recognize that students are better prepared for school and to adapt their instructional practices to take advantage of their students' increasing capabilities. Research implies that teachers adopt practices in their classrooms relative to how their beliefs match assumptions inherent in new programs. Thus, this study investigates teacher awareness of the impact of Pre-K on students, teacher beliefs about instructional practices, current instructional practices, and the relationship between beliefs and practices.

The Council for School Performance launched this study to examine the implications of the Pre-K program for teachers of children in kindergarten through third grade. Through a survey of teachers in Georgia, the Council has found that teachers believe that the Pre-K program has positively affected students in elementary school, despite observations that students are, overall, changing for the worse. The majority of teachers believe in child-centered instructional practices, but this belief has not been adopted into their own instructional practices. Overall, teachers are as likely to use child-centered practices as they are to use teacher-directed activities.

This publication examines how the Chafee educational and training vouchers and other state-based supports for higher education have been working for these young adults. The National Foster Care Coalition (NFCC) has worked closely with six states to examine the implementation of the Chafee ETV Program since its inception in 2003: California, Maine, Montana, New York, North Carolina, and Wyoming. These states were selected to provide a diverse view of ETV program implementation, including state- and county-administered child welfare programs, urban and rural programs, and programs serving either very large or very small populations of youth. This publication documents a select number of young people's experiences with the ETV program and also shares recommendations from constituents and other stakeholders on how to improve this unique and important postsecondary education and training program.

Campus support programs provide financial, academic, and other types of supports to help former foster youth succeed in college. However, relatively little is known about the impact of these programs on college retention or graduation rates. This study lays the groundwork for an impact evaluation by examining program implementation from two different perspectives. Researchers conducted telephone interviews with the directors of 10 campus support programs in California and Washington State. The interviews covered a variety of domains, including the population served, referral sources and recruitment, the application process, the provision of services and supports, program staff, relationships with stakeholders, and data collection. In addition, participants from 8 of the 10 programs completed a web-based survey that asked about their perceptions of and experiences with the program. The survey included questions about students' demographic characteristics, referral and recruitment, the application process, reasons for participating in the program, services and supports received, unmet needs, contact with staff, and recommendations for improvement. The report concludes with several recommendations for moving forward with a methodologically sound impact evaluation of campus support programs for former foster youth.

Marchant's review of the report finds that it ignores contradictory findings, omits key information, wrongly argues causation and confuses civic knowledge with conservative political values. Marchant warns that the report "may, in fact, be destructive of the very ideals of education the authors ascribe to the Founding Fathers -- particularly informed democratic participation."