SEARCHABLE DATABASES
Ask
Eric (http://ericir.syr.edu/)
This site contains the largest collection of education materials
available online!
ERIC is the Educational
Resources Information Center (ERIC), a federally-funded
national information system that provides a variety of services
and products on a broad range of education-related issues.
Ask ERIC is a personalized Internet-based service providing
education information to teachers, librarians, counselors,
administrators, parents, and anyone interested in education
throughout the United States and the world. It began in
1992 as a project of the ERIC
Clearinghouse on Information and Technology and is now,
with the ERIC Clearinghouse, a component of the Information
Institute of Syracuse at Syracuse University. Access
is free and open to anyone.
Chicago
Public Schools Department of Research and Evaluation (http://research.cps.k12.il.us/)
Easy access to test scores and demographic reports for the
Chicago public schools.
Great
Schools.net (http://www.greatschools.net/)
GreatSchools.net provides information about public, private
and charter k-12 schools in all 50 states and provides detailed
school profiles for California, Arizona, Texas, Florida,
and Washington. The National School Guide provides basic
information about virtually every K-12 school in the country.
State School Guides include in-depth school profiles, school
search and sort tools, custom email newsletters and state-specific
advice about navigating the public school system. State
School Guides are currently available for California, Arizona,
Texas, Florida, and Washington only. Access is free!
InsideSchools.org
(http://www.insideschools.org)
New York City Public School Information
"Public School Reports is an authoritative, independent
on-line guide offered by Advocates
for Children of New York." The site contains statistical
profiles for every school in New York city. To go directly
to a school profile, just click on the grade level link
that interests you.
Just
for the Kids (http://www.just4kids.org/us/us_home.asp)
The Just for the Kids' site includes analysis of public
school academic performance data and identification and
study of high-performing schools for six states: Arkansas,
Colorado, Florida, Tennessee, Texas, and Washington. For
all other states the only information available is a brief
overview of statewide testing standards, a summary of what
data is currently collected, and what data still needs to
be collected by the state.
National
Center for Education Statistics (NCES) (http://nces.ed.gov/)
"NCES is the primary federal entity for collecting
and analyzing data that are related to education in the
United States and other nations." By clicking on the
"Ed Stats at a Glance" tab on the left side of
the page you can search several NCES sources at once, including:
The Condition of Education, The Digest of Education Statistics,
and Projections of Education Statistics. You can
also open each of these sources separately.
GENERAL INFORMATION SOURCES
American
Federation of Teachers (http://www.aft.org/)
This is the official site of the American Federation of
Teachers. You can see what position the AFT has taken on
a variety of issues including privatization, vouchers, charter
schools and many more by clicking on "AFT on the Issues".
But the best reason to visit this site is for the "AFT
Reports" which cover a range of topics from teacher's
salaries to analysis' of standards-based reform efforts
in the 50 states. Their "Publications" and "Press
Center" sections contain useful information too.
Council
of Great City Schools (http://www.cgcs.org/)
"The Nation's Voice for Urban Education"--The
Council of Great City Schools is a coalition of more than
60 of the nation's largest urban public school systems.
Their website has a wealth of resources on urban education
issues. Check out the "Reports & Data" section
which covers a wide variety of topics of interest to educators,
students, and activists. All reports can be accessed for
free!
National
Clearinghouse for Educational Facilities (NCEF)
(http://www.edfacilities.org/)
NCEF's site is a complete resource list of links, books,
and journal articles on methods used by state and local
governments and school districts to finance K-12 school
construction, renovation and repair projects. Their "News"
section provides summaries of local, regional and national
news about K-12 educational facilities and has links to
full text articles when available. The "Construction
Data" section has links to reports that provide national
and regional aggregate cost data on school construction.
The site is searchable and easy to navigate! Access is free.
National
Education Association (NEA) (http://www.nea.org)
The National Education Association, based in Washington
D.C., is "the nation's leading organization committed
to advancing the cause of public education." NEA boasts
a membership of over 2.7 million educators who work in every
level of the educational field. Their website is a useful
resource for students and activists who work in the educational
reform field. For background information on a variety of
topics, from rural education to technology in the schools,
check out the "Hot Topics" section. You can access
some very interesting comparative statistics in the "Publications"
section. More useful information and statistics can be found
by clicking on "Read Good News About Your Local Schools".
EDUCATION NEWS and JOURNALS
Education
Week on the Web (http://www.edweek.org/)
Now you can access current education news from all 50 states!
You can search the archives and browse past issues of the
publication too. At top of the page, you can click on "state
info" to narrow your search for news to a specific
state. At the top of the page, you'll find the site's "Special
Reports" and "Hot Topics" sections. Check
out the "Research in Education" section for the
latest findings and trends in educational research. You
can also sign up to receive free e-newsletters on different
educational topics. Access is free!
Eduventures.com
(http://www.eduventures.com)
"Eduventures, Inc. is the leading, independent research
and advisory firm dedicated exclusively to the coverage
and service of corporate, postsecondary, and pre-K-12 learning
markets." Click on "Research" to access the
sites' Research Alerts and Research Briefs. Recent Research
Reports provide news and analysis covering trends in the
pre-K-12, postsecondary, and corporate training markets.
The Research Briefs provide short, timely, and expert perspectives
on the landscape and trends in the education industry. Click
on "Industry News" to access current news about
the education industry or on individual companies operating
in the field. Registration is required but free for limited
access. There is a subscription fee to access the entire
site.
Rethinking
Schools Online-An Urban Educational Journal (http://www.rethinkingschools.org/)
Rethinking Schools is a progressive online publication with
a strong emphasis on issues of equity, social justice, and
the problems facing urban schools, particularly issues of
race. It is an activist publication, with articles written
by and for teachers, parents, and students. Yet it also
addresses key policy issues, such as vouchers and marketplace-oriented
reforms, funding equity, and school-to-work. Founded in
1986 by activist teachers, Rethinking Schools is a nonprofit,
independent publisher of educational materials.
POLICY and RESEARCH INSTITUTIONS
American
Diploma Project (http://americandiplomaproject.org/)
This thinktank is a strong backer of high school exit exams.
Formed in 2001, by four national education organizations
- Achieve,
Inc., The
Education Trust, The
Thomas B. Fordham Foundation and The
National Alliance of Business - came together to strategize
about producing a standardized workforce for the new economy.
In other words, using the exit exam to track folks into
"skilled" jobs or military service. Their mode
of operation is to create policies on the state level throughout
the nation in order to bypass federal intervention. Currently
five states are piloting this: Indiana, Kentucky, Massachusetts,
Nevada and Texas. They plan to launch nationally in Fall
2003.
The
Broad Foundation (http://www.broadfoundation.org)
The Broad Foundation is the $400 million neo-liberal philanthropic
vehicle for Los Angeles housing development and investments
billionaire, Eli Broad (& wife Edythe), to take on K-12
education issues and develop a future standardized workforce
of "knowledge workers." The Foundation supports
reforming urban public schools through entrepreneurial CEO-trained
leadership, mayoral takeovers. The Broad Fdtn sees the main
value of education in its output of skilled workers, hence
the focus on standardized testing. The Fdtn's three flagship
initiatives are The Broad Prize for Urban Education, The
Broad Center for Superintendents (nonprofit executive development
center established by the Fdtn and former Michigan Governor,
John Engler), and The Broad Institute for School boards.
The
Brown Center on Education Policy (http://www.brook.edu/dybdocroot/gs/brown/brown_hp.htm)
"The Brown Center on Education Policy conducts research
on topics in American education, with a special focus on
efforts to improve academic achievement in elementary and
secondary schools." Click on the "Research"
or "Publications" tabs on the left side of the
page to access the Center's current and archived research
reports and articles. There is a heavy emphasis on vouchers,
urban school reform, and charter schools.
Expose
Racism & Advance School Excellence (ERASE) (http://arc.org/erase/)
A project of the Applied Research Center
The ERASE Initiative is a national program, coordinated
by the Applied Research Center, which challenges racism
in public schools and promotes racial justice and academic
excellence for all students. The Applied Research Center
is a public policy, education, and research institute which
emphasizes issues of race and social change. The site is
an indispensable tool for education activists! It has links
to reports, fact sheets, timelines, and news on racial justice
and educational inequality in our public schools. Check
out their downloadable "Racial Justice Report Card",
an interactive electronic research tool that measures key
indicators of racial equity in schools--drop out rates,
graduation rates, disciplinary rates, etc. The Report Card
calculates statistically significant racial disparities,
then gives the school district a grade in racial justice.
The site also includes information on vouchers, testing,
and California's teacher shortage crisis.
Heartland
Institute (http://www.heartland.org/)
This site holds a wealth of information on education reform,
including more than 7,000 downloadable policy analyses from
over 300 think tanks. You can also access back issues of
School Reform News. Despite the pro-market school reform
bias, there is lots of valuable information hidden in this
site.
Francis
Xavier Shen (http://www.people.fas.harvard.edu/~fxshen/papers.html)
Shen is a Ph.D. candidate in Government & Social Policy
at Harvard University. His personal website has papers on
education reform, school takeovers (mayoral & state),
and charter schools.
CALIFORNIA-SPECIFIC SOURCES
California
Department of Education (CDE) (http://www.cde.ca.gov/)
The homepage of the California Department of Education has
helpful links to demographic, financial, performance, and
background information about all aspects of public education
in the state of California. There is a topic search on the
upper right hand corner of the page that can make navigating
this site much easier. On the left side of the page you
will find the department's "favorites" which include
links to the State Board of Education and to information
on the High School Exit Exam.
California
Healthy Schools (http://www.calhealthyschools.org/)
A California-based clearinghouse of information and tools
to help eliminate the widespread, unnecessary and harmful
use of toxics pesticides in our schools. The site has a
very resourceful "Pesticide Action Kit" to help
introduce you to the widespread problem of pesticide use
in and around our schools and a great introduction to the
Healthy Schools Act of 2000. Be sure to check out the report,
Learning Curve, written by researchers at the California
Public Interest Research Group.
Data
Quest (http://data1.cde.ca.gov/dataquest/)
A wonderful site put out by the California Department of
Education that allows you to create your own reports about
API, enrollment, graduates, dropouts, course enrollments,
staffing, English Learners, and Stanford 9 test data. Very
easy to use. Has subject and level search fields. Access
is free!
Education
Data Partnership (Ed-Data) (http://www.ed-data.k12.ca.us/)
A very useful source put out by the Alameda County Office
of Education, the California Department of Education, EdSource,
and the Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team (FCMAT).
The site contains a wealth of financial, demographic, and
performance data on California's K-12 public schools. You
can request data by state, county, district, or school.
The site also has a good "Education Issues and Background"
section that gives helpful background info on education
issues pertinent to youth activists, parents, and students
alike. The data is current and updated regularly. Access
is completely free of charge!
EdVoice
(http://www.edvoice.org/edvoice/index.html)
Keep updated on legislative activity in Sacramento! EdVoice
is a "statewide grassroots network focused on passing
legislation that will reshape California's public education
policy." The EdVoice site provides easy to understand
information on key education issues and a step-by-step guide
to impacting the decision making process. You can register
to receive free e-mail updates on crucial reforms, information
on other legislation and budget issues.
Schools
Not Jails (http://www.schoolsnotjails.com)
An informative source about young people and the prison
industrial complex. It boasts multiple chat rooms for youth,
tips and education tools for organizers, and informative
articles about criminalization, Junior ROTC, high school
ethnic studies courses, and other issues facing youth nationwide.
EDUCATION-RELATED ISSUES
Central
Committee for Conscientious Objectors (http://objector.org/)
Their "Military Out of Our Schools" Campaign works
with local members of communities nationwide, to restrict
recruiter's access to schools and gain equal access to talk
about the realities of military life and present alternatives
to military service. They've got posters, fact sheets, educational
materials, activist tools and AWOL! Youth for Peace &
Revolution-a by-youth, for-youth anti-militarist 'zine from
the Student Coalition Resisting Enlistment and Militarism.
Stopping
War Where It Begins - Organizing Against Militarism in Our
Schools (http://www.youthandthemilitary.org)
This is conference organized by American Friends Service
Committee "for activists and others interested in liberating
our schools from the Pentagon's assault on young people."
Updated
November 2003. Please send Web site corrections to datacenter@datacenter.org
