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Examines the relationships between a number of different kinds and examples of teacher professionalization on elementary and secondary teachers in the U.S. and the commitment of teachers to their teaching careers. Summarizes the following characteristics of professions and professionals: credentials, induction, professional development, authority, and compensation. Describes what effect education reformers have expected these traditional characteristics to have on teachers' attitudes, performance, quality, and specifically, their commitment to their careers. Includes both private and public schools. Charts and tables.

The Federal Pell Grant Program was created to improve the access of low-income students to postsecondary education. Grant recipients enroll at four-year colleges and universities, for-profit schools, two-year community colleges, and institutions that specialize in occupational training. Grants are awarded on the basis of financial need and academic course load, and the maximum grant a student can receive for the 2013-2014 award year is $5,645. During the most recent award year for which data are available (July 1, 2011, to June 30, 2012), the program provided $33.6 billion in grants to some 9.4 million students at U.S. educational institutions. The cost of the program has risen dramatically in recent years. From 2006-2007 to 2010-2011, real (inflation-adjusted) spending on Pell grants increased by 158%, due to an 80% rise in the number of recipients and a 43% real increase in the amount of the average grant during those four years. Spending for the program declined in 2011-2012 because of a reduction in the amount of the average grant. Contents of this report: The Federal Pell Grant Program; Recent Growth in Spending; Options for Changing the Program; Alternatives to the Program. Tables and figures. This is a print on demand report.

The Gen. Educational Development (GED) Tests comprise the most widely recognized form of alternative secondary cert'n. in the U.S. This report examines 50 years of research on such issues as: how successful are those who attain the GED credential? How does their performance in postsec. educ. & the job market compare with that of regular HS graduates? With that of other HS dropouts? And what relation does GED cert'n. have to the outcomes in these arenas? Chapters relating to the GED: brief history; content & standards; norming & scoring; challenges; functions; postsec. outcomes; labor market performance of recipients; & the military.

Indicators in this volume provide international benchmarks for assessing the condition of education in U.S. states and in the United States as a whole by comparison with many other industrialized countries for which data are available. On six sets of indicators (37 indicators in all), country-level and state-level measures are arrayed side-by-side to facilitate comparison. The indicators are grouped into six categories: (1) background; (2) participation; (3) processes and institutions; (4) achievement and attainment; (5) labor market outcomes; and (6) finance. The presentation of each indicator includes an explanation of what it measures, why it is important, and key results from a comparison of countries and states. Throughout the report, comparisons are most often made in the text among like-sized entities. The presentation of each indicator also includes separate tables for states and countries and graphs that display states and countries together. Supplemental notes and a statistical appendix include supplemental and technical information on how measures in the indicators were calculated, and a glossary is included. (Contains 37 two-part tables and 37 figures, some of which have several parts.) (SLD)

This report presents key data that measure the condition of education in the United States and other nations. The data allow users to monitor important developments and discern trends in education. A wide variety of areas are covered, including: reading, writing, and mathematical proficiency; organization and management of educational institutions; college costs and family income; racial and ethnic distribution; voting behavior by educational attainment; and the student's transition from high school to the workforce. A series of essays discusses critical issues facing the nation's educational system. These essays are followed by a presentation of six different education indicators: access, participation, and progress; achievement, attainment, and curriculum; economic and other outcomes of education; organization and management of educational institutions; climate and diversity of educational institutions; and financial and human resources of educational institutions.

Presents indicators of important developments and trends in American education.