In 1983, the report A Nation at Risk catapulted school reform to the forefront of national attention. The State of Texas responded with legislation dictating curriculum and instructional time. Failure to accomplish the desired improvement in student achievement caused these mandates to be eased. In lieu of the mandates, the Texas legislature and the Texas Education Agency have set expectation standards called academic indicators. Local districts and campuses must utilize site based decision making (SBDM) to determine how each campus will meet the set standards. Dealing primarily with curriculum roles and responsibilities, this study details perceptions of principals and teachers as SBDM was being implemented in a suburban school district serving 25,000 students. Data were gathered utilizing a structured interview and a follow-up telephone interview. Addressed in the study are perceptions of: (a) role changes, (b) responsibility changes, (c) needed improvements in the implementation process, (d) teacher empowerment, (e) positive and negative elements, and (f) student achievement.

In 2013, the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses' (NCLEX-RN) passing standard was increased, leading to a decrease in NCLEX-RN pass rates. The passing standard increase was prompted by an advisory panel's determination that a gap in safe, competent practice existed among new graduate nurses. New graduates' success on NCLEX-RN is critical to meet workplace demand for new nurses. The purpose of this study was to examine whether cumulative grade point average at completion of 200-level nursing courses and scores on the standardized final exam in the 200-level fundamentals course were related to on-time nursing program completion and a Health Education Systems, Inc. Exit Exam score of 900 or higher. Research questions specific to relationships between early academic indicators and accelerated-baccalaureate student nurse success guided this explanatory correlational study. Classical test theory provided the framework for understanding the relationship between an observed score on an examination and an underlying proficiency that is unobserved. Archival data from a nonprobability convenience sample of 842 accelerated-baccalaureate nursing students at a university who graduated between 2011 and 2014 were analyzed using point-biserial correlation. Statistically significant, moderate positive relationships were found between early academic indicators and accelerated-baccalaureate student nurse success. A remediation curriculum has been developed as a recommended intervention. Curriculum promoting student retention can contribute to social change by improving student success and producing a more competent nursing workforce. These successes are important to retaining diverse students and addressing health disparities in the larger patient community.