How do adult "culture wars" in education affect student learning in the classroom? I explore this question by combining information on nearly 500 school district political controversies with data on state test scores. Leveraging variation in the location and timing of these events as the basis for a difference-in-differences design, I…

The authors describe the politicization of the process to revise Michigan's social studies standards from 2005 to the present. In 2005, critics objected to the omission of topics they considered important, even though the content expectations document was not intended to be an exhaustive list of material to be covered. The latest, more limited…

"Charter Schools at the Crossroads" offers a frank and nuanced analysis of the successes and shortcomings of the charter movement, and outlines possible directions for the future. Few observers present at the creation of the first charter schools a quarter-century ago could have predicted how rapidly this movement would spread or how…

According to Helms, "test fairness" is defined as "removal from test scores of systematic variance attributable to experiences of racial or cultural socialization." Some of Helms's reasoning is based on earlier work, which recommended that racial group or category variables be replaced entirely with individual-level constructs, to reflect racial…

There is now unprecedented emphasis on teacher quality in the USA and in many nations around the world with extremely high expectations for teacher performance. Based on the assumption that education and the economy are inextricably linked, it is now assumed that teachers can--and should--teach all students to world-class standards, serve as the…

Background: There is growing evidence of the impact on children's well-being of exposure to political conflict in such settings as the Palestinian territories. This study examined the impact of child-focused interventions involving structured activities, supported by provision of equipment and training of facilitators. The focus of interventions…

The Student Experience in the Research University (SERU) Project is a collaborative effort of academic scholars, IR staff, and academic and administrative leaders at each of the UC (University of California) undergraduate campuses and at UCOP (University of California Office of the President). The objective is to develop new types of data and…