Wales is in the middle of a fundamental reform of its curriculum and consequent assessment design. There is a welcome broadening of the range of subjects offered at levels 1 and 2, yet the notion that some subjects are more important than others persists. Furthermore, the 'core' subjects of language, mathematics and science are seeing the biggest…

A phenomenon from the natural world, cricket chirping behavior in relation to ambient temperature, is used as the springboard for engaging the curiosity of gifted students in an interdisciplinary classroom curriculum. Mathematics and science standards and disciplinary practices are prominent in the investigation, while other disciplines deepen the…

This report examines the evolving landscape of English language arts (ELA) curriculum and instructional support in Michigan elementary schools from the 2019-20 to the 2022-23 school years. Recognizing the pivotal role instruction plays in shaping students' literacy development, this report explores which curriculum resources teachers are using to…

The Math Curriculum Impact Study was a large-scale randomized controlled trial (RCT) to test the efficacy of a digital core curriculum for Grade 5 mathematics. Reasoning Mind's Grade 5 Common Core Curriculum was a comprehensive, adaptive, blended learning approach that schools in the treatment group implemented for an entire school year. Schools…

The Math Curriculum Impact Study was a large-scale randomized controlled trial (RCT) to test the efficacy of a digital core curriculum for Grade 5 mathematics. Reasoning Mind's Grade 5 Common Core Curriculum was a comprehensive, adaptive, blended learning approach that treated schools implemented for an entire school year. The study was completed…

Early Warning Systems (EWSs) aggregate multiple sources of data to provide timely information to stakeholders about students in need of academic support. There is an increasing need to incorporate relevant data about student behaviors into the algorithms underlying EWSs to improve predictors of students' success or failure. Many EWSs currently…

Background: The Healthy People 2020 objectives in school health education have brought attention to the elementary classroom. To meet the goal of increasing by 4% the total number of schools requiring health education, information on the current state of health education is necessary. Due to mandatory core curriculum testing and the instructional…

In this brief article, John Wertman describes the evolution of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) of 2015, the role the American Association of Geographers (AAG) played over the last decade in getting it passed, and the impact the Act has on funding for K-12 geography education. The legislation, while not perfect, includes promising new…

For typically developing adolescents, Piaget (1932/1965), Kohlberg (1971), Vygotsky (1935/2011), and Erikson (1964) described key transitions as having happened naturally as the child aged. In adolescents with visual impairments, key transitions are often reached much later than are developmentally appropriate due to the lack of specific…