This article examines several important moments in the history of mathematics education history to provide another lens through which to view modern mathematics education in the United States. At the turn of the twentieth century, mathematics education in the United States had been the subject of educational concern for more than a century.…

Many are concerned about the large decline in K-12 student achievement since 2019. And rightly so, given what it signals about student learning and later life outcomes. Less noted is the pre-pandemic sustained decline in student achievement growth that followed 30 years of increases. We examine the nature of achievement decline as measured by…

The work of school principals is complex; however, little research has examined how they navigate this complexity outside of traditional settings and times. This specific line of inquiry is important, because principals' time allocation is related to various desirable student outcomes, and how many hours principals work (and when) is associated…

Pushback against the perceived federal overreach into educational reform has led to renewed calls for a return to local control of schools. In contrast to this general trend, there has continued to be a strong national role for English learner (EL) accountability policies related to EL identification, monitoring and reclassification processes. In…

This study aims to frame democratic proceduralism in education reform by deconstructing elements of democracy and civil society along aspects of legitimacy, representation, the discourse of liberty and naturalization, voting, and transactional discourse. This deconstruction is accomplished by providing a literary review of these factors and…

In response to the global pressure that has led to an increased emphasis on international comparisons of student achievement since the 1980s, multiple federal reforms aimed at producing greater consistency in curricula have been initiated in the United States. The purpose of this study was to examine the feasibility of a national curriculum and…

Arts integration is a transformative platform for teacher candidates to think, plan, and teach for understanding that extends beyond the curriculum. This qualitative content analysis explores what pre-service teachers learned about arts integration as a route to cultural competence. The researchers show how pre-service teachers' experiences with…

State assessment leaders are concerned about the challenges with receiving full approval from the U.S. Department of Education (USED) when using the ACT or the SAT as their assessment of high school achievement. USED has asked states opting to use the ACT or the SAT as the achievement indicator under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) to…

Drawing upon their new edited volume of essays looking back on the school reforms of the Bush and Obama years, the authors explain just how few of those reforms went according to plan. Some of the unexpected outcomes were positive, they note, pointing to the improvement of school data systems and the bipartisan compromise that put an end to No…

This paper focuses on the relationship between policy creation and policy enactment through the use of an innovative qualitative research methodology, photo elicitation. Teachers applying Common Core State Standards were studied in two states through indepth interviews, photographs captured by the participants, and other artifacts. Findings…

The authors of this article call upon classroom memories to demonstrate the harm of the standardized testing apparatus in the English Language Arts (ELA) classroom. Goal setting under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) has led to targeted school intervention based on metrics, and many states have chosen to double down on standardized ELA and…

In this essay, Jack Schneider and Andrew Saultz offer a new perspective on state and federal power through their analysis of authority and control. Due to limitations inherent to centralized governance, state and federal offices of education exercised little control over schools across much of the twentieth century, even as they acquired…

In this study, we aim to deepen understanding of what it would take to develop the relationships, common understandings, and collective expertise that might support district-wide improvement efforts by examining the implementation of the Common Core and a teacher evaluation policy. Drawing on three years of social network data in three districts,…

Drawing from the existing body of data and research on the community education concept, effective schools, and standards-based reforms, this essay examines educational achievement in the United States corresponding to and resulting from reform movements and political actions. The 1965 Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) is reviewed in…

The balanced development of cognitive and noncognitive skills is crucial not only for well-rounded child development in schools but also for career and life success. Unlike academic learning standards, however, there are rarely comparable "socioemotional learning" (SEL) standards. Under the pressure of high-stakes testing policies…