Over the last 2 decades, policymakers' standards-based accountability reforms in the United States, such as the No Child Left Behind Act, have fundamentally changed public schooling in general and kindergarten specifically. As this has occurred, little is known about how families make sense of these changes in schooling. By sharing findings from a…

The number of homeless children and youth in the United States is on the rise (U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, 2016). Between 2016 and 2017 in the Los Angeles County Homeless Count, there was a 41% increase in the number of homeless minors (The Los Angeles Service Authority, 2017). Education is key to bringing people out of…

Introduction: The primary purpose of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is to ensure free appropriate public education for individuals with disabilities in the least restrictive environment. The statute also mandates student's access and services for students' access to devices and technology as part of the individual education…

Over the past two decades, most states have adopted laws enabling charter schools, as charter advocates successfully presented charters as the solution to core problems in urban public education. Yet some states with large urban centers, notably Washington and Kentucky, resisted this seemingly inexorable trend for years. What explains their…

This study is a critical discourse analysis of the New Jersey Opt-Out Movement. In 2015, and in response to the increasing standardization of US public school instruction, and over-use of high-stakes testing, NJ parents began to refuse to allow their children to take a key end-of-the year exam, the PARCC. We employ the concepts of master and…

The dramatic growth and dispersal of immigrant families has changed the face of public education at a time when states are experiencing increased school accountability pressures under the No Child Left Behind Act and its recent successor, the Every Student Succeeds Act. Of particular concern is how these demographic shifts affect the academic…

Closing the achievement gap in public education is a worthy goal that has been included as a top priority in the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (2002). This study analyzed the most salient predictors at the student and school levels to identify their long-term impact on mathematics achievement from the elementary grades to high school. The…

The 2001 No Child Left Behind Act requires local education agencies to publicly disseminate school performance data. In response, districts and state departments of education have created "school report cards" that vary widely. While data dissemination policies can improve institutional legitimacy and ensure ongoing support, we suggest…

The primary objective of this paper is to suggest a mechanism by which current trends in public education, in particular the rise of externally defined numerical metrics of achievement to define school success, operate to shape school policy, curriculum and practice. Here, we argue that the modern school's focus on the cognitive dimension of…

The objective of the study was to document and analyze the justifications given by federal institutions of the United States for governmental control of mathematics education as function of the achievement gaps (AGs) in mathematics. We wanted to shed light on the discourses made in the public arena that have legitimized this control and firmly…

Confusion among school leaders regarding how to interpret and implement special education legislation, and specific federal and state policies and mandates such as a free and appropriate public education (FAPE), in the least restrictive environment (LRE) at the school-site level has existed since the 1970s and continues to exist. This…

Amid the recent proliferation of teacher-led movements resisting high-stakes testing across the United States, the authors identify how a "failing" elementary school reclaimed local discourse by taking political action against top-down measures. Framed as competing modes of school reform, the authors offer the sociocultural framework of…

Intermediary organizations increasingly provide support for schools serving marginalized students. Some attribute this trend to growing ideological support for market-based strategies to further the public good. This article investigates one intermediary that marketed equity-oriented instructional goals for schools serving high numbers of students…

California is in the midst of sweeping education changes. The state is rolling out the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) and a new system of assessments. Voters approved a temporary statewide tax increase that will provide additional funding to schools after years of spending cuts. The Legislature adopted a new system for funding schools (the…

Members of The Principals' Partnership are seeing negative aspects to the current economic downturn that are likely to impact the quality of education provided in public high schools. They also would like to see changes in the accountability requirements of No Child Left Behind. Those were the key findings in the 2009 Principals' Partnership Poll…