The move toward assessments that measure student growth, rather than just proficiency, has been perceived as an improvement in state accountability systems. However, Michael Watson explains that, for many students, these measures present an incomplete picture. Because they are based on grade-level assessments, any growth achieved by students who…

Using assessment data to determine student growth has become an integral part of the accountability movement, and researchers and educators are currently examining how new rules impact the academic assessment of gifted learners. In 2008, the Association for the Gifted's Annual Symposium at the Council for Exceptional Children Convention focused on…

The implementation of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act has had many positive effects on students in schools today. The results have been less positive, however, for high-achieving students. Teachers often focus their instruction on students who need the most help, leaving little time to meet the academic or emotional needs of gifted students.…

Public schools are experiencing a new era of assessment and evaluation with the implementation of state accountability systems and No Child Left Behind. How can Catholic schools respond by recognizing the legitimacy of evaluation and assessment, while also critically examining its appropriateness? To help address this question, this article…

Compelling empirical research shows that a positive and sustained school climate promotes students' academic achievement and healthy development. Not surprisingly, a positive school climate also promotes teacher retention, which itself enhances student success. Yet the knowledge of the effects of school climate on learning has not been translated…

In recent years, the number of alternative schools has continued to grow and an increasingly large number of students at-risk for school failure have been enrolled in alternative settings. Critics blame this increase on the fact that the school-aged population has become increasingly diverse, presenting a broad range of issues that the schools…

Although few educators, youth development practitioners, and student support services personnel question the importance of helping children to develop the skills necessary to be successful in the workplace, make ethical decisions, and be engaged and contributing citizens, these skills are rarely taught explicitly and effectively. The pressures of…

In this article, family-school partnerships are discussed as a viable and essential way to increase the opportunities and supports for all students to enhance their learning progress and meet the recent demands of schooling inherent in accountability systems and most notably of Title I No Child Left Behind legislation. School psychologists are…