Parental involvement in learning, entertainment, emotion, and daily care is crucial to the growth and development of children. Due to the increasing significance of educational attainment in China, parental involvement in child learning is receiving ever-increasing weight and is now the most prevalent of the four aspects. In the wake of the…

This article shares an example of a course in Combinatorics, taught at Adelphi University in Fall 2012, designed with a primary goal of engaging students in pursuing mathematics as mathematicians do. The course went beyond usual applications of inquiry-based learning in that students were also charged with the responsibility of posing the…

At a very early age, students learn the point system and how school can be about the accumulation of points, not the accumulation of knowledge and skills. Grading systems are pervasive in districts across the nation, with questionable results. For example, a southern school district was highlighted in a 2009 Associated Press story for selling test…

When the bell rings at the end of the school day, many elementary students in Rosa Parks School in Portland, Oregon, go to the local Boys and Girls Club to receive homework help and take part in fun activities. It's these kinds of partnerships between schools and government and nonprofit agencies that the Obama administration is hoping to foster.…

Public education matters, whether you're a student, parent, teacher, administrator, employer, or taxpayer. Although you undoubtedly know something about public education, you may be unaware of important facts about the U.S. educational system or may be surprised to learn how things have changed in recent years. This edition of "A Public…

The United States has been engaged in school reform for three decades. The federal government as well as all fifty states have passed numerous versions of reform legislation to mandate and regulate the process. Educators have adjusted their practices to the policy created by this legislation. They have also allocated hundreds of billions of…

A study released last fall by the Brown Center on Education Policy at the Brookings Institution, a Washington think tank, showed that, contrary to what many observers suspected, the amount of time spent on homework has not increased for children in the upper-middle grades. But it has jumped significantly for 6-to 8-years-olds, which would include…

During the past 25 years, the country witnessed a dramatic transformation of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). Actions by the Educational Testing Service (ETS), Congress, and the National Assessment Governing Board fundamentally changed NAEP's role in federal educational policy and the nation's schools. Developed in the 1960s…

Examines findings and practical implications of a study on homework which helped Scottish policymakers, educators and families better understand, improve and build upon home-school relations. The study prompted the creation of study support centers in schools that were staffed by librarians, teachers, and parents. (JPB)

This book addresses the complications and implications of parental involvement in education as a policy. It attempts to explain the origins, meanings, and effects of parental involvement as a requisite of schooling, and particularly as a policy solution for low achievement and even inequity in the American educational system. The four chapters…

"Straight A's: Public Education Policy and Progress" is a biweekly newsletter that focuses on education news and events both in Washington, DC and around the country. The following articles are included in this issue: (1) How's the Water?: Congressional Hearing on High School Reform Recognizes the Crisis, but Urges Caution Before…