Adoption of the edTPA as part of new teacher licensing and/or program approval requirements has created heated discussions among teacher educators. Among the discussion topics is the supposition that state-level bureaucrats have been the sole source of the decision to require the edTPA, with little input from the preparation programs. This article…

There are two causes that have been suggested as the major contributors to poor student achievement. One view attributes student underachievement to educational factors such as inadequate standards and poor teachers. The other view sees societal factors as the main contributor to low student achievement. This commentary looks at one societal…

Educational assessments provide data that give policymakers a "snapshot" of how students are performing and serve as a means of holding teachers, schools, and districts accountable. Many contend, however, that assessments could do more to promote deeper learning in K-12 environments. One interesting possibility is the use of…

The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) replaced the No Child Left Behind Act with great fanfare and enthusiasm. Granting more power to states and curbing what was seen as federal overreach was well received. However, the new legislation maintains a predominately test-based accountability system with a federal mandate for interventions in well over…

Can the nation's schools meet today's challenge of providing all students with the skills they will need to thrive in the rapidly changing economy and society of the 21st century? The authors point out in this article that a large percentage of children, overwhelmingly from low-income families, end their formal schooling without the…

Across the country, state legislatures are turning to evidence-based policymaking to ensure that taxpayer dollars are spent efficiently and effectively. One example is family support and coaching. In response to research confirming that the early years of childhood affect learning, behavior, and health for a lifetime, many states have invested in…

Globalization in the 21st century has brought innumerable challenges and opportunities to universities and countries. Universities are primarily concerned with how to ensure the quality of their education and how to boost their local and global competitiveness. The pressure from both international competition and public accountability on…

Despite the recent push to design and adopt educator evaluation systems, many states and local educational agencies (LEAs) have focused primarily on teacher evaluations and lack the appropriate attention to design and implementation of school leader evaluations and aligned professional development. And, since principals are responsible for…

Today's teacher candidates frequently exhibit confusion and express discouragement while navigating the expectations of their educational journeys and career goals. Characteristically, many candidates tend to be first-generation college students limited in universal knowledge, global travels, diverse experiences, and multiple perspectives.…

Successive waves of neoliberal reforms to higher education have taken their toll on the academy. This paper uses the zombie metaphor to discuss the causes and consequences of organisational change on Australian academics as a background to exploring zombiefication as a form of passive resistance and survival. The paper uses the literature and…

To meet demands for accountability, most schools and departments of education at institutions of higher education (IHEs) gather information on their current students and graduates. This paper describes issues to consider when designing a longitudinal data collection and management system, drawing on seven years' experience developing such a…

This article describes a new paradigm for accountability that envisions afterschool programs as learning organizations continually engaged in improving quality. Nearly 20 years into the era of results-based accountability, a new generation of afterschool accountability systems is emerging. Rather than aiming to test whether programs have produced…

School districts and educators chafing under the mandates of the No Child Left Behind Act are hoping to prod the U.S. Department of Education into giving them a reprieve from the provisions they see as most onerous, as the prospects for an overhaul of the law by Congress anytime soon remain cloudy. The Obama administration and congressional…

Scotland, in common with many other countries internationally, has paid considerable attention to the development of assessment for learning. Currently, schools in Scotland are engaged in a major programme of curriculum and assessment reform, entitled Curriculum for Excellence. As part of the reform process, there is concern amongst practitioners,…

School leadership is an important factor in educational reform and school transformation. This article aims to examine the challenges of school leadership in Singapore through the lens of the Fourth Way. In particular, this article makes reference to three messages in the Fourth Way and examines the paradoxes and challenges faced by school leaders…