The quest to improve teaching on a wide scale is an enduring challenge globally. Yet demonstrable improvement in teaching quality is both elusive and slow. In this essay, I explore some of the complexities that contribute to the slow pace of change, including: the slippage between teachers and teaching as the object of improvement; the poorly…

This report highlights the findings of the sixteenth survey of states conducted by the National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO). It has been administered for more than three decades to collect information from states about the participation and performance of students with disabilities in the assessments that comprise the comprehensive…

This article is an expanded version of the 2023 Plenary Lecture at the Canadian Society for the Study of Education (CSSE) Conference held at the Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences. This invited essay explores the extent to which the promise of DEDI's (decolonization, equity, diversity, and inclusion) polices and initiatives might bring…

This memo, which is the fourth in the series, describes how 11 Virginia school divisions have come together to form Virginia's Student-Led Assessment Networked Improvement Community. This Networked Improvement Community (NIC) is focused on increasing the use of student-led assessment practices, including capstone projects, to increase students'…

Large numbers of qualified students do not apply to and enroll in college. Yet, earning a college degree is one of the primary pathways for economic success and is increasingly required for good jobs and high wages. A number of programs and practices aim to improve college readiness and enrollment, including "Take Stock in Children's®…

The Department Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) is a new cabinet level agency focused on the well-being of children. The vision is to ensure that "Washington state's children and youth grow up safe and healthy-thriving physically, emotionally and academically, nurtured by family and community." (House Bill 1661) DCYF serves as the…

Today millions of children are trapped in situations of war, conflict, violence and displacement. Science shows that violence has a detrimental effect on the development of young children. It, also, heralds in a new era, with opportunities to contribute to sustaining peace and prevention of violence, through investment in early childhood…

This report is prepared in compliance with HB 1661 Sec 104(2)(k), which requires the Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF, or the Department) Office of Innovation, Alignment, and Accountability (OIAA) to submit to the Governor and the appropriate policy and appropriation committees of the Legislature: (1) A review of the current…

This document synthesizes the findings from the evaluations of four statewide programs designed to provide support for underperforming schools and districts in California as part of the state accountability system: (1) Immediate Intervention/Underperforming Schools Program (II/USP); (2) High Priority Schools Grant (HPSG) Program; (3) School…

This article examined a unique collaborative initiative between a team of graduate level faculty to improve the quality of course development and delivery using a collaborative review process. The collaborative review of teaching has become a widely accepted means for assuring quality distance learning coursework and for the purpose of evaluating…

The article considers the process of creating quality improvement in higher education institutions from the point of view of current organisational theory and social-science modelling techniques. The author considers the higher education institution as a functioning complex of rules, norms and other organisational features and reviews the social…

Purpose: This paper discusses the importance of the Six Sigma selection process, describes a Six Sigma project in a higher educational institution and presents a weighted scorecard approach for project selection. Design/Methodology/Approach: A case study of the Six Sigma approach being used to improve student support at a university computer help…

Handwriting has historically played a significant role in the services provided by occupational therapists and occupational therapy assistants working in schools. Reflecting on nearly three decades of school practice, an occupational therapy administrator considers how this niche developed and how it positions occupational therapy practitioners to…

The Carnegie Foundation launched its Math Pathways initiative nearly six years ago at 29 colleges across the country with the aim of improving success rates in developmental math. Tens of thousands of students a year, who need additional preparation for college-level math, are shut out of earning degrees and fulfilling careers due to the huge…

The implementation of the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (National Governors Association Center for Best Practices & Council of Chief State School Officers, 2010) has the potential to move forward key features of standards-based reforms in mathematics that have been promoted in the United States for more than 2 decades (e.g.,…