While much is known about the characteristics that researchers deem valuable for professional development (PD), teachers' perceptions of their PD needs are less understood. In this study, we sought to explore teachers' perceptions of their PD needs, including PD format, time frame, and topics covered, and how those perceptions varied by teachers'…

Deeper learning has been defined as "the skills and knowledge that students must possess to succeed in 21st century jobs and civic life" (William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, 2013). "Assessing Deeper Learning: Developing, Implementing, and Scoring Performance Tasks" examines the role of performance assessment to facilitate…

We leverage an obscure set of rules in Texas's school funding formula granting some districts additional revenue as a function of size and sparsity. We use variation from kinks and discontinuities in this formula to ask how districts spend additional discretionary funds, and whether these improve student outcomes. A $1,000 annual increase in…

California's K-12 school facilities require significant new and ongoing investments. Funding for facilities comes mostly from local sources, and depends crucially on local property wealth. The state provides some funding for facilities through the School Facility Program (SFP), which usually requires local matching contributions. The authors begin…

This document contains the technical appendices for the report "Equitable State Funding for School Facilities: Assessing California's School Facility Program." Appendices include: (1) Data Sources; and (2) Supplemental Tables and Figures. [The authors received research support from Joseph Herrera. For the full report, see ED617949. For…

Based on events in Florida, this case explores issues that accompany the choice to arm school personnel as a means to address school violence and shootings. Readers consider the issue from the perspective of the school board of a large, diverse district and are presented with dilemmas while they consider the effectiveness, the political…

As school districts consider transitioning from a traditional five-day school week to a four-day school week, administrators and school boards seek information about the four-day school week to assist in making the best decision possible. This collective case study was undertaken to examine the perceptions of administrators, school counselors, and…

The purpose of this study was to examine novice secondary science teachers' enactment of their teaching philosophies in their lesson planning and teaching. The framework was based on three theories: approximations of practice, teachers' knowledge of content and students (KCS), and experiential learning. The design for this research used a…

An analysis of student test-score data shows that employing a chief diversity officer (CDO) in K-12 school districts does not contribute to closing achievement gaps and is even likely to exacerbate those gaps. If CDOs are not accomplishing their stated goals, what is accomplished by creating these positions? CDOs may be best understood as…

Very little is known about the complaint investigation process in the Office for Civil Rights, despite its scope and reach. We examine key parameters (number and types of complaints received, types of resolutions, average time of resolution) of civil rights complaints nationwide over a 20-year period (1999-2019). We find that 10%-40% of all…

This work attempts to examine instructional leadership from a peer influence perspective within a districtwide network of educational leaders. This approach to instructional leadership supplements a conventional understanding of technical core of professional collaboration. We argue from a social network perspective that individual perception is…

Textbooks are a widely used educational intervention that can affect student achievement, and the marginal cost of choosing a more effective textbook is typically small. However, we know little about how textbooks get from the publisher to the classroom. We use a lens of institutional theory and interviews with district leaders in a stratified…

Increasing student achievement by improving the quality and effectiveness of teachers, principals, and other school leaders is one of the key goals of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). Title II, Part A of ESEA (Title II-A) provides over $2 billion per year in funding to states and districts to support effective instruction through…

The Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) of the National School Lunch Program allows high-poverty schools to provide USDA school meals at no charge to all of their students. USDA reimbursement for meals is simplified by making use of routinely collected administrative data, such as participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program…

Background/Context: The problems that school district leaders identify and how they frame them have consequences--for both policy implementation and the ways that teachers respond. Although that is likely true in all community contexts (from rural to urban, inside and outside metropolitan centers), the influence of broader discourses associated…