Recent findings in behavioral genetics and technological advances have the potential to alter education administration in ways that were inconceivable just a decade ago. Specifically, new understandings about the heritability of educational outcomes and the ability to calculate polygenic scores that predict likely student outcomes could change how…

Education policy research has produced a wealth of information, but it has been less successful at actually informing education policy. Iris Rotberg notes that the issues addressed by policy research evoke strongly-held value judgments that are more powerful than research findings. But she also suggests steps we can take to strengthen the utility…

A team of researchers wanted to learn whether AP teachers using a project-based learning (PBL) approach could develop students' deep learning of knowledge and skills while preparing them for their AP exams. They used a randomized controlled trial to evaluate the Knowledge in Action (KIA) project-based curricula for AP courses. KIA students…

Using narrow test scores as the only means of accountability does not serve students, teachers, or schools. Jonathan E. Collins writes that policy makers and educators should consider accountability as an education system designed to be accountable to the best version of students. This means assessing outcomes that policy makers too easily…

Accreditation agencies and organizations calling for higher academic standards in the teaching profession have called for increasing minimum grade point averages and scores on standardized tests. However, it's not clear that these requirements actually improve teaching. Lisa Borden-King, Warren Gamas, Kathy Hintz, and Chelsie Hultz researched…

Propelled by accountability policies, leaders have touted data-driven decision making as a means to improve K-12 student outcomes and drive equity, as teachers analyze data to change instruction. However, many data-driven decision-making reforms have failed to challenge inequity. Melanie Bertrand and Julie Marsh's study of six middle schools shows…

In this month's interview, Kappan's editor talks with developmental psychologist and Northwestern University professor Emma K. Adam about her recent research into stress, stress hormones (particularly cortisol), sleep, and learning. High school students' self-reported stress levels during the day are closely aligned with their measured levels of…

Responding to an earlier "Phi Delta Kappan" article, the author rejects the argument that East Asian students' high scores on international educational assessments come at the expense of learning to be creative and entrepreneurial. According to survey research, people in Japan, Korea, and other East Asian nations perceive themselves to…

When it comes to measuring the quality of a school, policy leaders tend to embrace standardized tests as the go-to indicator, whereas parents and community members tend to rely on reputation, word-of-mouth, and what they perceive with their own eyes. The authors suggest a better approach: a new framework that looks at three categories of inputs…

When New York state released the first results of the exams under the Common Core State Standards, many wrongly believed that the results showed dramatic declines in student achievement. A closer look at the results showed that student achievement may have increased. Another lesson from the exams is that states need to closely coordinate new data…

The authors describe the politicization of the process to revise Michigan's social studies standards from 2005 to the present. In 2005, critics objected to the omission of topics they considered important, even though the content expectations document was not intended to be an exhaustive list of material to be covered. The latest, more limited…

To expand and improve evidence of grading practices, we seized an opportunity presented by the implementation of standards-based grading practices at 11 high schools in Jefferson County Public Schools in Louisville, Ky. These high-needs schools faced substantial sanctions outlined by recently revised federal and state policies unless they made…

Teacher perceptions of student abilities can affect crucial placement decisions that, in turn, affect student opportunities to learn. The author's research shows that this is particularly the case with black students who have earned high scores on math assessments but who, on the basis of teacher judgment, have not been recommended for placement…

The Civil Rights Project was hired to identify barriers to equitable access in Buffalo (New York) Public Schools' criteria schools and propose solutions, which, if accepted by both parties, could resolve the civil rights violations and create more equitable access to those schools. The researchers found that students of color, low-income students,…

The challenges for increasing opportunities and college access for black students typically focus on the traditional barriers related to academic preparation, the racial gap in standardized test scores, and dropping out of high school. While these challenges remain, new and emerging challenges to college access are also important to discuss. They…