There is a debate on students' low science achievement in the United States, particularly among low income, African American students, and Latino students. An important part of the education community's response to low achievement generally and in science specifically has been the implementation of high stakes accountability policies. Because of…

Our current high-stakes accountability system for too long has allowed officials in positions of power and oversight to discard students viewed as too much of a liability as a practice of policy and pedagogy. This practice especially has altered how English learners are taught and the lens through which they are viewed. The authors present how a…

This article describes a qualitative study into the occurrence of the side effects of school inspection through in-depth interviews in five case schools. The study investigates the extent to which strategic activities, disturbing effects and emotional side effects occur in the case schools. The study also aims to understand features that may…

This study used semi-structured interviews with staff in 14 secondary schools in England to explore strategies for entering students to GCSE Mathematics, focusing on the use of early and multiple examination entry. The key findings suggest that teachers were keenly aware of performativity pressures and that this prompted the use of a number of…

In Portugal, the agency for assessment and accreditation of higher education has recently included in its remit, beyond programme accreditation, the certification of internal quality assurance systems. This implies lighter touch accreditation and aims to direct institutions towards improvement, in addition to accountability. Twelve institutions…

Following the design of a similar study in 2000, the authors conducted a study of university senates (academic councils) to assess the current state of academic governance in Canada's universities. An earlier paper presented and analyzed the data that were gathered about senate size, composition, structure, legislative authority, and work, and…

This paper addresses questions of data sharing from the perspective of a former NSF program officer. A brief comparison of policy and research perspectives is made to highlight different values in these two communities. Data sharing is framed as one means to support dialog between researchers and those involved in policy. Other uses of data…

Elements of what we are calling a "hopeful pedagogy" emerged when faculty reflected on the question--Do you think your current approach to develop CT in students is successful? Faculty across disciplines and institutions used the word "hope" to characterize the outcome of their efforts. While attempting to disentangle the…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to provide a dialectical framework for the examination of performance management in schools. Design/Methodology/Approach: The paper is based upon a qualitative study of ten headteachers that involved in-depth semi-structured interviews. Findings: The findings identified four dialectical tensions that underpin…

This paper explores how evaluation, which has expanded at all levels of school governance across Europe, shapes parental roles by studying how local school governors and schools in Sweden represent evaluation to parents on their websites. Websites are prime locations for public communications and are useful for exploring the functions of…

This chapter is a research summary of the author's doctoral dissertation completed in May, 2015, which investigates the way Standardized Assessment (SA) is used in state educational accountability structures. This quasi-experimental quantitative study found that SA scores trend towards consistency over time, and that there is additional variance,…

The contemporary era of educational accountability is marked by a renewal of faith in the principles of scientific management. This article uses Critical Discourse Analysis to explore how new Taylorism (Au, 2011) manifests in, and is reproduced by, the widely used Marzano Teacher Evaluation Model. Through this analysis, the implications such…

Every child deserves the chance at a great education and the American dream. Unfortunately, decades of student achievement data reveal that the increasingly costly U.S. district school system does not provide an excellent education for all students. State lawmakers around the country are now seeking ways to enhance the ability of families to…

Evidence confirms that student skills other than academic achievement and ability predict a broad range of academic and life outcomes. This evidence, along with a new federal requirement that state accountability systems include an indicator of school quality or student success not based on test scores, has sparked interest in incorporating such…

As schools across the United States continue to earmark funds for instructional technology in the classroom we must consider how it is being used in the classroom. This qualitative research study was conducted to investigate instructional technology methods being used in sixth through eighth grade classrooms and to understand the Depth of…