America today lacks a broad public and political consensus for dramatic improvements in the nation's K-12 schools. The country urgently needs a new vision that refocuses public schools on their core academic mission, ends the retreat from rigor and merit, increases opportunity for learners of all backgrounds, expands parental choice of public…

The gainful employment (GE) rule aims to hold career-focused training programs accountable for student outcomes. The rule includes an earnings threshold that requires programs to result in graduates' earnings being at least as high as earnings of a typical high school graduate in their state. The GE rule's focus on postcompletion earnings does not…

National large-scale assessments (NLSA) have spread rapidly since the 1990s, but contrary to arguments of diffusion theories, not every country with large-scale assessments develop test-based accountability (TBA). The diverse-case comparison presented in this article demonstrates that the interaction between global pressures and domestic policy…

For many years, the main approach to educational improvement has consisted of high-stakes testing and accountability. While this approach has achieved some success, it has also created negative outcomes including a narrowing of the curriculum, and an over-testing of students. Against this backdrop, there are examples of teachers that have…

This work considers challenges facing the classroom caring ideal that Nel Noddings' ethics of care theory exemplifies. It is evident that conditions of a neoliberal regime of accountability, a contested Common Core, and high stakes testing undermine the plausibility of this vaunted relation in the classroom. Along these lines, market logics…

Whether the relationship between policymaking and science has been affected by the coronavirus pandemic remains unclear. The success scientists have enjoyed in dealing with the virus and hopes they will develop a vaccine may increase the status of some experts whilst damaging populist anti-science sentiment. Some may call for increased…

Due to concerns about college affordability, in 2011, the Department of Education began producing two annual public lists of institutions with the highest change in tuition and fees and average net price within sector (top 5% and at least US$600 increase). This study investigates the effect of this low-stakes federal accountability tool on…

Purpose: It has been argued in the literature that quality assurance is a relative concept. In view of the new challenges (and opportunities) created by e-learning institutions in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, this paper aims to explore the dimensions of quality assurance in e-learning and test the psychometric properties of the…

It has been suggested that the best way to improve student learning is to improve teacher practice. In order to do so, all levels of the educational system must accept accountability for teacher learning. Teachers have a responsibility to improve their practice, administrators have a responsibility to create an environment that fosters growth, and…

The appraisal process is used in numerous settings. Any costly expense with a high potential for information asymmetry has an associated appraisal market. Yet, while taxpayers spend more than $182,000, on average, during a child's K-12 education to get that child from kindergarten through 12th grade, no similar appraisal market exists in…

This mixed methods study of explanatory sequential design researching two elementary and two middle school campuses will present information on the amount of instructional time allotted to social studies in Texas schools and whether integrating social studies instruction with another subject, is feasible and produces positive assessment results.…

School accountability and improvement policy are on the precipice of a paradigm shift. While the multiple-measure dashboard accountability approach holds great promise for promoting more meaningful learning opportunities for all students, our research indicates that this can come with substantial challenges in practice. We reflect upon the lessons…

The purpose of this commentary is to describe recent efforts in Virginia to develop and use performance assessments, including the challenges that emerged during this process and key considerations for states that integrate performance assessment into their systems. Performance assessments can play an important role in preparing students for…

Higher education institutions often provide physical education activity courses designed to meet learning outcomes associated with physical activity. However, these activity courses were shifted online during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study investigated the impact of an online learning environment on educational outcomes of physical activity…

Teachers' work in school is said to be under increasing pressure from neoliberal forces. Key constructs that are essential in understanding how teachers cope with these changes are teacher responsibility and teacher accountability, which are closely related within scholarly and everyday contexts although serving different logics and outcomes. By…