Drawing on in-depth interviews and classroom observations with 14 academics from the field of applied sciences, this case study provides empirical evidences on the research-teaching nexus in the context of Chinese research universities by examining the multi-layered factors at the individual, institutional and organisational levels. The study…

As university supervisors at a large, urban university in the southern US, we examined the ways that the Education Teacher Performance Assessment (edTPA) shaped the pedagogic relationships and decision-making processes of our students and ourselves during the spring of 2016. We situated this study of edTPA within the framework of critical policy…

Classroom observations and the feedback they generate have great potential to support educator development, especially when compared with other components of teacher evaluation systems. Challenges to observation include: (1) The dual foci of teacher evaluation (accountability and development) cannot be addressed simultaneously; (2) Excellent…

The United States considers educating all students to a threshold of adequate outcomes to be a central goal of educational justice. The No Child Left Behind Act introduced evidence-based policy and accountability protocols to ensure that all students receive an education that enables them to meet adequacy standards. Unfortunately, evidence-based…

This article considers the cost of poor decision making in school psychology, especially with regard to determining eligibility for special education under the category of specific learning disability. One common costly decision made by school psychologists is failing to use evidence-based assessment and intervention procedures that are likely to…

Since the adoption of teacher evaluation systems that rely, at least in part, on controversial student achievement measures, little research has been conducted that focuses on stakeholders' perceptions of systems in practice, specifically school principals. This study was conducted in a large urban school district to better understand principals'…

This Information Capsule summarizes the history of educational reform in the State of Florida from the 1970s through the present. Although the Florida Legislature has modified accountability policies and added new reforms over the years, the "A+ Plan for Education", signed into law by Governor Jeb Bush in 1999, remains the foundation of…

In January, Governor Jerry Brown released his 2018-19 proposed budget, which includes a proposal to dramatically change the way California funds its community colleges. This student-focused funding formula would allocate resources based, in part, on student needs and community college district performance. If implemented well, this approach would…

Teacher accountability has been a major strategy for "fixing" education for the last 2 decades. In this book, Cochran-Smith and her research team argue that it is time for teacher educators to reclaim accountability by adopting a new approach that features intelligent professional responsibility, challenges the structures and processes…

A wide variety of legislation impacts the jobs of special education teachers in the United States. In 2002, the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) was signed into law, mandating that states develop standards and report outcomes for all students in the key areas of math and reading. In 2004, the reauthorized Individuals with Disabilities Education…

In 2013, Governor Jerry Brown signed into law the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) with a clear mandate for democratic involvement in district goal setting and budgeting. School districts are expected to organize "meaningful engagement" of key stakeholders, including parents, students, educators, and the broader community, in…

Most states have developed or revised school accountability systems in response to the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). While these systems include multiple indicators, to many stakeholders the outcome of central interest is the overall rating or classification produced for each school. These ratings are often used to identify schools that merit…

This hearing is the first of six hearings the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions will hold to make sure that the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) is being implemented in the way it was written in the states and school districts. The hearing focuses on the perspective of education leaders. After an opening statement from Honorable…

The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) changed federal teacher policy in a number of important ways. This article uses No Child Left Behind (NCLB), Race to the Top, NCLB waivers, and ESSA to detail these shifts. Since ESSA is in the early phase of implementation, we analyze the policy through the lens of previous empirical work as a way of…

This article describes the development and use of a rapid evaluation approach to meet program accountability and learning requirements in a research for development program operating in five developing countries. The method identifies clusters of outcomes, both expected and unexpected, happening within areas of change. In a workshop, change agents…