This article explores Kettle Moraine High School's experience of participating in the PISA-based test, known in the U.S. as the OECD Test for Schools. The high school is located on the western edge of Milwaukee. Starting with a trial run in 2012 that involved more than 100 U.S. schools, the OECD Test for Schools has been offered to individual…

Teaching design to middle and high school students can be challenging. One of the first procedures in teaching design is to help students gather information that will be useful in the design phase. An early stage of engineering design as described by Lewis (2005), calls for the designer to establish the state of the art of the problem. During this…

This study seeks to investigate the importance of life course capital on the educational aspirations of 40 social work undergraduates who were predominantly visible ethnic minority, immigrant descendants or non-traditional students in the mainstream US. Applying the resource perspective in this context, minority students' academic successes hinge…

The purpose of this research was to develop and test a model of factors contributing to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) learning and career orientation, examining the complex paths and relationships among social, motivational, and instructional factors underlying these outcomes for middle school youth. Social cognitive…

Let's Count is a mathematics professional learning programme for preschool educators in Australia, managed by a prominent non-government organisation and sponsored by industry. It has been implemented in both face-to-face and online modes over 2013/14. Let's Count is based on the constructs that all young children are powerful mathematicians and…

The purpose of this study was to determine pre-service and in-service science and mathematics teachers' perceptions of the characteristics of a professional teaching environment. The study further investigated the relationships of field placement contexts and grade levels on pre-service teachers' perceptions of importance and availability of…

Minority students have continuously experienced obscurities in pursuing educational goals since the "Brown vs. Topeka, Kansas Board of Education" ruling in 1954. The federal government has implemented various educational mandates such as The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, to address the achievement gap that exist between minorities…

The purpose of the High School Exit Survey was to monitor high school seniors' perception of their high school experiences. Results are used to improve the campus environment and program supports for students. Survey results also are used in the monitoring of the district's strategic plan Goal 3: All students will graduate ready for college,…

In the current study, gymnasium students' technology-related career orientations were studied from a Social Cognitive Career Theory perspective. In order to address students' lack of interest in technology-related careers as recognised worldwide, the design-based science learning (DBSL) approach was used. For the purposes of the current study,…

Research shows that many of the predominantly White and middle-class teachers are unprepared to teach an urban public school population increasingly comprised of low-income children of color. Lack of cultural competencies, low expectations of and lack of caring for students, and racial/ethnic, linguistic, and class biases are all cited as barriers…

The Every Students Succeeds Act (ESSA) directs states and districts to identify equity gaps in students' access to excellent educators and transformative school leaders. States are encouraged to use Title II funds strategically in order to identify and remedy these gaps. A new report from The Education Trust draws on ESSA documents and state…

The national picture of school behaviour is complex, but numerous indicators suggest that it can be better in a great number of schools and contexts. Every leader should consciously aspire to the very best behaviour possible in their schools as a matter of priority. There are a number of strategies that schools with outstanding behaviour use…

This dissertation analyzes how mandated high-stakes tests and college and career ready standards influence local curricula and the reproduction of inequalities between students. I found that inequalities were reproduced based on distinctions between students in co-taught courses (classes that required the presence of an aide to assist students…

This article describes a work in progress study which extends traditional quality assurance mechanisms through the application of the SERVQUAL instrument. It assesses the difference between pre-service teacher expectations and actual experience during a Teaching Practice period. Anecdotal evidence points to students being the recipients of poor…

This study examined potential links among parents' role beliefs for involvement and social-contextual variables contributing to its development. A sample of parents from two Title I middle schools responded to surveys assessing their perceptions of student and teacher invitations to involvement, school expectations of involvement, school climate,…