Students' high school experiences often do not prepare them adequately for postsecondary education and the world of work. Special attention should be paid to increasing the rigor, relevance, and engagement of the high school curriculum, including for students who have traditionally faced barriers to successful postsecondary transitions. This Issue…

The inability of students to become proficient in algebra seems to be widespread in American schools. One of the reasons often cited for this inability is that instruction seldom builds on prior knowledge. Research suggests that teacher effectiveness is the most critical controllable variable in improving student achievement. This report details a…

Wherever the challenge of promoting effective learning exists in our classrooms there also exists the opportunity for better formative assessment. The time has passed when educational policy makers should support practitioners and embrace the preponderance of relatively recent research which recommends formative assessment interventions in the…

This paper analyses data from two sources of stakeholder feedback--first year pre-service teachers and supervising teachers/centre directors--about the issues involved in creating more collaborative approaches to the first year early childhood teacher education practicum at an Australian regional university. The collection of this feedback was…

Overview: This research explores using a teaching approach that attempts to balance test preparation with creating "teachable moments" for students. This approach involves the use of a sequence of assessments to introduce topics through formative assessment in order to identify students' understanding, and beginning instruction based on…

Purpose: This paper aims to document the development and use of cases for the leadership development of principals in one large education system in Australia. The case initiative was specially targeted at deepening understandings of the department's recently released statement about the principalship, "Leadership Matters". The…

This paper connects an online learning model to the rights to education that the online educational environments can provide. The model emerges from a study of ninety-two online learners and is composed of three kinds of inquiries, namely, independent inquiry, collaborative inquiry, and formative inquiry towards expert knowledge. Online learners…

The purpose of this qualitative exploratory study was to identify factors that influenced prospective and experienced secondary level science teachers' reasoning as they evaluated or selected tasks to formatively assess their students' understanding of scientific concepts. The analysis of the coded written responses revealed two categories of…

The development of entrepreneurial skills and knowledge is a priority for governments that want to encourage an innovative and enterprising society. Furthermore, education institutions are becoming increasingly required by employers to produce graduates that have practical, real-world skills. Business plan competitions, although primarily aimed at…

Math experts developed Formative Assessment Lessons that teachers can incorporate throughout the year's curriculum. Both tools target the "instructional core." A study by Research for Action (RFA) examining the first year of piloting the Literacy Design Collaborative (LDC) and Math Design Collaborative (MDC) tools (2010-11) found…

One question frequently arises in the work of the Regional Comprehensive Centers: "What are states, districts, and schools doing about RTI?" This document addresses that question, with particular focus on instruction and the implementation of effective practices. It uses a frequently asked questions (FAQs) format, with answers based on…

This report presents the findings of the formative evaluation of the Understanding the Early Years (UEY) Initiative. The evaluation was conducted to examine issues of implementation and design, early progress in achieving immediate objectives, and issues related to accountability. The evaluation team was also asked to provide preliminary guidance…

There is a heavy emphasis on summative, standardized assessments of academic achievement in public schools in the United States (Black & Wiliam, 1998; Stiggins, 2002). Assessment should be integrated with instruction, which implies the meaning of items or assessment tasks will depend on the environment (Brookhart, 2008, p. 452). However,…

Students struggling with mathematics may benefit from early interventions aimed at improving their mathematics ability and ultimately preventing subsequent failure. This guide provides eight specific recommendations intended to help teachers, principals, and school administrators use Response to Intervention (RtI) to identify students who need…

Two experienced teacher educators describe a framework for effective teaching that can be applied in any subject area and grade level. Their detailed review of the structures, processes, and content of effective practice provides you with lots of practical tips you can use right away, including: (1) How to teach both the depth and the breadth of…