The use of student achievement data to evaluate an individual teacher's effectiveness has become a new focus in educational policy. This article focuses on the underresearched teacher perception of this new policy measure. Drawing on ethnographic research procedures, this article explores how first-grade teachers in one state navigated a new…

In this controversy piece, we portray online learning as growing too fast for existing regulatory structures to oversee and generally as having failed to live up to its potential. Operators, particularly for-profit operators, have generally not produced successful schools. We urge reforms of cyber schooling funding mechanisms, data systems, and…

This article explores assessment policy in two European universities with different political, historical and social backgrounds: the University of Glasgow and Tallinn University. The University of Glasgow is a well-established Russell Group university in the UK; Tallinn University is a relatively new university in post-Soviet Estonia, shaped by…

This study explores teachers' first enactments of a set of theory-based curriculum materials designed to support academic language instruction. Specifically, this multiple case study looks at how six middle school English teachers in three US schools adapted the materials; each case includes a pair of teachers, one novice and one more experienced.…

This study provides a description of how Race to the Top (RTTT) policy is connected to daily work activity for educational leaders using interviews and surveys. Specifically, the survey questions targeted how school leaders are implementing and prioritizing practices that have an impact on teaching and learning. Results of this study found that…

The insider security threat causes new and dangerous dimensions in cloud computing. Those internal threats are originated from contractors or the business partners' input that have access to the systems. A study of trustworthiness and transparency might assist the organizations to monitor employees' activity more cautiously on cloud technologies…

Colleges and universities have a need to prepare faculty to educate students to be critical thinkers and well-rounded individuals. In accomplishing this goal, the undergraduate academic department chair takes on a critical role to assist with the process of faculty professional development. Currently, there is a call from different stakeholders…

The 2015 reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), as well as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), continues to require states to disaggregate participation and performance data at the state level for all students and student subgroups. This report presents information on publicly reported…

In today's world of accountability, the preparation of school leaders has never been more critical. Many states are now developing policies and processes that seek to enhance school leadership preparation programs. Enhancing school leadership preparation programs is particularly important in the area of instructional leadership because research…

The "Every Student Succeeds Act" (ESSA), signed into law in 2015 and still in the midst of implementation, requires states to develop and submit to the U.S. Department of Education a state education accountability plan. Compared to the previous federal education law, the "No Child Left Behind Act" (NCLB), ESSA mandates that…

This constructivist study investigates and captures the lived experiences of three social studies educators as they make sense of civic education in a climate of high stakes testing and accountability. In spite of the deterioration of civic education over the years (Campaign for the Civic Mission of Schools, 2011), Florida was among the first…

The impact of charter schools on early-life labor market outcomes using administrative data from Texas is estimated. It was found that, at the mean, charter schools have no impact on test scores and a negative impact on earnings. No Excuses charter schools increase test scores and four-year college enrollment, but have a small and statistically…

As states continue to grapple with the most appropriate ways to hold schools accountable under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), there is a lack of consensus on how alternative settings should fit into accountability systems and whether those systems should be separate from or included in accountability systems for traditional schools. The…

Discussion of alternative education is growing across the country as states and districts look for ways to better serve students whose needs are not met in traditional high school settings. Alternative settings, however, vary greatly in how they operate, whom they aim to enroll, and the methods they use to educate students. The variation of…

This article is part of a Bridgespan Group research project that focuses on a new wave of district-led "innovation zones" that holds promise to overcome the challenges of turning around failing schools and deliver significant improvements in student outcomes. This new wave provides a subset of district schools with control over staffing,…