Universities across the nation have been called upon to provide evidence of student learning through direct means of assessment. Value-added assessment, which aims to document the development of student learning from the beginning of the university experience to the end, has been called "accountability's new frontier" by the American…

Personalized learning models can give each student differentiated learning experiences based on their needs, interests, and strengths, including students with disabilities. Personalized learning can pinpoint specific gaps in student learning, identify where a student is on his or her learning pathway, and provide the appropriate interventions to…

The "Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965" ("ESEA") is the nation's key policy driver for elementary and secondary education, shaping federal, state and district efforts to promote effective school systems and improve educational outcomes, particularly for students in high-poverty schools. The most recent…

The 2015-16 school year was one of transition in Ohio. New state assessments (again), new charter sponsor evaluations, and even a new state superintendent. Change is hard, but it is important to remember that the developments of the last twelve months have their roots in policy decisions designed to improve Ohio's academic standards overall and…

Empowerment, accountability and redress are prime objectives of school funding in the new South Africa. This is facilitated through the National Norms and Standards for School Funding. The application of the norms has led to the development of a "no-fee school" policy aimed at exempting poor parents from payment of school fees. The…

The author compared NCLB-prompted standards-based reforms with earlier reforms and found that earlier manifestations of standards-based reforms may have been more productive and constructive. NCLB, with its emphasis on accountability through high-stakes testing, has produced many perverse results alongside documented achievement gains, the author…

In little over a decade, the observation of teaching and learning (OTL) has become the cornerstone of Further Education (FE) colleges' quality systems for assuring and improving the professional skills and knowledge base of tutors. Yet OTL remains an under-researched area of inquiry with little known about the impact of its use on the professional…

By any measure, Singapore's educational system has generated an extraordinary record of achievement over the past two or three decades. In this article, we report on one key component of a broader three year investigation into why Singapore has done so well, and explore the logic, strength, resilience and limits of the underlying pedagogical model…

This article traces how the work of instructional leadership in the urban high school embodies a response to particular pressures in the school's environment. Based on evidence from multiple-case study research in four urban districts, the article demonstrates how supervisory and nonsupervisory leaders fashioned responses to the district (and…

In this scholarly commentary, the author examines the major reasons U.S. charter schools have closed since 1992. The commentary provides examples of charter school failures in high-frequency areas, such as financial and organizational mismanagement, and academic underperformance; it further identifies two subcategories of academic risk:…

Classroom assessment is a critical aspect of teaching and learning. In this paper, Taiwanese high school students' conceptions of science assessment and the relationship between their conceptions of science assessment and of science learning were investigated. The study used both qualitative and quantitative methods. First, 60 students were…

This capstone project examines how an elementary school principal and her leadership team transformed Leadership Prep Academy in Capital City into a collaborative, high performing community school. This five-year process of continuous improvement involved engaging students, staff, parents, and members of the community in developing a culture of…

The community college of today confronts decreased state funding, increased demand, and increased calls for accountability. In this highly competitive environment, community colleges are required to document the assessment of institutional effectiveness to satisfy state accountability systems and regional accreditation standards. The purpose of…

Traditionally, school principals across the United States have been entrusted with the responsibility to conduct the daily affairs of managing schools. However, with the ever increasing demands of accountability for increased student achievement, the principals' roles and responsibilities are continuously evolving. Principals are being challenged…

The intense focus on standards and accountability is rapidly altering the education environment. Often the gauge for measuring school effectiveness is performance on high-stake state tests. In this retrospective cohort comparison study, I observe the relation between the use of curriculum-based measures (CBMs) for reading and change on a state…