In this exploratory study, teachers' use of standards-based, discourse practices and their students' mathematics learning in inclusive elementary mathematics classrooms were examined. Two beginning teachers (one third-grade teacher, one fourth-grade teacher) and six students identified with disabilities or as low performing in mathematics…

This article is focused on identifying the current issues in elementary education in the United States. In each of these issues, elementary educators are at the crossroads looking for solutions and directions. Based on the review of literature, the authors pinpoint the upcoming challenges elementary school educators will be facing in the future.…

The debate about high school reform is increasingly focused on the role of career-technical education (CTE) in helping to prepare "all" students for success in "both" postsecondary education and the workforce. The stand-alone vocational courses into which high school students with lower academic achievement were often channeled…

The Every Student Succeeds Act (Public Law 114-95) was put in place to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to ensure that every child achieves. The Act includes the following titles: (1) Improving Basic Programs Operated by State and Local Educational Agencies; (2) Preparing, Training, and Recruiting High-Quality…

Implementation of college- and career-readiness standards is some of the most important work currently underway in states to improve student achievement and public education overall. SREB examined the efforts of 14 states--including 11 SREB states--to support implementation of new college- and career-readiness standards. The goal of the research…

Given established links between social-emotional skills and academic achievement, there is growing support for implementing universal social/behavioral interventions in early schooling (Jones & Bouffard, 2012). Advocates have been particularly interested in implementing such programming in low income urban schools where students are likely to…

This evaluation study provides information about the implementation and outcomes of the 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC) program in West Virginia, from September 2014 through May 2015. The report draws on information from online surveys of 23 directors of 21st CCLC programs and from school teachers for 929 of the 11,299…

The 2015 Fordham Sponsorship Annual Report is our opportunity to share the Fordham Foundation's work as the sponsor of eleven schools serving approximately 3,200 students in five cities, and our related policy work in Ohio and nationally. Charter school policy took a giant leap forward in Ohio in 2015 with the passage of HB 2. The road to a…

A policy forum held May 11-13, 2011 to provide input from stakeholders to the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) focused on the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) accountability reporting system known as the State Performance Plan/Annual Performance Report (SPP/APR) process. Participants discussed their assessment of the…

School systems across the country are working hard to fix broken teacher evaluation systems. This work offers the promise of regular, meaningful assessment of teacher performance. While this represents a significant advance, it is one part of a bigger picture: a teacher performance management system that links accountability, support, ongoing…

Over the past few decades, concerns have escalated about the quality of education in the U.S. for students in the middle grades. Children entering adolescence have unique educational, social, and emotional needs. How effectively the nation is educating these students has long been a topic of research and debate. This study by the Center on…

While there are many factors critical to improving America's primary and secondary schools, strengthening teacher education is an essential part of any strategy likely to make a difference. When the Obama administration created the Race to the Top or RTT Fund--"to encourage and reward States that are creating the conditions for education…

College readiness, operationally defined by David Conley (2007), one of the contemporary "thought leaders" in the measurement of college readiness, as "the level of preparation a student needs in order to enroll and succeed--without remediation--in a credit-bearing general education course at a postsecondary institution that offers a baccalaureate…

Parents and communities should have access to comprehensive, easily accessible data on how schools are doing. This report zeroes in on the expected reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) as the opportunity for lawmakers to require public reporting on such crucial indicators as achievement, high schools, school…

Whether through reauthorizing the Elementary and Secondary Education Act or using the Department of Education's waiver authority, federal policymakers must fix what No Child Left Behind got wrong, while salvaging what it got right: a focus on improving achievement and closing gaps for all groups of students. In this report, The Education Trust…