Concerns about a decline in literacy and numeracy standards in New Zealand are longstanding. Such concerns have again come to the fore with the introduction of the Education (National Standards) Amendment Act 2008. In this paper we track the debates leading up to the new legislation, focusing on the political struggles and the way in which games…

"The Zeroing in on Number and Operations" series, which aligns with the Common Core State Standards and the NCTM Standards on Focal Points, features easy-to-use tools for teaching key concepts in number and operations and for addressing common misconceptions. Sharing the insights they've gained through decades of mathematics teaching and research,…

This paper tabulates the correlation of Virginia's English performance expectations with Virginia's 2010 English standards of learning.

Many preservice teachers are introduced to NCTM's "Principles and Standards for School Mathematics" (2000) and practices that support those Standards as part of their teacher education programs. They often appear to accept the underlying principles, and many intend to implement this type of instruction in their own classrooms. Unfortunately, as…

This article addressed the need for authentic interdisciplinary instruction. Authentic interdisciplinary instruction is defined as a learning activity that simultaneously improves student performance related to grade-level standards in two or more disciplines (e.g., science and physical education). The process described for creating authentic…

Educational standards, assessments, and accountability systems are of immense political moment around the world. But there is no developed theory exploring the role that these systems should play within a democratic polity in particular. On the one hand, well-designed standards are public goods, supported by assessment and accountability…

New guidelines on crafting curriculum materials for the common standards in English/language arts are reigniting debate about how to ensure a marketplace of good instructional materials for the new standards without crossing the line into telling teachers how to teach. The focal point of the conversations is a set of "publishers' criteria" issued…

For large-scale assessments, usually booklet designs administering the same item at different positions within a booklet are used. Therefore, the occurrence of position effects influencing the difficulty of the item is a crucial issue. Not taking learning or fatigue effects into account would result in a bias of estimated item difficulty. The…

For the United States to compete in a global knowledge economy, high schools need to improve dramatically. Young people leave high school without the advanced reading and writing skills required for career and college success. Beginning in the 1980s, reports such as "A Nation at Risk" documented the links between education, reading and…

A survey of 691 Georgia teachers suggested that their students generally were not prepared for severe weather. Teachers also were somewhat dissatisfied with the quality of the teaching resources on weather and weather safety. Only 46 (7%) of the teachers were aware of the American Red Cross Masters of Disaster (MoD) weather science and safety…

The Standards for Effective Pedagogy and Learning (CREDE, 2014) specify five "transnational universals of teaching" that are especially effective for the rapidly growing population of English language learners in North America. CLASSIC is an evidence-based, CREDE-aligned model of teacher education for classroom educators of English…

Current educational reform calls for increased integration between science and mathematics to overcome the shortcomings in students' quantitative skills. Data Nuggets (free online resource, http://datanuggets.org) are worksheets that bring data into the classroom, repeatedly guiding students through the scientific method and making claims…

The authors examine the consistency between the current practices in designing and teaching accounting information systems (AIS) curricula and the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) requirements for International Education Practice Statement 2 and International Education Standards 2. Utilizing a survey and interviews data in Jordan,…

This article explores how one specially prepared, accomplished teacher managed dilemmas that arose as she worked to enact responsive language arts instruction with English Learners in a policy context that privileged high-stakes accountability and standardization. Drawing on sociocultural learning theory, the article illustrates how the teacher's…

This document is a summary of the report "What Makes Great Teaching". It argues that improved teacher ­development will positively impact on pupil attainment, particular those from disadvantaged backgrounds. "Developing Teachers" presents five policy recommendations which have been signed by 17 of Britain's leading headteachers…