Community and school violence continue to be a major public health problem, especially among urban children and adolescents. Little research has focused on the effect of school safety and neighborhood violence on academic performance. This study examines the effect of the school and neighborhood climate on academic achievement among a population…

This profile explains the assessment system in England, concentrating on those aspects that are related to government policy. It begins by putting the system in context; it then describes the national educational structure, curriculum and assessment arrangements. The government agencies responsible for carrying out education policies are…

The last two decades have seen dramatic change in U.S. schooling as a response to high-stakes accountability and market-based reform movements. Critics cite a number of unfortunate consequences of these movements, especially for students in urban schools. This article explores the troubling ironies related to one strategy for survival in this…

This study examined the development of language in low-SES rural Appalachian children from kindergarten through middle childhood. Findings showed that the children's language skills improved significantly between kindergarten and middle childhood, with all middle childhood language means within the average range. However, all areas of language…

This article examines teachers' relationships with foreign students during eras marked by large waves of immigration to the United States and by policies that shifted from cultural assimilation (1900-1920) to present-day accountability. We compare teachers' understandings of and instructional practices regarding foreign-born English language…

The study examined the effect of charter school attendance on annual student achievement growth in math and reading. The study analyzed data from a large sample of students in grades three through eight in New York City between 2003 and 2009. The authors matched charter school students to similar students attending traditional public schools based…

The academic progress of South Carolina student subgroups are tracked by leaders in the South Carolina Department of Education (SDE) and by South Carolina Education Oversight Committee (EOC) leaders to assure the public that South Carolina public schools are making academic progress as outlined in the Education Accountability Act of 1998 (EAA) as…

As college tuitions and fees continue to grow, students, parents and public policymakers are interested in understanding how public universities operate and whether their investments are well-utilized. Accountability in public higher education has come into focus following the attention accountability has received in K-12 education. Against this…

With 2014 approaching as the deadline by which states must get all their students up to "proficient" levels on state tests, a study released last week by the U.S. Department of Education's top statistics agency suggests that some states may have lowered student-proficiency standards on such tests in recent years. For the 47-state study,…

Purpose: To propose that the diagnostic category of "expressive language disorder" as distinct from a disorder of both expressive and receptive language might not be accurate. Method: Evidence that casts doubt on a pure form of this disorder is reviewed from several sources, including the literature on genetic findings, theories of language…

Low teacher morale, coupled with extremely poor schooling outcomes for students as measured on standardized tests have increasingly been reported in the media in South Africa. As elsewhere, there is growing demand for the reorganisation of teachers' work in order to enhance school performance. The paper investigates the ways in which current…

Jeopardy!, the trivia game show, is approaching its 25th year on television. With its amazingly bright contestants, daily doubles, potpourri categories, double jeopardy rounds, tick-tock music played during final jeopardy, and tournament of champions, Jeopardy! has become a media icon in American popular culture. Unfortunately, Jeopardy! isn't…

Purpose: To assess the diagnostic accuracy of a new Test of Early Nonword Repetition (TENR) for 2-year-old children. Method: 232 British-English-speaking children aged 27 ([plus or minus] 3) months were assessed on 3 standardized tests (receptive and expressive vocabulary and visual processing) and a novel nonword repetition (NWR) test. Parents…

In education, artificial intelligence (AI) has not made much headway. In the one area where it would seem poised to lend the most benefit--assessment--the reliance on standardized tests, intensified by the demands of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, which holds schools accountable for whether students pass statewide exams, precludes its use.…

This article presents the results of a research by Whitworth University music professor Richard Strauch which assesses the freshman class for Whitworth's 2007-08 academic year. Strauch found that Whitworth students who stuck with their high school music program had higher GPAs and standardized test scores upon entering the university than…