This study identifies seven major trends in how states and districts are implementing college- and career-ready standards for general education students and for two special populations often the target of education policy--English language learners (ELLs) and students with disabilities (SWDs). We draw on state-representative teacher, principal,…

This article begins with clarification of any confusion one might have as to what is meant by Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) education. The author writes that the acronym STEM was originally used in a political context to call attention to the demands of the future workforce in Science, Technology, Engineering, and…

This study explores middle school student learning of Next Generation Science Standards aligned content and practices associated with use of an innovative virtual learning environment. The learning environment, a computer-based game called Mission HydroSci (MHS), was developed with the aim of supporting student learning of water systems science…

This study identifies seven major trends in how states and districts are implementing college- and career-ready standards for general education students and for two special populations often the target of education policy--English language learners (ELLs) and students with disabilities (SWDs). We draw on state-representative teacher, principal,…

While many in the field of teaching grapple with the revisions that come with a growing decentralization of standards-based reform, teacher learning and understanding of college- and career-readiness (CCR) standards and revisions is critical to successful implementation. Even when fully supported and focused on implementing standards in the…

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship among selected school funding variables, percentage of low socioeconomic status students, and student achievement. Funding variables included percentage of funds a school district received from the three primary sources: local, state, and federal. Additional funding variables included per…

Many teachers want to provide meaningful science activities and instruction in their classroom that benefit all young children. This is consistent with the increasing focus on enhancing science experiences and instruction in preschool classrooms. Recommendations for how to engage in early childhood science activities are available, as are science…

Although China has witnessed the rapid growth of public administration (PA) education during recent decades, few studies have focused on the practical issues of lower-level tertiary PA education, namely, PA programs in vocational colleges. The methods that vocational PA programs can apply to improve educational quality are a theoretical gap since…

As noted by many historians, the modern tale of American education is one of a pendulum swinging between concerns about excellence and those about equity. In many matters of policy and practice, excellence and equity are in tension, if not actual conflict. It can be assumed that progressives will always take the "equity" side. So if…

A critical issue is the role of the educational leader in closing the achievement gap in literacy between students living in poverty and those who are not. Not all students are given the same opportunity to be successful in school (Jacobson, 2011; Krashen, 2011). Poverty often means lower scores on all measures of school achievement (Krashen,…

This project promoted students' understanding of the importance of diversity of communities and cultures, and educated them on the challenges faced by children who are undergoing cancer treatments. To provide students with a situated learning experience that encouraged them to develop creative design solutions, the authors created a…

For students to achieve the goals of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) by Grade 12, thinking and acting like scientists and engineers must begin in the elementary grades. However, elementary teachers may find this challenging -because language arts and mathematics still dominate many classrooms--often at the expense of science. This…

As the counseling profession evolves, educational standards for counselor licensure must be standardized from state to state. In this article, the authors discuss historical and current influences and present an advocacy model that has been used to standardize educational requirements in state counselor licensure laws.

Five years into the Common Core initiative, researchers and the general public are interested to know whether and how the standards are "working." In this introduction to the special topic, I discuss the state of the literature on these questions and offer suggestions for what I view as the most important work moving forward.

Mathematics curriculum documentation currently presents important information and messages for New Zealand teachers. Mathematical processes are not explicitly set out but embedded in different locations and there are multiple sources of proxy official curriculum information for the primary school. This article identifies and discusses examples of…