Learning standards have become a prominent feature for schools and school systems worldwide. Our paper describes the development of recent English teaching standards in California, China, and Mexico, as well as analyzing them for their theoretical orientations. We begin with an overview and critique of the standards movement. Our analysis of the…

California is on the cusp of implementing universal preschool--a step that could help level the playing eld for young children. Over the next few years, all four-year-olds will become eligible for Transitional Kindergarten (TK), which has been part of the state's early learning programs since 2012. In this report, the authors examine the…

Immigrant adults in the United States often have limited opportunities to learn English. To address this issue and to strengthen the preparation of future English language teachers, a practicum course offered in a Master of Arts in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (MA TESOL) program in California was modified to engage student…

California's new Statewide System of Support is grounded in the fundamental principles of the Local Control Funding Formula, especially its emphasis on the central role of local educators in determining the best approaches to improvement. This report examines the early implementation of the System of Support, with a focus on the work of the county…

This study addresses public universities' policies and practices in the USA (United States of America) with a focus on public bilingual teacher preparation in Spanish-English programs (initial credential licensure and Masters of Education programs with, or without, endorsements). We questioned: "What do bilingual programs look like in public…

This study reports on a critical review of the language demands contained in the Common Core State Standards for English language arts (CCSS-ELA) with the aim of deriving important implications for the instruction of English language learners. The language demands of the CCSS-ELA were compared with those of existing English language arts (ELA) and…

Purpose: Despite the popularity of school "turnaround" and "portfolio district" management as solutions to low performance, there has been limited research on these strategies. The purpose of this paper is to address this gap by exploring the strategic case of Los Angeles Unified School District's Public School Choice…

A Mandarin/English two-way immersion elementary program is described from its inception and implementation through the fifth grade, the culminating year of the program. All students in all grades were assessed on their oral/listening, reading, and writing performance in Mandarin using program-created assessment measures. Fifth-grade students also…

English as a Second Language (ESL) learners' access and achievement in Algebra I was examined to determine whether ESL students continue to be denied equal opportunity-to-learn (OTL) as a result of unnecessary tracking practices. In this quasi-experiment, a pre-post retrospective comparison group design was used to determine the effects of the…

With national attention on scaling up the implementation of Response to Intervention, problem solving teams remain one of the central components for development, implementation, and monitoring of school-based interventions. Studies have shown that problem solving teams evidence a sound theoretical base and demonstrated efficacy; however, limited…

The Federal Workforce Investment Act (WIA), Title II: Adult Education and Family Literacy Act (AEFLA) provides funding for states and territories to provide instruction in English as a Second Language (ESL), Adult Basic Education (ABE), and Adult Secondary Education (ASE) to adults in need of these literacy services. California State Budget Act…

The Federal Workforce Investment Act (WIA), Title II: Adult Education and Family Literacy Act (AEFLA) provide funding for states and territories to provide instruction in English as a Second Language (ESL), Adult Basic Education (ABE), and Adult Secondary Education (ASE) to adults in need of these literacy services. California State Budget Act…

The Federal Workforce Investment Act (WIA) Title II, Adult Education and Family Literacy Act provides funding for states and territories to provide instruction in English as a Second Language (ESL), Adult Basic Education (ABE), and Adult Secondary Education (ASE) to adults in need of these literacy services. California State Budget Act language…

In an effort to reverse the reading crisis purported to plague public education, schools and districts are mandating prescriptive reading programs and teacher-centered instructional practices in hopes of improving the academic achievement of minority students, including English learners (ELs). The wide-spread implementation of these programs in…

Most K-12 evaluations are designed to make inferences about how a program implemented at the classroom or school level affects student learning outcomes and such inferences inherently involve hierarchical data structure. One methodological challenge for evaluators is linking program implementation factors typically measured at the classroom or…