Problem behavior disrupts classrooms across the United States, impacting student learning. Despite the adverse consequences, teachers often exclude disruptive students from school as a punitive and default response to problem behavior. Alternatives to exclusion are becoming increasingly popular in many school districts to improve behavior and keep…

The biggest threat to an equitable and prosperous American society is not a particular educational policy, but the gravitational pull of politics, explains Jonathan Collins. Before educational policy can be developed and put into place, the politics that drive education must be acknowledged and addressed. Violence is erupting at school board…

Decisions about assessment are often built on myths about teacher professional judgment and subjectivity that prioritize standardized assessment over classroom assessment. Ken O'Connor and Matt Townsley discuss some of the most common myths and explain how to dispel them by developing clear guidelines in which teachers can exercise their judgment,…

To expand students' preparation for civic life, many teachers regularly engage students in discussions related to contentious issues. These discussions, however, typically restrict the range of communicative styles allowed and prioritizes disagreements between fixed and competing choices. Keith C. Barton & Li-Ching recommend that educators…

Anxiety, one of the most common underlying causes of challenging student behavior, typically goes undiscovered and unaddressed through school-based behavior supports. Jessica Minahan and Stuart Ablon combine their expertise as a behavior analyst and a psychologist to outline how best to support students whose anxiety leads to challenging behavior.…

Society largely has accepted a conception of general intelligence that is ill-fitted to the world we live in today. Our standardized tests are based on this conception, as is much of our instruction. The problem is that the kinds of problems we test for and teach to are unlike the complex problems we face in real life. In this article, Robert…

Conflict management is one of the most stressful and frustrating aspects of a school leader's job. An inability to overcome conflicting viewpoints, ever more palpable in today's polarized climate, stymies innumerable school reform efforts. Yet, the subject is rarely examined in graduate-level leadership preparation programs or in-service…

Social-emotional learning (SEL) programs have become one of the most popular tools that schools use to help students learn to manage their emotions and build better relationships. But Dennis Shirley and Andy Hargreaves argue that these programs are insufficient to help students face today's challenges. It would be far better, they explain, for…

An array of federal, state, and local laws and policies come into play when situations arise that could compromise student safety. These laws and district policies combine to form an intricate and sometimes inconsistent patchwork of protocols that schools must follow. Robert Kim discusses the interplay between federal, state, and local laws…

Many school leaders responded to the controversies over critical race theory with denial. That approach can backfire, according to Emily Hodge, Francesca López, and Joshua Rosenberg. They suggest proactive messaging, which can help prevent leaders from falling into the trap of reactively defending their practices and letting the direction of the…

Schools across the United States use abeyance agreements as an alternative to suspension or expulsion, yet little is known about them. These agreements allow students to avoid or reduce suspensions or expulsions, if they meet the terms of the agreement and waive certain due process rights. David Perrodin argues that these agreements enable school…

The capacity to navigate conflict and solve problems will persist as an essential skill of the future, even if today's students will be doing jobs that haven't been invented yet. What are we doing in schools right now to ensure students have these skills? For nearly a decade, a program called Speak Truth has taught students to use their voices,…

The COVID-19 global pandemic has required everyone to make sense of data about community spread, levels of risk, and vaccine efficacy. Yet research shows that students are underprepared in data literacy. Tanya LaMar and Jo Boaler argue that data science education provides an opportunity to address this problem while providing much needed updates…

Teachers today work in classrooms where a large proportion of students have mental health disorders. Yet, because these teachers lack training in mental health issues, they often react to these students in ways that cause them to shut down or escalate their aggressive behavior. Other teachers, however, seem to intuitively understand how to connect…

The COVID-19 pandemic, societal racial reckonings, and pressure from parents and the media have put education leaders in a crisis. Carole Learned-Miller of the Leadership Academy in New York spoke with school and education organization leaders who saw their organizations through a variety of challenges, including the pandemic, racial inequities, a…