Background: Data-driven decision making continues to be a common feature of educational reform agendas across the globe. In many U.S. schools, the teacher team meeting is a key setting in which data use is intended to take place, with the aim of planning instruction to address students' needs. However, most prior research has not examined how the…

Testing and accountability measures have continued to expand since the passage of the No Child Left Behind Act in 2001. In addition to school and district accountability, student test scores increasingly formed the foundation of teacher performance metrics. State participation rates exceeded the 95% minimum prescribed by law despite increasing…

The imposed policy reform of the "Common Core State Standards" ("CCSS") represents another attempt at an "enlightened proposal for change" currently in play at the ground level in the American education system, setting new standards for college and career readiness. This qualitative, comparative case study explored…

This study provides empirical evidence on preservice teachers' (PSTs) dispositions by surveying them on topics of educational policy in their first required course for a teacher preparation program in one mid-sized public university. Our survey used the same questions as did the Ed Next/Harvard Program on Education Policy and Governance poll,…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine how US school leaders and teachers make sense of multiple accountability policies, including the Common Core State Standards and teacher evaluation, and how this process relates to school priorities and classroom practice. Design/methodology/approach: This study uses a comparative case study…

The purpose of this article is to share the results of a qualitative research study designed to shed light on the perspectives of inclusive prekindergarten classroom teachers in the United States. This study used surveys, interviews, and classroom observations to explore understandings of recently adopted learning standards and accountability…

Inspired by Camus' portrayal of Sisyphus, this essay examines the act of teaching as an absurd profession, one that faces numerous obstacles and challenges and continually falls short of its intended goals. I begin my analysis by demonstrating that Camus' understanding of the absurd was heavily influenced by Nietzsche's conception of nihilism. I…

This study investigated initial implementation processes of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) in public and private schools in a single Louisiana district. Results suggested participants' high level of concern in many aspects of the implementation of the CCSS in public schools related to timeline and instability of curriculum decisions, which…

California's Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) was signed into law in 2013, and represents the most significant change in California education finance and governance in 40 years. It moves additional funds to districts with students in poverty, English language learners, and foster youth. The LCFF sends supplemental funds to districts based on…

This article reports on why states are quitting the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) and Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC). The two consortia sought to develop state-of-the-art assessments that focused on problem solving and the application of knowledge, and that moved away from former tests'…

This qualitative research case study was conducted to describe expectations of superintendent leadership in the era of 21st century public education reform with the Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP), Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF), and the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). The purpose of this study was to explore the perceptions…

Traditional grading practices have been used for over one hundred years, and to date, there have been no meaningful research reports to support it. As such, some schools are transitioning to standards-based grading, a practice based upon several evidence-based principles. The purpose of this research primer is to provide an overview of the…

This article recovers a 1972 essay from James Moffett entitled "Who Counts?" that the National Council of Teachers of English commissioned at the onset of US standards and accountability reforms. The essay historicises NCTE's positions on teacher accountability by comparing its recent positions on teacher evaluation and the Common Core…

Policy makers at the federal level have embraced an educator effectiveness agenda, which in turn has driven many states across the country to rapidly develop and implement new and more complex teacher evaluation systems. It is increasingly clear that the success of these nascent teacher evaluation systems partly depends on the will, skill and…

Over the past few years, students by the thousands have refused to take their state's standardized tests. This "opt-out" phenomenon has prompted debate in state legislatures and in Washington, putting states at risk of losing Title I funds. Advocates describe opt-out as a grassroots movement of parents concerned about overtesting,…