This study explored the impact of developmentally appropriate practices (DAP) on reading test scores as measured by the Mississippi Academics Assessment Program (MAAP) for students in grades 3-5. The research problem is centered on the potential disconnect between traditional teaching methods and the developmental needs of students, which…

The purpose of this ethnographic study was to examine the relationship between focused keyboarding instruction and the required standardized assessments mandated by Federal and State authorities. Initial mandates required that the first assessment to be administered online would be the Writing Assessment by year 2014. The assessment given in…

This analytical report seeks to address the evident gap in the formative assessment of social and emotional education by providing a framework indicating how social and emotional education may be assessed through a whole-school approach, both at individual (learner) and contextual (classroom climate and whole school system) levels, accompanied by…

Research Findings: Big Math for Little Kids (BMLK) is a mathematics curriculum developed for use with 4- and 5-year-old children. To investigate the BMLK curriculum's effect on children's mathematics knowledge, this cluster-randomized controlled trial randomly assigned child care centers to provide mathematics instruction to children, using either…

Located just southeast of Fresno in California's Central Valley, Sanger Unified School District (USD) serves approximately 12,000 students in 20 schools. Sanger USD students are predominately from low-income families (73%); most are Latino/a (70%), and about one in five (18%) are English learners. During the accountability era of No Child Left…

The authors question the answer the national Common Core State Standards (CCSS, 2010) claims. The questions center on the validity of the new standardized tests based on the CCSS and teachers' evaluations being tied to student test scores on flawed tests. The proposed tests on the CCSS will position children as deficient, and will not recognize…

Problem solving plays an important role in mathematics and should have a prominent role in the mathematics education. The term "problem solving" refers to mathematics tasks that have the potential to provide intellectual challenges for enhancing students' mathematical understanding and development. In addition, the contextual problem…

In an era of standards and norms where assessment tends to minimize or dismiss individual differences and results in punitive outcomes or no action at all, Assessment of Young Children provides teachers with an approach to assessment that is in the best interest of both children and their families. Author Lisa B. Fiore explores a variety of ways…

Kindergarten has changed radically in the last two decades in ways that few Americans are aware of. Children now spend far more time being taught and tested on literacy and math skills than they do learning through play and exploration, exercising their bodies, and using their imaginations. The implications of these radical changes in early…

This study explored the effects of high-stakes testing and accountability on the fundamental practices associated with middle school philosophy. Participants were middle school educators, including administrators and teachers, from Pennsylvania middle schools. An online survey was used to collect data for this study. The survey addressed the…

Over the last decade, high-stakes test preparation has crept into the inventory of developmentally responsive middle level instructional practices. Amid calls for increased accountability and more rigorous curriculum and academic standards, the middle school movement now finds itself in a spotlight of intense scrutiny. This article examines the…

Kindergarten has changed significantly in the last two decades: children now spend more time being taught and tested on literacy and math skills than they do learning through play and exploration, exercising their bodies, and using their imaginations. Many kindergartens use highly prescriptive curricula geared to new state standards and linked to…

The High/Scope curriculum differs radically from typical K-3 teacher-directed instruction in emphasizing the child as a self-initiating active learner. This curriculum differs from other child-centered curricula by using cognitive-development theory to stress problem-solving and independent thinking, rather than social development and…

This research investigated the effects of two contrasting pre-k curricula, relative to practice as usual, on subsequent academic achievement. One curriculum had a strong literacy focus, the other was a less didactic "developmentally appropriate" curriculum that allowed children to have more influence on classroom activities. The purpose…

Introduces this special theme issue discussing tensions in education stemming from public school reform. Discusses the issue's focus on (1) standardized testing; (2) developmentally appropriate practice; and (3) full inclusion. Concludes that despite seemingly irreconcilable tensions, public schools have strong public support. (KB)