This paper addresses what we are calling "the gaps," the divergent and contextual understandings of "opportunity gap" and "achievement gap" evident in phenomenological interviews with principals and school district leaders. Drawing from a sample of 22 interviews in urban, inner-ring suburban, and outer-ring suburban…

The Every Student Succeeds Act prohibits the federal government from requiring the use of student achievement data for teacher accountability purposes. As states grapple with what to do about teacher accountability, it is critical to examine policy influences on a) the equitable distribution of effective teachers; and b) how teacher accountability…