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 purpose of this mixed-method study was to examine elementary teacher perceptions of mandated curriculum change. In the spring and fall of 2015, Illinois elementary school teachers in a north suburban school district participated in a focus group, an online survey, and follow-up interviews to gather data about teachers' perceptions of the…

With adoption of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) in a majority of U.S. states came the rapid development of new high-stakes exams. Though researchers have investigated CCSS and related policy initiatives, less attention has been directed toward understanding how the standards have been translated into testing programs. Due to the strong…

Inclusive educational practices are rooted in a body of research indicating that when students in need of support through special education are meaningfully included in schools, academic and social outcomes improve for all students. To realize this promise of better outcomes, traditional schools with separate classrooms and even schools designated…

The purpose of this study was to: (1) describe elementary teachers' perceptions on their preparedness to implement the English Language Arts Common Core State Standards (ELA-CCSS); (2) determine how perceptions influenced changes in instructional practices; and (3) to explore ELA-CCSS implementation challenges and/or barriers in supporting teacher…

This quantitative research project analyzes the relationship between the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) Oral Reading Fluency (ORF) subtest and the New York State English Language Arts (NYS ELA) test. The study was completed in Upstate New York using the results of the NYS third-grade tests from the 2017-2018 school…

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…

This non-experimental study investigated the relationship of teachers' trust towards their administrators and student achievement. Ginsberg's (2003) survey, as modified from Smalt's (1997) Teachers' Analysis of Their Principals' Supervisory Styles (TAPES), was translated to an on-line assessment and emailed to teacher participants from three…

The purpose of this study was to explore specific leadership practices of high school principals, as identified by teachers and principals, and these practices' relationship to student achievement in English language arts. The measurements used for student achievement in English language arts were the proficiency percentages on the 2016 New York…

Play is one of the essential components in proper development of first-grade students. Since the adoption by various states of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), two outcomes have developed: (a) increased instructional time and (b) decreased public school recess periods across school districts. Given the complex nature of daily instructional…

This was an exploratory study that examined high school teachers' perspectives about their early experiences with the English language arts Common Core State Standards. The sources of data for the study included a survey and structured interviews. Twenty-three high school ELA teachers from one unified school district in Southern California…

One district, South Bay Union School District, devises and executes a comprehensive strategy that includes training for district staff, teachers and coaches, including using PLCs and professional development in the implementation of Common Core English language arts standards.

The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) in English Language Arts seem to relegate fiction and poetry to the back shelf. This change in emphasis, favoring nonfiction, has an impact in the classroom. After districts and schools realign the curriculum, many English teachers feel compelled to put away some of their fiction and poetry units. One way to…

Indigenous sovereignty is an essential component of civics education. Historical and contemporary examples of infringements on the sovereign rights of Native nations exist, in part, due to the disregard of tribal sovereignty, nationhood, and citizenship. Given the aims of inquiry leading to informed action, we see a strong fit for using the…

As a dance teacher in public elementary schools for the last 25 years, Janet Adams has always recognized the creative link between dance and writing, and offered her students structured opportunities to combine the two. She has also honed her management skills and kept a pretty tight ship. Creative expression, though, be it through dancing or…