When it comes to state education accountability systems, times are changing fast. This is clearer than ever with the advent of not only waivers from No Child Left Behind (NCLB) but also the multitude of state accountability index systems and "A through F" school-grading systems rolling out across the country. The multiple measures of…

Evidence-based innovations developed locally can have a powerful and broad impact on a state's student success agenda, but only when a system is in place for accelerating the diffusion of innovation across institutional lines. State leadership is key to bringing effective practices to scale. That is what is happening in North Carolina, Texas, and…

The research study site is a private, coeducational university located in the Midwest on a small but growing campus that has successfully transitioned from traditional seated students to a mixture of seated and online students from around the world. Two categories of interest to the university are graduate students' writing skills and the…

Quality Rating Improvement System (QRIS) has gained national momentum. The authors first present a national scene of QRIS and then use Children's Services Council of Palm Beach County as a case study to illustrate a number of things. First, they look at the logic model behind the QRIS. Next, they review the design and implementation of the QRIS in…

Multiple models of the gene are used to explore genetic phenomena in scientific practices and in the classroom. In genetics curricula, the classical and molecular models are presented in disconnected domains. Research demonstrates that, without explicit connections, students have difficulty developing an understanding of the gene that spans…

Teachers want to succeed, but they typically lack the conditions for success. Teachers generally work in isolation. They're on their own to adjust practice to better serve students. What guidance they get often is plagued by vague teaching standards, overly numerous and often trivial learning objectives, and testing systems that measure only some…

Over the next ten years, more than half of all jobs will require some education beyond high school. The majority of students entering college do not earn a college credential that would give them better access to these jobs. While the Common Core State Standards should lead to more college-ready students over time, students will still need…

The Illinois New Millennium Initiative (NMI) is a statewide team of accomplished, early-career teachers and educators focused on classroom- and community-based solutions to improve public schools. In virtual and face-to-face collaborations, the NMI works to connect research findings with its own teaching experiences in order to design policies and…

One of the most challenging aspects of being a school leader is the struggle to get the school staff to embark on school improvement initiatives. The culture of the school can be a powerful driver or a resister to our ability to move a school forward to increase student learning. New teachers struggle to understand the culture of the school along…

Established models of doctoral education in Australia are generally based on an apprenticeship model, where doctoral students learn from their advisors. However, these are slowly being reconsidered in light of low completion rates. This study investigated doctoral students' perceptions of their candidature by way of focus group interviews. The…

First-year students often feel discouraged, especially with courses that require complex thinking and involve establishing relations between different subjects such as biochemistry. It has been proposed that student-centred pedagogy can achieve motivation and improve learning. In this context, this case study reports the use of art as a strategy…

To improve the quality of teaching, educational accountability needs to include periodic external evaluations of students' performance. This requires evaluation formats which support the development of the educational process and provide information which is understandable for teachers. The aims of this study were to review: (i) how teachers…

The field of socially just educational leadership is focused on promoting improvements in the teaching and learning environment as demonstrated by student learning gains, particularly for traditionally marginalized students. The field has identified priorities (i.e., school improvement, democratic community, and social justice) and steps to pursue…

As instructional coach at Spring Grove Area High School in Pennsylvania, the author realized that too many of the school's freshmen were becoming what one might call lost in transition; they never made it to their sophomore year. He joined with concerned teachers and counselors from the school and its feeder middle schools to create a freshman…

The relationship between scholarship in education and the practice of teaching and learning is complex, ambiguous, and doubtful. Still, there persists an underlying belief that the study of education might yield the basis for designing and implementing educational practices. What could be ways of approaching scholarship in education that might…