The purpose of this study is to determine the validity of common assumptions about the rate at which school decline manifests. From a population of 981 elementary schools in the state of Virginia, the author uses three operational definitions of school decline to identify samples of declining schools: Absolute (n = 217), Relational (n = 510), and…

Background: In PISA 2009, seven East Asian countries rank high among the 65 participating countries, but some of the differences among the seven countries are small to be of substantive meaning. Aims: This paper is an attempt to fine tune the comparisons for better understanding of the situation in East Asian. Sample: Data of the seven East Asian…

The arts disciplines (visual arts, music, theatre, and dance) merit and require formal study. Policy makers should support studies in the arts as core disciplines, as specified in the "Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA)," the federal legislation that sets policy and appropriations for public education. The arts merit and…

For more than 20 years, Advocates for Children of New Jersey has published the Newark Kids Count Data Book, a one-stop source for child well-being data on the state's largest city. Newark Kids Count includes the latest statistics, along with five-year trend data, in the following areas: demographics, family economic security, food insecurity,…

Talented students compete fiercely for seats at Boston and New York exam schools. These schools are characterized by high levels of peer achievement and a demanding curriculum tailored to each district's highest achievers. While exam school students clearly do very well in school, the question of whether an exam school education adds value…

This research study examined the impact of the size of accredited public associate degree-granting community and technical colleges on institutional characteristics and behaviors that support general education programs. Further, it sought opinions of the chief academic officers (CAOs) of these institutions regarding key elements of their general…

Last July, the Atlanta Public Schools became the poster district for teachers and principals behaving badly. State investigators found that, in 44 schools across the city, 178 teachers and administrators had systematically cheated on the state standardized tests taken by their students in 2009. The largest cheating scandal by far has cast a pall…

Current neoliberal educational policies are impacting young children and their teachers in the United States in many ways. Young children and teachers find themselves in vulnerable positions within a framework of an imperialist education in the age of standardization. Part of the struggle is to open spaces of decolonization that include home…

Campus 2020: Thinking ahead is a policy in British Columbia (BC), Canada, that attempted to hold universities accountable to performance. Within, I demonstrate how this Canadian articulation of educational accountability intended to develop "governmentality constellations" to control the university and regulate its knowledge output. This…

Psychologist Robert J. Sternberg's conviction that American standardized testing does not accurately reflect a child's intelligence or potential is far from theoretical. As an elementary school student in the 1950s, he scored poorly on the ubiquitous IQ test of the time, freezing up when the school psychologist entered the room. Thankfully for…

Board of education membership changes that are numerous or frequent appear to cause some level of disruption to the educational process in a school district. A board of education that is changing can be vulnerable to special interest groups. The purpose of this study is to determine the interrelationships among the following five variables and…

Many of the policies that fall under the school accountability umbrella are designed to incentivize students. Prominent among these are high school exit exams, standardized tests that, in some states, students must pass to earn a high school diploma. Proponents of these tests argue that by incentivizing students, they induce them to work harder…

In this article, the author makes reference to four comic book characters to make the point that together they are a formidable team, but on their own they are vulnerable. She examines the four components of mathematics assessment items and the need for implicit instruction within the classroom for student success. Just like the "Fantastic…

Testing and test results can be used in different ways. They can be used for regulation and control, but they can also be a pedagogic tool for assessment of student proficiency in order to target teaching, improve learning and facilitate local pedagogical leadership. To serve these purposes the test has to be used for low stakes purposes, and to…

The purpose of this study was to investigate relationships between body mass index (BMI), physical fitness, and academic performance in elementary school students. Specifically, BMI and scores on the President's Challenge Physical Activity and Fitness Awards Program, a physical fitness test, were compared to reading and mathematics scores on the…