In its recent 68-page report, "Succeeding With English Language Learners-Lessons From the Great City Schools," the Council of Great City Schools discusses findings from a study designed to identify district-level policies and strategies associated with improvements in English Language Learner (ELL) student achievement. This "Informed Educator"…

Expanded learning opportunities (ELOs) support state education goals by providing safe, structured learning environments for students outside the regular school day. ELOs include after-school and summer learning programs, as well as before-school, evening, and weekend programs. Although research demonstrates that high-quality expanded learning…

The idea of pathways indicates many possible journeys to some destination or outcome. Hence, even if everyone agreed that Indigenous school leavers should be moving towards "productive" employment, it is not easy to talk about "what works" as there are different paths that may suit different people. Indeed given the diverse…

This study analyzed California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE) intervention strategies that were implemented by successful urban superintendents in order to determine best practices that were being used across the state of California to increase the passing rate on that exam. Four research questions were analyzed: (1) what types of intervention…

The Obama administration's Race to the Top (RTT) competitive grant program has been heralded for revolutionizing the federal role in education and transforming state school reform efforts. This paper offers an initial analysis of the origins, evolution, and impact of RTT. In many ways, RTT is an attempt to circumvent the perceived failings of No…

Meeting a growing need for school-based practitioners, this book provides vital tools for improving the academic, behavioral, and social outcomes of students with high-functioning autism or Asperger syndrome (HFA/AS). Research-based best practices are presented for conducting meaningful assessments; collaborating with teachers, students, and…

One focus of the Australian Government's social inclusion agenda is to help people with a disability into work. The government's new National Mental Health and Disability Employment Strategy acknowledges that a considerable barrier to employment for people with a disability is the lack of information for employers. It is therefore timely to…

Since the passage of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, high-stakes testing has become a ubiquitous feature of public school children's daily rituals. Reform advocates argue that testing leads to greater alignment of the curriculum with teaching and learning, teacher and student accountability, and in some cases, a preservation of our cultural…

In this study, researchers qualitatively analyzed middle school teacher participant perceptions of qualities of teacher effectiveness across 3 years (2006-2009) through 66 focus group sessions by comparing the participants' identified qualities to Stronge's (2007) Teacher Skills Assessment Checklist. Surprisingly, a disproportionate number (42.6%)…

Many states are mandating reforms in university-sponsored principal preparation programs, but faculty and school system personnel often have concerns about the prescriptive nature of state mandates related to these reforms. Auburn University served as one of four pilot principal preparation program redesigns in Alabama, a process that took over…

The purpose of this paper is to describe Auburn University's story of developing an innovative field-based master's level principal preparation program. Our goal was to align the program's curriculum and internship experiences with state and other accrediting agency standards, current leadership preparation research, and local educational agency…

Background: This paper critically reviews the concept of "professional responsibility" in physical education. The paper is rooted in the belief that the physical education profession has, by virtue of its expertise in young people and physical activity, the potential to deliver a broad range of desirable educational and health-related…

Although there is a need for continued pedagogical advancement in science undergraduate education, what is needed more urgently is more widespread adaptation of pedagogical practices that research has already shown to promote learning. Those practices include interactive engagement pedagogies such as active learning and inquiry-based learning. The…

Academic language is a vital part of content-area instruction and is one of the most pressing needs faced by English Language Learners (ELLs). The fundamental challenge ELLs in all-English instruction face is learning academic content while simultaneously becoming proficient in English. Because of this challenge, the authors, as educators, do not…

Researchers have been challenged to find school-level characteristics that make a difference in student achievement. This study focused on a diverse sample of 24 middle schools to examine differences between schools rated Exemplary, Recognized, Academically Acceptable, and Academically Unacceptable on four performance indicator dimensions:…