Traditional grading practices have been in place for well over a hundred years and grades received served to identify in which subjects a student is "smart" or in which ones they are not (Dewitt, 2017). The problem with traditional grading is that it does not provide qualitative information on the difference between an A, B, C, D, or F…

As standards documents have been introduced over the past 20 years, many states have seen an evolution in both the standards and related high stakes exams. For many teachers across the U.S., the rollout of standards and exams has not been an experience that builds trust in state education leaders. In this study, we consider three major changes in…

Using the nonparametric Mann-Whitney U-Test to analyze 128 survey responses from K-12 teachers, this paper considers how value-added measures (VAM) impact educators' decisions to include Latinx topics in their social studies lessons. The authors found that VAM teachers are more likely to rely on district/state curriculum standards whereas non-VAM…

During the past two decades there has been a concentrated effort to enact standards-based education reforms at the federal, state, and local levels. Following a grounded theory approach, this article examines the experiences of secondary social studies teachers who have been directly impacted by the incorporation of English Language Arts based…

By accelerating schools' adoption of technology for virtual learning, the pandemic spotlighted longstanding inequities in digital access, especially for Black, Hispanic, and low-income K-12 students. By spearheading efforts to collect data, collaborate with partners, buy digital devices and infrastructure, and reimagine effective technology use,…

All teachers, regardless of their backgrounds, require appropriate preparation to address the necessities of all students. A significant challenge in preparing teachers is ensuring they are familiar with the unique characteristics of the different group of students in their classrooms. According to New York State of Education (NYSED), the…

Between 1994 and 2014, New York City engaged in a historic overhaul of its publicly funded high schools. This included the opening of charter high schools (made possible by a 1999 state law) and the creation of new, smaller district high schools that would, in time, replace many of the city's large, traditional, comprehensive, and vocational high…