In this article, Amanda Williford, Jason Downer, Kate Miller-Bains, Jenna Conway, and Lisa Howard tell us how a university research center, an early education advocacy group, and a state department of education joined forces in a research-practice partnership to develop and implement a more comprehensive assessment of young Virginia children's…

Mathematics education has experienced numerous reforms, including New Math of the 1960s, Back-to-Basics Math of the 1970s, and Standards-Based Math of the 1980s (Herrera & Owens, 2001; Osborne & Crosswhite, 1970). After the nationwide implementation of standards throughout the 1990s (Knight, 2007), Virginia developed high-stakes testing at…

According to the United States Department of Education, approximately 4,172,347 four-year-olds are eligible to attend publicly funded preschool programs. Of this number, only 1,709,607 of those eligible are enrolled in a publicly funded preschool program (U.S. Department of Education, 2014). Because of a lack of quantitative and qualitative data…

Appropriate recess time for young students is an agent for healthy growth, development, and academic performance. Recess time for young students is dissipating due to increased pressure for higher test scores, problematic behaviors on the playground, and its inclusion within classroom discipline policies. Researchers have reported the majority…