Due in part to higher demands for educational accountability at both the Federal and state levels, the role of the school principal has come to the forefront. Previous literature has considered the indirect ways in which school principals affect student achievement. Of particular interest has been the implementation of instructional leadership by…

This article describes process and outcome evaluations of a blended Cyber ESL program for native Spanish speakers in Chicago who could not use regular ESL classes. The outcomes measured against before and after scores and several comparison groups showed large gains in English language proficiency. 58% percent of students from the cohorts which…

Purpose: The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to identify and describe effective instructional strategies for English language arts and mathematics perceived by expert fourth and fifth grade elementary teachers in southern California to reduce the achievement gap in high poverty and high English language learner (ELL)…

To what extent do Spanish-speaking English learner students develop English proficiency and grade-level readiness in English language arts and math from early elementary school to upper elementary school? Is there a relationship between proficiency in a student's primary home language, Spanish, and the amount of time needed to attain fluency in…

Educational policies in the United States often adhere to society's ideal scenario for the perfect college and career ready student, but the realities of and differences in classroom instruction are often not considered. Whether or not policies will effectively improve student performance is unknown until implementation. The Common Core State…

Stance refers to a display of a socially recognized epistemic or affective attitude toward a referent or proposition (Ochs, 1993). Although this display of attitude can be performed linguistically, paralinguistically, and non-verbally (Du Bois, 2007), it has primarily been explored in terms of linguistic strategies (use of reference terms,…

The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) were adopted by most states by 2010. Yet, many teachers still lack confidence in their ability to integrate these standards into their classroom instruction and this uncertainty undermines their effectiveness. This article presents findings from a study of a fourth grade literacy curriculum informed by the…

While numerous studies focus on dialect in educational settings, this research focuses on teacher perception of the Appalachian dialect in one rural elementary school. Data collected, mainly through interviews with educators, indicate that teachers sometimes view the Appalachian dialect as impeding their teaching of Standard English. Implications…

Through a case study of a seventh-grade ELA teacher, this article examines New Literacies pedagogy and more specifically a digital video project amid high-stakes testing pressures that often place limitations on teaching and learning.

Over several years, Clark Pleasant Community School Corporation (CPCSC) schools have dedicated significant professional development hours and time to develop Essential Learnings (ELs) along with proficiency scales that could guide the content of classroom assessments used to determine student mastery. This executive summary highlights key findings…

The 2023 edition of the Annual Condition of Education Report (COE) marks the 34th edition of the report. For over 30 years, the Department has published the COE in order to provide education stakeholders critical data about the status of Iowa's education system. The 2023 COE includes a wide variety of content including information about Iowa's…

The objective of this study was to test whether the Kinect motion-sensing interactive system (KMIS) enhanced students' English vocabulary learning, while also comparing the system's effectiveness against a traditional computer-mouse interface. Both interfaces utilized an interactive game with a questioning strategy. One-hundred and twenty…

This article provides a description of three seventh grade English teachers' attempt to augment creativity, reading, and deep understanding, and the standards they used to come up with five essential questions surrounding an eight-week unit on poetry. Each of these questions helps to address the school standards and the Common Core State Standards…

Recent research has shown that implementation of innovative programs at the classroom level continues to be a major challenge. The purpose of this study was to examine the types of modifications made during implementation of two curriculum units in two different setting types (i.e., self-contained, pull-out) to identify areas that should be…

In this article, Dianne Excell shares her experience of a cross-phase, collaborative project funded by the British Council that brought together teachers and pupils from three schools in Bradford and five schools in Peshawar, Pakistan. Although history was just one element of the project (which also included English, art, food technology and IT),…