Although different authors define the SMART acronym differently, an IEP-related interpretation of the acronym is as follows: specific, measurable, action verbs, realistic, and time limited. In addition to these features, well-written IEP goals reflect students' unique strengths and needs. This article discusses how educators can produce specific,…

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to analyze the readability of Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Part B procedural safeguard documents, as distributed by each of the 50 U.S. states. Results were compared to the 5th- to 6th-grade readability guideline for documents recommended by experts in health literacy and health…

While top down federal policy processes continue to deliver policy as grand solutions to real and imagined problems within the nation's public schools, states continue to churn out their own layers of educational accountability policy. But it is no secret that state and federal policies and programs like No Child Left Behind and Reading First have…

This paper compares and contrasts two required building level school violence measures under NCLB, arrests and incidents of well-defined school misconduct acts, across 20 years of Pennsylvania's approximately 3,000 public school buildings. Generally, both arrests for school violence and incidents of school violence are rare events. Over 20 years,…

Background: Over the years, the quantity and quality of educational research has been rapidly improving. This can be attributed to the growing call to use evidence of effectiveness in decision-making by policymakers and practitioners. In fact, evidence sufficient to establish programs as "small", "moderate", or…

In spring 2019, without controversy or fanfare and without violating the voter mandate of Proposition 203, emergent bilinguals in Arizona were once again granted unrestricted access to dual language bilingual education after nearly 20 years. The policy change was accomplished through a seemingly small piece of legislation that reduced the daily…

The public narrative surrounding efforts to improve low-performing K-12 schools in the United States has been notably gloomy. But what is known empirically about whether school improvement works, which policies are most effective, which contexts respond best to intervention, and how long it takes? We meta-analyze 141 estimates from 67 studies of…

Over the past 30 years, numerous policies have focused on closing the achievement gap in the United States. Despite this emphasis on mastery and proficiency, students continue to perform below expectations. We use standardized math test performance to explore whether schools have been able to eliminate the achievement gap across middle-level…

The purpose of this study was to determine if students who scored in the lower percentiles range (1st to 10th) on the spring 2017 NWEA MAP assessment obtained a post ADDITION 1 score in BlueStreak Math during the 2017-18 school year had higher observed growth in RIT scores than students who scored in the lower percentiles ranges but did not obtain…

Framed by Bakhtinian theories of authoritative discourse and heteroglossia, this study examines perceptions of a Science-of-Reading-based state reading initiative five years into implementation. Using interview transcripts, researchers engaged in polyphonic analysis to bring the voices of teachers, reading interventionists, parents,…

In rural Mississippi, addressing the issue of reading nonproficiency for third-grade students has posed a significant challenge. To tackle the issue's complexity, the Mississippi legislature implemented the Literacy-Based Promotion Act (LBPA), also known as the 'no social promotion grade-level retention gateway" (Barrett-Tatum et al., 2019).…

This statutory report presents the activities and accomplishments of the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Inspector General (OIG) from October 1, 2023, through March, 2024. The audits, investigations, and related work highlighted in the report are products of OIG's mission to identify and stop fraud, waste, and abuse; and promote…

The authors examined the results of a three-year summer intervention, Dig Into Reading, for pre-first-grade through pre-third-grade students. This partnership among university professors, public school Title I teachers, and primary classroom teachers resulted in the development of research-based, copyright-free, replicable summer reading…

The low income and poverty-stricken areas of Mississippi have historically suffered from low-test scores, low graduation rates, and a high concentration of special education students. Additionally, poor, Black Mississippians have performed lower, have lower graduation rates, and score lower in college readiness than do students in the rest of the…

The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 (hereinafter referred to as the RTE Act, 2009) came into effect since 1st April 2010, pursuant to the 86th Amendment to the Constitution of India (2002), which promises elementary education as a fundamental right. It makes legally binding on the State to ensure free and compulsory…