In this paper, we use a unique data set that includes a panel of all teachers in North Carolina over a 4-year period (1996-1997 through 1999-2000) to describe the distribution of teachers certified by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) across classrooms, schools, and districts. The sorting of National Board Certified…

This article offers an analysis of recent development in primary education, in particular the prevailing climate of performativity and new initiatives on creativity. Since 1989 education has been dominated by the performativity discourse accompanied by the obsession with evidence: of children's learning; of teachers' performance; and of student…

Role changes in the profession of school counseling take considerable time to be enacted in practice. The purpose of the study in this article is to examine whether newly hired elementary school counselors working in urban settings can implement (a) new directions for practice that have emerged in the recent school counseling literature (i.e., a…

Since their release in 1996, the National Science Education Standards have provided the vision for science education reform. But has that reform actually taken hold in elementary school? "Yes!," reports Robert Yager, editor of Exemplary Science in Grades PreK-4: Standards-Based Success Stories. "Probably the Standards have done more to change…

In this article, the author details the process teachers can use to teach primary-age children how to use science notebooks. To lay the foundation for using notebooks, the author describes important elements of science notebooks and makes a distinction between science note-books and journals. In addition, the article highlights the benefits…

This document sets forth recommendations for the design of a new science assessment. The assessment resulting from this framework will start a new NAEP science trend (i.e., measure of student progress in science) beginning in 2009. This framework represents a unique opportunity to build on previous NAEP science work as well as key developments in…

The second edition of the "ES Review" brings together, in one setting, abridged versions of research reports, outside articles and op-eds, book reviews, and other Education Sector publications. The 2007 edition features: (1) K-12 Accountability (Laboratories of Reform: Virtual High Schools and Innovation in Public Education (Bill…

Written in a reader-friendly style for busy faculty members and school administrators with little or no prior knowledge of statistics, this comprehensive model is designed to create fair, valid, and reliable assessments of teacher knowledge and skills. Evaluation experts Judy Wilkerson and Steve Lang provide detailed guidance for the complete…

The author designed this book, like Volume I of the set, to give elementary school librarians a quick, enjoyable way to coordinate with teachers to teach information literacy and literacy skills aligned with national standards. The chapters in the book include: (1) Kindergarten Lesson Plans; (2) First-Grade Lesson Plans; (3) Second-Grade Lesson…

How do principals establish themselves as caring and collaborative leaders while maintaining unilateral authority? This guide reconciles the competing priorities inherent in a principal's day-to-day responsibilities. Not only will it assist new and veteran principals in their efforts to compassionately position teachers and children for success,…

Using literature in science instruction has the potential to increase student motivation and to improve student achievement in both literacy and science. The process of identifying high-quality picture books, however, can be challenging and time consuming for teachers. The authors identified 74 science-based picture books from the annual Teachers'…

More than 15 years after its publication of influential national standards in mathematics, a leading professional organization has unveiled new and more focused guidelines that describe the crucial skills and content students should master in that subject in elementary and middle school. The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics released…

Richard Murnane observes that the American ideal of equality of educational opportunity has for years been more the rhetoric than the reality of the nation's political life. Children living in poverty, he notes, tend to be concentrated in low-performing schools staffed by ill-equipped teachers. They are likely to leave school without the skills…

This manual is intended to assist teachers in implementing a comprehensive approach to teaching academic vocabulary at the classroom, school, and district levels. Using the manual's list of 7,923 terms, school and district teams can choose the most important vocabulary terms they want to teach to all students. All vocabulary terms are extracted…

General music teachers at all levels--elementary, middle school, and high school--will find ideas, suggestions, and lesson plans for teaching to the National Standards in this new addition to the popular Spotlight series. It includes sections on teaching each of the nine standards, as well as chapters about secondary general music, assessment, and…