As Cassidy et al. (2016) outline in their article, the Common Core State Standards (CCSS; National Governors Association [NGA] Center for Best Practices & Council of Chief State School Officers [CCSSO], 2010) have taken center stage in education, pushing other important topics and issues aside as teachers scramble to transform their teaching…

In his 2016 article, "What Can Readers Read after Graded Readers?" (EJ1098660), Jeff McQuillan provided data to show that there is an adequate amount of reading material that can be read at or above 98% vocabulary coverage to provide sufficient input to acquire most of the word families from the 2,000- to the 9,000-word-family levels.…

Lillard et al. (2013) concluded that pretend play is not causally related to child outcomes and charged that the field is subject to a "play ethos", whereby research is tainted by a bias to find positive effects of play on child development. In this commentary, we embrace their call for a more solidly scientific approach to questions in this…

Ziegler and Phillipson (Z&P) advance an interesting and ambitious proposal, whereby current analytical/mechanistic theories of gifted education are replaced by systemic theories. In this commentary, the author focuses on the pros and cons of using systemic theories. He argues that Z&P's proposal both goes too far and not far enough. The future of…

In this commentary on Ziegler and Phillipson's article, "Towards a Systemic Theory of Gifted Education" (this issue), the author commends their attempt to discuss gifted education from a systemic and contextual perspective, which she considers inspiring in terms of theoretical advancement and practical reconsideration. However, Cheng finds the…

For the last decade Michelle Kamhi has been prominent in her critique of contemporary art education. In her philosophy she positions herself as an essentialist who believes there are essential masterworks that define fine art, and the curriculum in art should teach fine art only. Her definition of fine art focuses on representation in painting and…

This article presents the author's critique on Robert Weissberg's book titled "Bad Students, Not Bad Schools". The author argues that Weissberg's readable, controversial "Bad Students, Not Bad Schools" (2010) is funny, acerbic, bold, and slaughters more than a few sacred cows of what Weissberg calls the "failed educational industrial complex." As…

"Asking Students about Teaching" seeks to establish that student surveys provide valid evidence that can be used for evaluation of and feedback for teachers. The report then proceeds to advise practitioners about optimal practices for administering student surveys and using survey information. As the report contends, student surveys are a useful…

"Gateways to the Principalship: State Power to Improve the Quality of School Leaders" proposes state policies for improving principal effectiveness and student achievement. It uses policy examples from eight "lagging" and eight "leading" states as a means of advocating for a wide range of policy actions aimed at influencing principal preparation,…

This article presents the author's response to John Hull's thoughtful evaluation of his article on shaping school curriculum in which many Christian educators have played a part. The author cites that particularly pertinent in Hull's paper is his contention that living a life of discipleship as a school community is at least as significant as…

This article presents a rejoinder to P. Sarangapani and C. Winch who accuse the authors of creating an "ideological fairytale" about the merits of private education for low income families, specifically in poor areas of Hyderabad. The authors present their remarks on Sarangapani and Winch's reply to their article.

This commentary is in response to Tim Keller's article "The National Implications of 'Cain v. Horne.'" In his analysis, Keller asserts that the Arizona Supreme Court wrongfully struck down a voucher program for students with special needs by characterizing the voucher as aid to schools rather than aid to students. In this response to…

Tooley, Dixon and Gomathi maintain that private unrecognised unaided schools in Hyderabad, India, catering for children of the poor, provide a better level of education than do their government counterparts. We examine this contention and argue first that Tooley et al.'s conceptualisation of education and its benefits is flawed and second that the…

Recently, transactional reader response theory has been criticized for providing an inadequate theoretical guide for the study of multicultural literature. Some scholars argue that Rosenblatt assumes the reader and her response to literature are ideologically innocent and the continuum of aesthetic and efferent stance does not encompass critical…

This article presents the author's comments on ""Lake Woebegone," Twenty Years Later" by J. J. Cannell, MD. J. J. Cannell's article on the so-called "Lake Woebegone" effect for K-12 educational testing systems is mostly an historical account of technical issues and policy considerations that led in part to development…