The National High School Center continues to receive inquiries about how to support high school implementation of response to intervention (RTI). Given the National High School Center's previous work on the topic, the authors wanted to better understand the conditions that contribute to or inhibit implementation of tiered frameworks in high…

In 2002/03, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools in North Carolina initiated a broad program of accelerating entry into algebra coursework. The proportion of moderately-performing students taking algebra in 8th grade increased from half to 85%, then reverted to baseline levels, in the span of just five years. We use this policy-induced variation to…

This study examined the factors important to the implementation of West Virginia Board of Education Policy 2450, Distance Learning and the West Virginia Virtual School. The purpose of this study was to determine the factors that facilitated and impeded implementation of the policy, as perceived by principals/assistant principals, counselors, and…

Education agencies are driven by the need to remove disruptive and dangerous students from classrooms without suspending or expelling them to home or the streets (Bear, 1998). As stated in the National Association of State Boards of Education (1994), the term "alternative education" refers to nontraditional educational services ranging from…

Schools in the United States have struggled with graduation rates for nearly 140 years. School divisions are continuously searching for new and creative curriculums to address changing student needs. From the U.S. Department of Education to local school board members, educators are working to discover creative and accountable alternatives to…

Background/Context: Although the dominant narrative of the civil rights movement marginalizes the role of black educators, revisionist scholars have shown that a significant number of black teachers encouraged student protest and activism. There has, however, been little analysis of the work of black teachers inside segregated schools in the…

The Texas board of education which consists of 15-member elected body drew national attention as a bloc of staunch conservatives largely succeeded in putting its stamp on a revised set of social studies standards. The debate was marked by tussles over such matters as the separation of church and state, the representation of minority figures and…

This study examined the leadership practices of seven rural superintendents, selected via a sampling strategy which identified disadvantaged rural districts that had experienced marked increased in test scores during the superintendent's tenure. Researchers examined how the practices of these superintendents were linked to Waters and Marzano's…

More than 1 million people have watched the online video in which Salman Khan--a charming MIT math whiz, Harvard Business School graduate, and former Boston hedge-fund analyst--explains how he began tutoring his cousins in math by posting short lessons for them on YouTube. Other people began watching the lessons and sending Khan adulatory notes.…

In comparing one public school to another, discussions frequently include talk concerning the socio economics of a school or district, which then leads to talk about the advantages that one socioeconomic setting has over another. Educators tend to agree that low academic achievement frequently associated with a low socioeconomic status is a…

This dissertation presents a historical case study of the Egg Harbor Township School District bond referendum that passed with an exceptionally high 92 percent of votes in January 2005. The methodology used in this study resulted in both an examination of the components of the New Jersey Public School District bond referendum process as well as an…

Each edition of the IDRA Newsletter strives to provide many different perspectives on the issues in education topics discussed and to define its significance in the state and national dialogue. This issue focuses on governance efficacy and includes: (1) Tyranny of Old Ideas About School Board Responsibilities (Abelardo Villarreal and Rosana G.…

Over the last few years, almost all local education boards in Japan have redesigned their teacher evaluation methods. Consequently, questions then arise as to whether the new policies and practices are control measures for teachers' performance and competence or do they represent an opportunity for authentic professional development? With this in…

Public school constituencies continue to face a teacher shortage as the number of teachers leaving the profession outnumbers the number of teachers entering or remaining. There are many factors that contributed to the teacher retention problem including teacher attrition. In a southwestern U.S. state, local policymakers and school board members…

Background: Research on coach development and knowledge acquisition has traditionally focused on those working at either university or Olympic levels. Despite the large body of research using these participants, there are relatively few empirical studies on the knowledge development of high school coaches, in particular, physical education…