Reducing inequity is the moral imperative confronting today's educational leaders. Central to reducing inequity is leaders' ability to solve the school-based problems that contribute to it, while building the positive and trusting professional relationships required for teachers to commit to the hard work of improvement. A theory of collaborative…

The so-called "Educational Opportunity Guarantee Act 2016" was adopted and established in the National Diet in December 2016. As is well known, it gained impetus through lobbying from people involved with alternative "free schools," pursuing a stable position within the system, along with the night junior high school movement.…

Despite increased attention to the academic progress of English learners (ELs) with disabilities as a result of the Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015, research has yet to investigate the educational opportunities of these students in secondary grades. This qualitative embedded case study examined the curricular access of 10 ELs with disabilities…

Purpose: Turkey has gained a new education policy together with the introduction of 2023 Educational Vision. With this motivation, the Antalya Provincial Directorate of National Education has started a project entitled "School 2023" to contribute to the goals of this vision. This research aimed at examining the opinions of the teachers,…

Grow Your Own (GYO) programs are cited in recent policy briefs as viable pathways for increasing the racial/ethnic diversity of teachers, yet recent scholarship on GYO programs is minimal. To address this issue, this article investigates what we know, and do not know, about GYO programs, by examining a range of data sources on different types of…

The Washington State Board of Education (SBE), with assistance from other state education agencies, reports on the statewide indicators of educational system health established in the Revised Code of Washington (RCW) 28A.150.550 and recommends evidence-based reforms to improve the status of the indicators. The legislation was meant to help the…

The author is a middle school principal who has spent a decade working on improving literacy among his largely socio-economically disadvantaged student body. Experience and research have shown, the author says, that a successful effort to bridge the literacy gap between children who live in poverty and middle-class students requires a concerted…

Educators are committed to providing students the best possible education by using the practices and tools they know (Zmuda, Kuklis, & Kline, 2004). Unfortunately, the status quo for grading and assessment practices is faulty, outdated, and ineffective. Current practices have unwittingly hindered student progress and motivation (O'Connor,…

If there is one thing that describes the trajectory of American education, it is this: more high-stakes testing. In the United States, the debates surrounding this trajectory can be so fierce that it feels like we are in uncharted waters. As Christopher Bjork reminds us in this study, however, we are not the first to make testing so central to…

This article explores how place matters in public school reform efforts intended to promote more equitable opportunities and outcomes. Qualitative case studies of three California middle schools' eighth grade math reforms and the resulting opportunities for Latino English learners are presented, using the conceptual frameworks of critical human…

In this article we reflect on data from two research projects in which inclusive practice in the educational system is at issue, in the light of wider field experience (our own and others') of school and teacher development. We question what we understand to be relatively common, implicit policy assumptions about how teachers develop, by examining…

Based on special education teachers' lack of strategic professional development, as well as a lack of collaboration with general education teachers, students with disabilities are not making the expected benchmarks for academic achievement. Knowing there was a need for professional development, the purpose of this action research study using…

"Straight A's: Public Education Policy and Progress" is a biweekly newsletter that focuses on education news and events both in Washington, DC and around the country. The following articles are included in this issue: (1) Kline Introduces State and Local Funding Flexibility Act: Bill Would Allow States and School Districts to Move Money…

The purpose of the U.S. Department of Education's online newsletter "The Education Innovator" is to promote innovative practices in education; to offer features on promising programs and practices; to provide information on innovative research, schools, policies, and trends; and to keep readers informed of key Department priorities and…

"Straight A's: Public Education Policy and Progress" is a biweekly newsletter that focuses on education news and events both in Washington, DC and around the country. The following articles are included in this issue: (1) Education Secretary Outlines Obama Education Agenda: In Appearance Before House Committee, Duncan Stresses Reform…