COVID-19 has had tremendous effects on all aspects of society. In the intervening years, there have been issues with finances, health, and education (Duraku & Hoxha, 2020; Harris, 2020; ODE, 2020; Safi, et al., 2020; Terada, 2020; Whittaker, 2020). The purpose of this study was to understand the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the job…

The Every Student Succeeds Act requires states to identify schools with low-performing student subgroups for Targeted Support and Improvement or Additional Targeted Support and Improvement. Random differences between students' true abilities and their test scores, also called measurement error, reduce the statistical reliability of the performance…

This Snapshot highlights key findings from a study that used Bayesian stabilization to improve the reliability (long-term stability) of subgroup proficiency measures that the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) uses to identify schools for Targeted Support and Improvement (TSI) or Additional Targeted Support and Improvement (ATSI). The…

The "Stabilizing Subgroup Proficiency Results to Improve the Identification of Low-Performing Schools" study used Bayesian stabilization to improve the reliability (long-term stability) of subgroup proficiency measures that the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) uses to identify schools for Targeted Support and Improvement (TSI)…

This qualitative multiple-case study focused on administrators who are educational leaders at four separate schools in a school district located in a rural area of the State of Pennsylvania. The problem addressed was a lack of formal education and training in the field of special education among public school administrators. Administrators often…

States across the country are developing systems for evaluating school principals on the basis of student achievement growth. A common approach is to hold principals accountable for the value added of their schools--that is, schools' contributions to student achievement growth. In theory, school value added can reflect not only principals'…

Study Island is a practice and assessment tool that provides state-standards-aligned opportunities for students to practice their skills. It features a system of continual assessments with immediate feedback to adjust instruction and learning. When educators integrate Study Island into their instructional practices, it acts as a formative, ongoing…

Study Island is a practice and assessment tool that provides state-standards-aligned opportunities for students to practice their skills. Study Island is a system of continual assessments with immediate feedback to adjust instruction and learning. When educators integrate Study Island into their instructional practices, it acts as a formative,…

Current legislation encourages schools to educate students with disabilities (SWDs) in general education settings to the greatest extent appropriate. However, it is unclear whether inclusion in general education settings provides SWDs a sufficient opportunity to learn the academic content assessed by accountability measures. This initial study was…

In 2008, the International Association for K-12 Online Learning (iNACOL) produced a series of papers documenting promising practices identified throughout the field of K-12 online learning. Since then, we have witnessed a tremendous acceleration of transformative policy and practice driving personalized learning in the K-12 education space. State,…

The purpose of this paper is to explore state and school responses to accountability pressures under the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). Section 2 presents a framework for summarizing the many positive and negative ways in which states, schools, and teachers respond to accountability pressures under NCLB. Section 3 focuses on state accountability…

The author reports on a new study which reveals that the lowest-performing public K-8 schools often linger in that state for years, neither improving enough to get off accountability life support nor being shuttered completely. The study adds that persistently failing charter schools fare no better than regular public schools. Of 2,025 chronically…

States across the country are developing systems for evaluating school principals on the basis of student achievement growth. A common approach is to hold principals accountable for the value added of their schools--that is, schools' contributions to student achievement growth. In theory, school value added can reflect not only principals'…

The second edition of this essential handbook provides a comprehensive, updated overview of the science that informs best practices for the implementation of response to intervention (RTI) processes within Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) to facilitate the academic success of all students. The volume includes insights from leading scholars…

This study examined the relationship of stress, burnout, and coping strategies among middle school principals in Western Pennsylvania. This study assessed coping skill preferences among middle school principals, especially regarding their age, gender, marital status, experience, and school enrollment. A review of the literature included studies…