Standards-based reform is a key feature of U.S. education policy. Several decades ago, scholars posited that if states set ambitious standards and then aligned curriculum, assessments, and professional development (PD) to those standards, teaching and learning would improve. However, the focus on establishing standards has often overshadowed the…

This article explores the benefits and problems of teaching with challenged books in the English language arts classroom. Challenged books initiate important discussions and provide opportunities for students to explore diverse perspectives. Methods for helping teachers and schools prepare for potential challenges are also discussed. The authors…

The mixed-method sequential explanatory research study examined the impact of implementing a block schedule in two Missouri high schools. Previously, other studies had investigated the influence of school reform on educational programming, the implementation of professional learning communities, development of project-based learning models, and…

Virtual instruction and blended learning are two of the fastest growing learning modalities in K-12 education. Blended learning is a formal education program in which students learn at least in part through online learning with some element of student control over time, place, path or pace and at least in part at a supervised brick and mortar…

The purpose of this study was to learn from the experiences of teachers who have had at least five Black middle school students (Grades 5-8) meet or exceed their performance level expectations on the English Language Arts TNReady assessment by identifying the factors that contributed to teachers' sense of efficacy related to their experience.…

Project-based learning (PBL) is a widely used methodology in the sciences for grades K12. Forward-thinking instructors are also implementing PBL by creating student-led learning opportunities in other subjects. There is, however, a lack of research on teacher perceptions of PBL as a motivational factor in high school. The purpose of this basic…

This article explores how literary study engages readers' moral perception and imagination. Although some philosophers discuss reading as a largely solitary activity, this article explores social practices of reading common in English language arts classrooms in secondary schools. The article shows how reading with others can change the quality of…

This article provides a replication study of the National Writing Project's College, Career, & Community Writers Program (C3WP), which was found to be effective at improving student writing quality in two prior studies. C3WP is designed to improve students' source-based argument writing through intensive teacher professional development,…

The purpose of this non-experimental, quantitative study was to determine the effectiveness of one-to-one device initiatives in a secondary school setting. Not only was this study focused on the academic achievement of all students, but also the impact of such initiatives on the academic achievement in the free and reduced lunch population. The…

This study aims to understand how women's voices can be empowered in a high school English Language Arts (ELA) class. Through the use of female authors and female protagonists in the classroom texts, this study seeks to understand if implementing female-driven texts enhances female students' literary experiences, empowers the personal identities…

Although several longitudinal studies have confirmed that need-supportive teacher behaviour shapes intrinsic motivation in school, longitudinal studies on its role for intrinsic reading motivation are lacking. To fill in this gap, this study investigated whether changes in selected aspects of student-perceived teacher need-supportive behaviour in…

"Embracing Diversity" is about the craft of teaching, with a particular focus on celebrating the myriad of human identities through classic, contemporary, and unconventional texts. Secondary English language arts educators narrate their own experiences and provide insights by reflecting on aspects of everyday pedagogy. Featuring a rich…

Concerns about the negative effects of digitalization on students' reading comprehension, empirically backed by recent meta-analyses, question the efficacy of digital tools in the language arts classroom. By analyzing data from 4 and 8th grade US students from NAEP 2017, we aimed to test the generalization of the negative association between…

This paper expands on previous work on charter school typology and presents disparities in standardized test outcomes across models by using standardized Z-Scores weighted by NAEP performance. Analyses indicate that in ELA, Classical schools have the highest relative performance, followed by Montessori and Art schools. In math, Classical schools…

In this article, we focus on two components of the Online Curriculum Consortium for Accelerating Middle School (OCCAMS) project: the curriculum frameworks and the curriculum development process. The frameworks include the Integrated Curriculum Model (advanced content, unit themes, and process/product), culturally responsive curriculum, and talent…