In this exploratory mixed methods survey study, we assess preservice teachers' (n=379) experiences with and beliefs about their high-stakes testing experiences and analyze how they relate to their beliefs about the role and efficacy of high-stakes testing in education and their future profession. Using Likert, vignette, and open-ended response…

This study, conducted in one state in the United States, replicated similar research from over a decade ago to compare principal demographics and reasons for remaining or leaving the profession. Demographics have trended with the nation. Principals are older, more diverse and are largely eligible for retirement within the next five years. Similar…

This study examined the relationship between perceived teacher support and overall life satisfaction (LS) in a sample of urban middle school students. Based on correlations between measures of student perceptions related to these constructs, results indicated that student perceptions of teacher support correlated significantly with LS, with the…

Homelessness is a devastating circumstance for any child or youth, but for youth on their own, the stresses of homelessness are multiplied. The myriad of challenges faced by youth experiencing homelessness on their own puts these students at risk of dropping out or school failure. Subtitle VII-B of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act…

This study used a statewide longitudinal sample to examine mathematics achievement gaps and growth in students with and without disabilities and to examine the impact of different methods of determining disability group membership on achievement gaps and growth. When disability status was determined on the basis of special education placement each…

In this study, the authors estimated costs of alternative route preparation to provide states a basis for allocating training funds to maximize production. Thirty-one special education alternative route program directors were interviewed and completed cost tables. Two hundred and twenty-four program graduates were also surveyed. The authors…

One Hundred and Twelve Latino students from Philadelphia participated in this study, which examined the development of deductive reasoning across adolescence, and the relation of reasoning to test anxiety and standardized test scores. As predicted, 11th and ninth graders demonstrated significantly more advanced reasoning than seventh graders.…

The focus of this study was to analyze a benchmark formative assessment (4Sight) that predicts how students will perform on the annual Pennsylvania, USA exam that is given in grades three through eight inclusive and 11. Correlation analysis reported a significant positive linear relationship between students' performance in the Pennsylvania System…

Since the 2002 No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) was signed into law, schools have been allowed to administer grade-level content reading exams in the native language of English Language Learner (ELL) students for up to three years after they enter the school system. From that point, the students are expected to take the state assessments in…

We examined the progress of kindergarteners who entered the Wake County Public School System (WCPSS) in 2008-09 and in 2010-11 who were identified as limited in English proficiency (LEP). For the 2008-09 cohort, English proficiency increased steadily over time. Few were able to exit LEP status in their first three years in WCPSS (10.5%); this…

Since the passage of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) in 2001, public school systems have been engaged in a system of educational reform fueled by a level of accountability that includes not only the performance of the students, but also the performance of the teachers and the administrators. Recent studies have found that student achievement…

How well students perform on standardized tests can affect their educational paths and the rest of their lives. In addition, students' performances on state assessments will affect their schools due to the No Child Left Behind Act. For English language learners (ELLs), the success on tests may be diminished due to their inability to completely…

This report by the Center on Education Policy (CEP), an independent nonprofit organization, looks at the achievement of boys and girls on the state reading and mathematics tests used for No Child Left Behind (NCLB) accountability. The report addresses four main questions: (1) What is the current status of performance differences between boys and…

A new book in the Knowledge Essential series, "School Success for Children with Special Needs" offers parents a guide for understanding and navigating the often-confusing special education system to ensure that their children get the best education possible. It tells them: (1) How to know if a child has physical, learning, or emotional…

The passage of Public Law 94-142 (the Education of All Handicapped Children Act) in 1975 established the rights of children with disabilities to a public school education in the least restrictive environment. Fifteen years later, it was amended and renamed the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) (PL 101-476, 1990), still intended to…