The problem addressed in this study is the disproportionality in office discipline referrals (ODRs) for Black students at a Northeast Florida Middle School despite the implementation of School-wide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (SWPBIS). The purpose of this qualitative case study was to understand middle school teachers'…

This study takes advantage of natural variation in alignment and accountability to analyze educator sensemaking of a complex policy environment. It describes how educators in two large, high-accountability districts in New York and Florida made sense of multiple policy changes, including new standards, curriculum, assessments, and teacher…

This article explores how moral madness manifests in the Opt Out Florida Network, a group committed to ending high-stakes standardized testing. Using data culled from a critical online ethnography of the movement, we show how parents and teachers in the Opt Out Florida Network experience moral madness as a result of standardization and high-stakes…

While online learning has dramatically increased over the past few years, so have opportunities for students to cheat, plagiarize, or commit other academic integrity violations in the online learning environment. Some online instructors effectively address these issues, while others do not. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore…

Decades of federal and state education legislation enacted to increase student academic achievement and enhance school quality have pronounced impacts on teachers and their instructional practice. That impact is captured in the term intensification. Intensification is multifaceted and manifests as additional tasks accomplished simultaneously, with…

The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) was enacted as an education intervention to close the achievement gap by increasing student attendance, graduation, and standard testing rates. NCLB held teachers and administrators accountable for successfully meeting adequate yearly progress gains. However, the emerging NCLB research uncovered a culture of…

Response to intervention (RtI) is touted as an equity-focused provision of special education policy that holds promise for reducing overrepresentation and providing academic opportunities for culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) students. However, teachers working to implement RtI have encountered complex challenges that stifle equitable…

A lack of information, research, and teacher training exists on the effective implementation of Common Core State Standards (CCSS) or other state standards for struggling learners. The pace and standardization of the curriculum are often at odds with the unique learning needs of students from diverse backgrounds. Researchers in one large urban…

State colleges in Florida are subjected to performance-based funding and must meet state-mandated performance measures to receive core funds each year. Efforts to improve student retention and completion rates are made not only by the leadership of the state colleges, but by the faculty members. The purpose of this single, holistic, qualitative…

Educators, researchers, and policy makers concerned about college under-enrollment among underserved groups of students have traditionally focused reform efforts at the high school level. Over the last several decades, however, there has been a growing interest in improving college readiness beginning at the elementary level. Recently, the…

This dissertation examines the complexity involved in teachers' perceptions and experience of time on school-related activities. The Intensification Theory explains that test-based accountability has caused a time crunch for teachers, increasing their stress level and burnout rate. Research literature has shown that teachers experiencing high…

The 1992 National Adult Literacy Survey revealed that 90 million adults performed at the two lowest levels of literacy (U.S. Department of Education, 2003). As legislation advances the mandate for greater accountability in adult education programs, it is paramount that research is conducted that identifies programs that align with the federal…

This constructivist study investigates and captures the lived experiences of three social studies educators as they make sense of civic education in a climate of high stakes testing and accountability. In spite of the deterioration of civic education over the years (Campaign for the Civic Mission of Schools, 2011), Florida was among the first…

The Every Student Succeeds Act prohibits the federal government from requiring the use of student achievement data for teacher accountability purposes. As states grapple with what to do about teacher accountability, it is critical to examine policy influences on a) the equitable distribution of effective teachers; and b) how teacher accountability…

The implementation of Common Core State Standards raises challenges for teachers, particularly those in urban settings and those who work with students with unique learning challenges, particularly students with disabilities. This article provides the results of a study that surveyed special education teachers' perspectives related to the…