Existing research has demonstrated the influence of school leaders on school and student achievement (Hallinger & Bickman, 1996; Leithwood et al., 2019). Simultaneously, the responsibilities placed on school leaders have increased since the passage of NCLB (Husband & Hunt, 2015; Mitani, 2018). Consequently, working conditions are believed…

For the past 20 years Massachusetts has used a high-stakes, test-based accountability system for the state's public schools. The Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) are standardized tests administered in Grades 3-10 which account for the majority of district and school accountability measures, and the Grade 10 tests serve as an…

In 2012 Massachusetts implemented a new educator evaluation system designed to create a "cycle of continuous improvement" that includes self-assessment, goal setting, evidence collecting, and evaluation. This new system was supported by more than twenty years of educational research demonstrating that highly skilled teachers remain one…

Neisseria meningitides serogroup B, commonly referred to as Meningococcal B or Meningitis B, is a highly contagious bacterial infection primarily afflicting the college-aged population with disease contraction resulting in death or severe debilitation if not expediently diagnosed and treated. Currently, there are two vaccines, Bexsero and…

Sixty-eight percent of fourth-grade public school students in the United States performed below the National Assessment of Educational Progress proficient level on the 2022 reading assessment, yet Massachusetts fourth-grade students demonstrated better reading outcomes. The problem addressed through this study was a lack of knowledge regarding the…

The Metropolitan Council for Education Opportunity (METCO) has operated in the Boston and Springfield areas since 1966 and was developed as a means to fuel racial integration and provide students with greater educational opportunities. Since its existence, few studies have examined the social and emotional experiences of students participating in…

The educator evaluation system has changed in the United States. Mandated by education reform, states are now required to look at their evaluation systems more closely to monitor the effectiveness of teachers and to see how students are learning in schools. The purpose of this Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) study is to understand…

The purpose of this study was focused on the various perceived impacts created by the expansion to a four-tier teacher performance evaluation rating model which would inform educational leaders in the State of Illinois. By studying the experiences of principals in two other states who previously underwent the same change, Florida and…

The purpose of this interpretative phenomenological analysis study was to understand the perspectives of Massachusetts biology teachers and discover if the 2016 changes to the Massachusetts Science, Technology, and Engineering (STE) Curriculum Frameworks impacted their instructional practices and pedagogy. Concentrating on the consequences of…

When English Language Arts (ELA) students are not engaged in ELA coursework, they miss out on opportunities to practice reading, writing, speaking, listening, and--most importantly--critical thinking. The purpose of these two cycles of Action Research was to investigate the authentic pedagogies of ELA teachers at Ryken private preparatory school…

The Massachusetts educator evaluation system is used to determine the effectiveness of educators. For school psychologists, this evaluation serves as administrative supervision; and often is the only type of supervision provided despite research indicating its need in order to deliver best practices. The process of providing meaningful and…

There has been much debate about having standardized curricula content standards for all. Some have criticized state curriculum content standards for varying in quality by state. The purpose of this study was to compare content complexity as it appears within the high school English Language Arts Common Core State Standards (CCSS) and the former…

Educator evaluation is described in the literature as those systems in place used to supervise educator excellence as well as to maximize and foster teacher capacity. There have been many changes within the last five years in the Massachusetts educator evaluation model, now called the Massachusetts Model System for Educator Evaluation. Once…

Public education reforms that attempt to more accurately determine the impact of individual teachers on student learning outcomes have resulted in recent changes to educator evaluation systems. In Massachusetts, teachers are evaluated according to their performance on the standards of effective teaching and their progress on student learning and…

Educator evaluation is of significant interest and concern for all members of the national school community. School-based speech-language pathologists (SLPs), share these sentiments with their classroom counterparts. Frequently included in such evaluation systems, it is of concern to the SLP community that research documenting how school-based…