Traditional grading practices have been in place for well over a hundred years and grades received served to identify in which subjects a student is "smart" or in which ones they are not (Dewitt, 2017). The problem with traditional grading is that it does not provide qualitative information on the difference between an A, B, C, D, or F…

Between 1994 and 2014, New York City engaged in a historic overhaul of its publicly funded high schools. This included the opening of charter high schools (made possible by a 1999 state law) and the creation of new, smaller district high schools that would, in time, replace many of the city's large, traditional, comprehensive, and vocational high…

The introduction of college- and career-ready standards (CCRS) profoundly raises the bar for teaching and learning in American schools--and for professional development. Some school systems are rising to the challenge and significantly improving instruction and seeing student learning growth. With the support of the Bill & Melinda Gates…

A team of teachers from the same New York City public school met to discuss and compare the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (CCSSM) to their current math curriculum. The group consisted of four kindergarten teachers, a representative from the first-grade teaching team, and the school's math coach. During the first meeting, the…

The "Framing Student Success: Connecting Rigorous Visual Arts, Math and Literacy Learning" experimental demonstration project was designed to develop and test an instructional program integrating high-quality, standards-based instruction in the visual arts, math, and literacy. Developed and implemented by arts-in-education organization…

In 2002, New York City embarked on an ambitious and wide-ranging series of education reforms. At the heart of its high school reforms were three interrelated changes: the institution of a district wide high school choice process for all rising ninth-graders, the closure of 31 large, failing high schools with an average graduation rate of 40…

A discourse placing schools in the service of the economy has become ubiquitous in the United States (US), and current educational policies, including No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and movements, such as the Common Core Learning Standards, have been positioned as necessary in an account of global competitiveness. In this hegemonic script,…

In a major address on educational policy last March, President Barack Obama underscored his priorities for the pending reauthorization of the federal No Child Left Behind Act. He promised that the government will spur a race to the top by encouraging better standards and assessments. But Obama's concerns over rigor and the promise of the Common…

This article identifies characteristics of school districts that have been exceptionally successful in closing gaps in achievement among diverse groups of students, including students in challenging circumstances. Evidence for the paper was provided by 31 studies. These were studies, published in the past ten years, which reported original…

This book overturns the typical conception of standards, empowering educators by providing concrete examples of how top-down models of assessment can be embraced and used in ways that are consistent with critical pedagogies. Although standards, as broad frameworks for setting learning targets, are not necessarily problematic, when they are…

Over the past decade, the standards movement has come a long way, though the push for accountability has meant different things in different places. In this article, the author reports the effects of standards-based education in student achievement and the improvement of public schools. Though states had already begun setting clear and challenging…

This is an abridged, summary report of selected findings from "Pieces of the Puzzle: Factors in the Improvement of Urban School Districts on the National Assessment of Educational Progress"--a comprehensive study prepared by the Council of the Great City Schools in collaboration with the American Institutes for Research (AIR) and with…

The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act is the largest incursion of the federal government into education in American history. More than $12 billion is attached to unprecedented requirements for all students, poor and nonpoor, to reach a level of academic proficiency. Title I and its NCLB reauthorization explicitly allot funds to individual schools…

This report summarizes preliminary and exploratory research conducted by the Council of the Great City Schools and the American Institutes for Research on urban school systems participating in the Trial Urban District Assessment (TUDA) of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). The study is one of the first large-scale analyses…

This guide is designed to provide guidance to New York state school districts and teachers to help students achieve the music standards. Teachers throughout New York state met to compile these field-tested lesson plans, teaching strategies, assessments, and resources for teachers of students in pre-kindergarten through grade 12, in all areas of…