Purpose: A growing trend in instructional improvement efforts is the use of formative assessment informed by research-based developmental trajectories of how students gain deeper understanding of subject matter content over time. This article reports the findings of a large-scale experimental study of an innovative mathematics professional…

This study investigated the low literacy and math achievement of 4th grade students with emotional disturbances (ED) in an urban school district in Pennsylvania. Researchers have speculated that teachers possess limited knowledge of the behavioral health needs of students with ED needed to support their behavior and achievement. Therefore, this…

Teacher professional agency refers to the ability of teachers to control their work within structural constraints. In this paper, we show how teacher activist organizations can assist in the development of professional agency. We focus on a teacher activist organization in a large urban district in the United States and identify three…

Background/Context: Most educators have had little if any preparation in racial literacy, the understanding of social identity related to race and the ability to recognize and negotiate racism. In fact, they may view race as irrelevant. Yet teachers and school leaders hold deep-seated racial ideologies that shape their day-to-day practice and have…

Depending on the particular definition of culture they employ, pedagogical approaches meant to promote integration, inclusion, and empowerment across cultural divides can end up magnifying existing feelings of alienation, exclusion, and disempowerment. This article explores the negative consequences that can arise when "funds of…

The study investigates the perspectives of five educators on the influence of cultural care and invitational education (IE) through qualitative participatory action research (PAR). Invitational education is a theoretical framework that facilitates a positive learning environment and encourages individuals to reach their unlimited potential. Like…

As of the writing of this report, the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) are being implemented in 45 states and the District of Columbia. Approaches to implementing the standards, however, are highly varied. For the past 3 years, Research For Action (RFA) has been tracking how one approach to implementing the literacy standards--the Literacy…

Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) are being used as a form of teacher professional development in schools across the world. The concept has been present in the educational literature for over thirty years. While many educators are familiar with the term, some schools have not yet implemented PLCs. Hord (1997) determined that all true PLCs…

Randomized field trials were used to examine the impact of the Teacher Study Group (TSG), a professional development model, on first grade teachers' reading comprehension and vocabulary instruction, their knowledge of these areas, and the comprehension and vocabulary achievement of their students. The multisite study was conducted in three large…

Randomized field trials were used to examine the impact of the Teacher Study Group, a professional development model, on first grade teachers' reading comprehension and vocabulary instruction, their knowledge of these areas, and on the corollary comprehension and vocabulary achievement of their students. The multi-site study was conducted during…

In this article, the author describes how Fox Chapel Area High School in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania implemented its Professional Education Program. The school's Professional Education Program, which ended its sixth year in 2006-2007, involves scrupulous research, planning, and shared goals. Diverse and small groups of staff meet during protected…

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…

Need in Deed (NID) is a non-profit organization which has been serving Philadelphia schools since 1987. The organization aims to promote youth engagement in their schools and communities by working with teachers to develop and implement service learning projects in which students can apply academics to real life problems. Until recently, NID staff…

A large percentage of U.S. students attending high-poverty urban middle schools achieve low levels of science proficiency, posing significant challenges to their success in high school science and to national and local efforts to reform science education. Through its work in Philadelphia schools, the Center for Social Organization of Schools at…

In the last five years, a growing number of large, urban school districts have moved to close what are termed "troubled" 6-8 middle schools and have opened K-8 schools in their place: Boston, Baltimore, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Milwaukee, Newark, New Orleans, New York City, Oklahoma City, and Philadelphia have been among the first to do…