State legislation serves as a guide and critical influence on the evaluation and identification of students with dyslexia across the United States. The state of Texas has numerous laws and regulations concerning dyslexia, guided by the Texas Administrative Code, Texas Education Code, Texas Occupations Code, and the Texas Education Agency's…

The interconnectedness of the world today through advanced technology and travel allows students exposure to a diverse cultural landscape. Combined with a fast-changing computer technology-driven education, and culturally and linguistically diverse classrooms, there cannot be just one way to teach and learn. This study explored the perspective of…

The purpose of this study was to identify the strengths and challenges that emerged from the first year of a district and university partnership focused on improving a high needs urban elementary school. This research utilizes an instrumental case study design. The elementary school and the university involved in this study are both public serving…

On November 8, 2016, while the rest of the world anxiously awaited the outcome of the U.S. presidential election, a subset of voters with a keen interest in education had their eyes on Massachusetts. This was the day Bay Staters would vote on Ballot Question 2, a proposal to raise the state's cap on public charter schools by up to 12 new schools…

In cities where public charter schools serve a large share of students, the costs of ongoing sector divisions and hostility across district and charter lines fall squarely on students and families. Exercising choice and accessing good schools in "high-choice cities" can be difficult for many families, especially some of the most…

Inference skill is one of the most important predictors of reading comprehension. Still, there is little rigorous research investigating the effects of inference instruction on reading comprehension. There is no research investigating the effects of inference instruction on reading comprehension for English learners with reading comprehension…

This fairytale-come-true began with an idealistic public school teacher just out of college who lived in the neighborhood of her students. In stages, working with a community organizing group consisting mainly of concerned parents, Terry Ford founded what is now called Lumin Education, a network of campuses serving more than six hundred children…

According to the Nation's Report Card (2015), American schools are suffering a double-digit academic gap between minority and non-minority students in reading proficiency scores and graduation rates. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of mediated reading (MR) across the curriculum on the achievement of at-risk low-SES minority…

This article explores whether two popular policy initiatives are compatible or conflicting strategies for enhancing educational equality in diverse large urban centers. These two initiatives are (1) charter school expansion and (2) improvement of resource equity across urban public school systems through policies often referred to as weighted…

Policymakers have long pursued more cost effective, scalable alternatives for delivering elementary and secondary education. The elusive goal is identifying how to reform educational systems so that children will consistently achieve more academically--at a lesser cost. A frequently heard reform claim of this sort is that charter schools deliver…

Only a quarter of the class of 2008 graduated from Alain Locke Senior High School in Los Angeles after four years. This was unsurprising since nearly 60 percent of the class had left Locke by the end of their sophomore year. A majority of Locke teachers--frustrated with the school's mediocrity--petitioned to allow charter management organization…

The racial achievement gap in education is an important social problem to which decades of research have yielded no scalable solutions. Recent evidence from "No Excuses" charter schools--which demonstrates that some combination of school inputs can educate the poorest minority children--offers a guiding light. In the 2010-2011 school…

Public concern about pervasive inequalities in traditional public schools, combined with growing political, parental, and corporate support, has created the expectation that charter schools are the solution for educating minorities, particularly Black youth. There is a paucity of research on the educational attainment of Black youth in privately…

Describes the early experience of Texas with charter schools, which have been promoted as a way to restructure urban education through schools that are smaller, less bureaucratized, and more attuned to student and community needs. Discusses barriers to charter-school success and prospects for urban-school reform if charter schools are not…

This paper examines the balance between autonomy and accountability in education from the perspective of Massachusetts and Texas charter schools and their state authorizers. By analyzing national survey data, interviews with key policymakers, and case studies of six low, medium, and high performing schools, the paper examines the organizational…