In response to the school accountability movement and the move toward market-oriented education policies in recent decades, many schools and districts have felt increased pressure to find effective ways to boost student achievement. However, many districts--largely those serving low income black and hispanic students in urban settings--have still…

This analysis of the Atlanta test-cheating scandal differs markedly from the version reported in the press. Using discourse analysis, I examined over 50 articles published in the "Atlanta Journal-Constitution" ("AJC"), the hometown newspaper at the center of the investigation. Because newspapers are a primary source of…

Despite increasing emphasis on preparing more and better teachers and despite the near universal presence of student teaching across teacher education programs (TEPs), numerous questions about what and how student teaching experiences contribute to preservice teachers' development remain unanswered. Indeed, much of the attention focused on student…

Understanding what makes an effective teacher, as well as how teachers sort by their effectiveness across schools, is central to understanding and addressing student achievement gaps. Prior studies have found substantial sorting of teachers across schools, with the schools with the highest proportions of poor, non-white, and low-scoring students…

The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB, 2002) establishes ambitious goals for increasing student learning and attaining equity in the distribution of student performance. Schools must assure that all students, including all significant subgroups, show adequate yearly progress (AYP) toward the goal of 100% proficiency by the year 2014. In this paper,…

There is perhaps no more pressing issue in school policy today than the achievement gap across social lines. Achievement differences between well-to-do children and poor children and between disadvantaged racial and ethnic minorities and majority whites are large when children first begin school, and they increase over time. Despite years of study…

Four years after the enactment of the "No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB)," the revolutionary changes to the education system called for by President Bush are almost implemented. States have put in place rigorous new accountability systems and will implement reading and math assessments covering all students in grades 3-8 by the end of the…

An emerging literature on school-wide Positive Behavior Support (PBS) in urban settings suggests the utility of PBS in addressing student social development while decreasing the need for disciplinary actions (i.e., office disciplinary referrals [ODRs]). This research represents a significant addition to, and expansion of, this literature by…

This study evaluates the initial effect of Washington, D.C.'s Opportunity Scholarship Program (OSP) on the academic performance of public schools and its effects on the opportunities that District students have to attend integrated schools. The OSP is a federally sponsored school voucher program that provides vouchers worth up to $7,500 for an…

Discusses studies showing that, contrary to the view overwhelmingly supported by research of over a decade and a half, some urban schools, through principal leadership, high teacher expectations, and rigorous academic programs, are able to raise the achievement of low-income students. (CMG)

This analysis discusses 5 elementary schools in the District of Columbia that have demonstrated significant educational improvements in less than 6 months after the implementation of the Community for Learning (CFL), a collaborative project initiated between the Office of the Superintendent of D.C. Public Schools, the Laboratory for Student…

This paper describes the approaches being taken in 11 school districts that are located in California, Nevada, and Arizona to help disadvantaged newcomers within the districts, contrasts these approaches, and relates them to achievement-gain scores. The study's objective is to gauge whether school districts that were classified as high performers,…