For this 10th article in the series reviewing recent court decisions concerning appropriate school psychology practice from both professional and legal perspectives, the focus is eligibility under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). For this purpose, the courts have generally agreed that, based on the definitions in the IDEA's…

What do K-12 schools need to do to prepare their students for adult success? This was the question that originally catalyzed the standards-and-accountability movement some 30 years ago, though it seems somehow to have gotten lost. Today the question merits revisiting, because addressing it makes a strong case for taking an integrated approach to…

This commentary on the article titled "Examining the Internal Structure Evidence for the Performance Assessment for California Teachers: A Validation Study of the Elementary Literacy Teaching Event for Tier 1 Teacher Licensure" provides an overview of Performance Assessment for California Teachers (PACT), its relationship to edTPA and…

Alex U. Inn is the co-founder and one of the two MCs of the hip-hop drag king group, Momma's Boyz. Momma's Boyz celebrated their tenth anniversary in 2014. Carmen Morrison is the offstage name of Alex U. Inn, though "Carmen" now goes by Alex offstage, as well. Within this interview, the names "Carmen" and "Alex" are…

The focus of the achievement gap seems to be less about racial and ethnic distinctions and more about disparities in socioeconomic status. Students from affluent and secure backgrounds have a running head start on students mired in poverty. Few young people in the United States live in more challenging conditions than the children of the eastern…

In this article, I critique a component of the highly structured Open Court Reading curriculum designed to teach elementary children "inquiry and higher-order thinking" skills. The intended outcome of this component is, I argue, the production of critically literate and informed consumers of information. However, both the critical…

Ongoing arts education issues for dance educators concern the role of elementary school classroom teachers as dance facilitators in their classrooms, the parameters of such a role, and whether or not university dance departments can prepare them to fill it. This article presents both the author's perspectives on meeting this challenge and the…

Discusses teachers' knowledge and beliefs about mathematics and how mathematics is best taught and learned. Considers interrelationships between beliefs and teachers' classroom practices. Argues that instruction is shaped by teachers' knowledge and beliefs and that meaningful change in instruction will entail fundamental changes in what teachers…

Five case studies of implementation of instructional policy changes at the classroom level by elementary-school mathematics teachers are discussed. The case studies focus on California's new Mathematics Framework. The interaction between teacher practice and policy is emphasized. Teachers' inherited beliefs, knowledge, and existing practices are…

An introduction to five case studies of mathematics teachers and ancillary essays on implementation of instructional policy change at the classroom level is provided. The case studies and associated discussions focus on California's new Mathematics Framework, which features changes in textbooks, tests, and commonly held conceptions of subject…

A commentary on five case studies of implementation of instructional policy change at the classroom level by elementary school mathematics teachers is provided. The case studies focus on California's new Mathematics Framework. An organizational control perspective is taken in this commentary. (TJH)

Discusses the California Foundation for Agriculture in the Classroom program and describes a model of how teachers can easily integrate the study of agriculture into several elementary curriculum areas. (JOW)

Reviews events in the California courts surrounding a five-day trial concerning the teaching of biblical creation in the public schools. (CS)

The complexities surrounding the relationship between state content standards and improvements in student reading achievement are examined. A case study of one California elementary school reveals that its ideal outcomes--use of standards in curriculum planning and improved test scores--were complex, involving district initiatives, curriculum…

Reviews the California History-Social Science Framework, the new state curriculum guide for the teaching of elementary and secondary social studies. Emphasizes the Framework's focus on history and geography, and citizenship education. (FMW)