A team of researchers wanted to learn whether AP teachers using a project-based learning (PBL) approach could develop students' deep learning of knowledge and skills while preparing them for their AP exams. They used a randomized controlled trial to evaluate the Knowledge in Action (KIA) project-based curricula for AP courses. KIA students…

Propelled by accountability policies, leaders have touted data-driven decision making as a means to improve K-12 student outcomes and drive equity, as teachers analyze data to change instruction. However, many data-driven decision-making reforms have failed to challenge inequity. Melanie Bertrand and Julie Marsh's study of six middle schools shows…

The Civil Rights Project was hired to identify barriers to equitable access in Buffalo (New York) Public Schools' criteria schools and propose solutions, which, if accepted by both parties, could resolve the civil rights violations and create more equitable access to those schools. The researchers found that students of color, low-income students,…

From the halls of Congress to the local elementary school, conversations on education reform have tossed around the term "achievement gap" as though people all know precisely what that means. As it's commonly used, "achievement gap" refers to the differences in scores on state or national achievement tests between various…

Improvement in black students' test scores is occurring nationwide, and an increasing number of black students are enrolling in demanding academic courses. Test scores can be a force for eliminating educational inequities and strengthening educational standards. (MLF)

Public education could be significantly improved if proponents of standards-based reform could join with critics of high-stakes testing (the "evil twin") and outlaw using such tests as sole indicators of student success. Authentic, standards-based reform is concerned with equity and quality, demands teacher collaboration, and addresses demands for…

In Texas, control of schooling has shifted from the public toward business-controlled management accountability systems--exemplified in the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills ("the Texas Accountability System"). TAAS adversely affects teaching and learning by mandating a "test-prep" noncurriculum, discriminating against…