While many in the field of teaching grapple with the revisions that come with a growing decentralization of standards-based reform, teacher learning and understanding of college- and career-readiness (CCR) standards and revisions is critical to successful implementation. Even when fully supported and focused on implementing standards in the…

Digital learning is a rising method of enhancing education for learners in the K-12 sector of learning. The growing approach to instruction has created a pathway for various backgrounds of learners to conveniently explore content from home. The purpose of this qualitative research study was to examine parent perspectives of K-12 digital learning…

Digital learning is a rising method of enhancing education for learners in the K-12 sector of learning. The growing approach to instruction has created a pathway for various backgrounds of learners to conveniently explore content from home. The purpose of this qualitative research study was to examine parent perspectives of K-12 digital learning…

Learning in makerspaces involves doing, playing, thinking, experimenting, creating, collaborating, mentoring, inquiring, problem-solving, producing, inventing, designing, building, and sharing (Loertscher, Preddy, and Derry 2013). Whatever the character of a makerspace, all makerspaces have the same goal: to actively engage students in open-ended…

This study focused on preservice secondary teacher's use of the Understanding by Design (UbD), framework to create effective, engaging lessons for their future secondary level students. The subjects consisted of 69 secondary pre-service secondary education majors at a Texas University who were enrolled in a required course for admission into the…

As states begin to demand more rigor on their high-stakes tests--and the tests evolve to incorporate revised academic standards--many officials are gambling that an initial wave of lower scores will give way to greater student achievement in the future. Changes to statewide tests and subsequent plummeting scores sparked controversy and emergency…

States with an alternate assessment based on modified achievement standards (AA-MAS) that received a flexibility waiver from some of the requirements of No Child Left Behind are required to phase out their use of this assessment. And, on August 23, 2013, the U.S. Department of Education published a proposed rollback of regulation that allowed the…

Federal policy initiatives such as the flexibility waivers for accountability are requiring that states transition away from the use of an alternate assessment based on modified achievement standards (AA-MAS). It is expected that those students who had participated in that assessment will instead participate in the state's general assessment (or a…

School districts and campuses throughout the nation are working around the clock to avoid an unacceptable accountability rating under the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001. In Texas the label has recently changed to "Improvement Required." An "Improvement Required" label forces districts and campuses into the Texas…

"The Rewards of Perseverance" tells the story of a district with a clear vision, stable leadership, and deliberate evolution in response to change. Located just north of Houston, AISD has faced daunting challenges since the 1990s--including a significant increase in high-need students, and more rigorous state tests. At the same time, the…

The Center on Standards, Alignment, Instruction, and Learning (C-SAIL), examines how college- and career-readiness (CCR) standards are implemented, if they improve student learning, and what instructional tools measure and support their implementation. This brief presents findings from C-SAIL's Implementation Study, which uses interview and survey…

This was an exploratory study that sought to find a positive correlation between teachers' perceived use of technology and successful test scores as measured by state indicators. As more districts purchase expensive technology to assist teachers in reaching the lofty goals set by the state, it is important for administrators and local school board…

At open-access two-year public colleges, the goal of the traditional assessment and placement process is to match incoming students to the developmental or college-level courses for which they have adequate preparation; the process presumably increases underprepared students' chances of short- and long-term success in college while maintaining the…

Under Title III of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB), the Texas Education Agency is required to establish Annual Measurable Achievement Objectives (AMAOs) for the English language acquisition and academic achievement of limited English proficient (LEP) students. This 2013 Guide to Annual Measurable Achievement Objectives provides AMAO…

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between the collective efficacy of teachers and student achievement at economically disadvantaged middle school campuses. Schools of today are expected to show continuous improvement in student achievement from year to year, regardless of the students' family background, ethnicity, or…