Homeless children usually experience high mobility. Yet, it is not clear if the degree of mobility among homeless children is associated with their academic performance. Furthermore, an emerging body of literature is beginning to examine the impact of specific living arrangements (e.g., living with families or friends) on homeless family and child…

"Leadership and School Quality" is the twelfth book in a series on research and theory dedicated to advancing understanding of schools through empirical study and theoretical analysis. The chapters include analyses that investigate relationships between school organizations and leadership behaviors that have an impact on teacher and…

This research targets student expectation levels in school districts across Texas and seeks to identify and measure differences according to demographic data obtained from the Texas Education Agency. Specifically, this study investigates whether school districts in Texas hold varying levels of expectations for different racial and ethnic groups…

This study reports on four urban middle- and high school principals' emotionally shaped sense making of Race to the Top policies and their ability to balance the competing demands of teachers' emotional needs with the charge to implement mandated, accountability-driven, instructional, and evaluation changes in their schools. Despite the pressure…

Diane Ravitch's book, "The death and life of the great American school system," is an exploration and critique of educational change in the United States since the report "A Nation at Risk" in 1983 and more specifically since the passing of the No Child Left Behind legislation in January, 2002. Arguably, there are several…

Federal policies intended to promote educational equity, especially through state accountability mechanisms, have mobilized efforts to improve outcomes for students with disabilities. Although these efforts have met with some success, achievement gaps remain. The authors argue that local cultures of teaching practices and decision making continue…

As a consequence of the federal "No Child Left Behind" (NCLB) law, there is tremendous pressure on school principals, teachers, school superintendents, district staff, state departments of education and governors to maximize the increase in student achievement that is obtained with every dollar of expenditure. Currently, teachers are…

The current policy context established by "No Child Left Behind (NCLB)" calls for schools and teachers to develop and execute plans of action they believe will effectively address achievement gaps. This article uses conceptual and research literature to explore the construct of teachers' collective sense of efficacy and its potential…

Serious social and economic consequences affect the local and national levels when students drop out of school. Research has shown that collaboration among schools, families, and communities in the academic progression of students can decrease their drop out probability. The author presents findings related to a qualitative study conducted in…

In this article, the authors use qualitative and quantitative research to identify the performance of social actors whose decisions impact students and teachers, elucidate a set of measurements for their performance, and offer both a theoretical and research justification for these measurements. The work challenges two faulty assumptions behind…

The objective of the Goals 2000 Act to increase the high school graduation rate to at least 90% and to help reduce the graduation gap rate for minorities is doomed to failure. Models are presented that illustrate the theoretical limitations of policies aimed at this goal. (SLD)

The Mid-Continent Regional Advisory Committee (RAC) provides an assessment of the technical assistance needs of educators in our region in response to a directive from the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education. This RAC is one of ten such committees appointed by the Secretary to conduct the assessment over the period of December 2004…

This is the record of a series of Congressional subcommittee hearings on the progress, problems, and effectiveness of desegregation efforts in public schools. Included are statements and testimonies of educators, social scientists, legal scholars, public officials, and parents on the relative advantages and disadvantages of various desegregation…