Despite the myriad of challenges that families, students, teachers and policymakers faced in 2021, the momentum to transform education did not waver. New opportunities for students unfolded in more than a dozen states through expanded private and public school choice. An additional 1.7 million students gained eligibility for private choice alone,…

Since its launch in August 2019, Louisiana's Master Plan has driven the state's prosperity agenda, nested in its ambitious attainment goal that calls for 60% of working-age adults to hold a postsecondary credential by 2030. This shared vision for the state has connected with a broad spectrum of stakeholders, from executive agencies focused on…

States that received federal waivers to the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act were required to implement reforms in designated "Focus Schools" that contribute to achievement gaps. In this study, we examine the performance effects of such "differentiated accountability" reforms in the state of Louisiana. The Focus School reforms…

School consolidation in rural districts has been ongoing since the 1800s. Although many district personnel tout economic inefficiency as a reason for consolidation to occur, micropolitics among school board members, parents, and the business community often drive the consolidation process. This article presents a qualitative case study of Webster…

The purpose of this comparative qualitative study examined the impact of the achievement gap on the lack of highly qualified teachers instructing African American students consistently from K-12th grades and its effects on high-stakes testing. In addition, the study examined teacher perceptions that could also be contributing factors of the…

Public education has long been the subject of public discontent. Historical events such as the Soviet launch of "Sputnik" in 1957, the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s, and repeated media reports that U.S. students were outscored by students in many other countries on international tests each prompted federal and state…

In 2005, the achievement gap between African-American and Caucasian students doubled in the state of Louisiana. Sixty-three percent of the public schools in an urban school district in southeastern Louisiana received an Academically Unacceptable Status (AUS) rating according to Louisiana accountability standards. In 2006, the Louisiana Board of…

The purpose of the U.S. Department of Education's online newsletter "The Education Innovator" is to promote innovative practices in education; to offer features on promising programs and practices; to provide information on innovative research, schools, policies, and trends; and to keep readers informed of key Department priorities and…

Recent scores on state tests show that middle grades students have made some progress in meeting their state's academic standards over the last half-decade. Yet a closer look at state standards indicates that too many Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) states have set them too low. Quite a few states have taken steps to improve their…