This paper describes the author's personal involvement with issues of policy and implementation that were sparked by the "Lau" decision. Topics included are student assessment, the bilingual education wars, the role of research, the paradigm shift with the advent of standards, and California state policy in the education of English…

The belief that education systems across Australia can and should be standardised through the application of scientific administration 'from above' dominated education policy at both a national and state level between 1999 and 2015. During that period the teaching of religion for Anglicans in Anglican schools was influenced by State and…

The purpose of this study was to conduct a program evaluation case study on the impact of standards-based grading in a North Carolina school district. The implementation procedures and end products of grading reform were assessed using the CIPP model. Data from teacher questionnaires, principal implementation checklists, interviews, and…

This article presents how the District of Columbia's (DC's) state board has designed and coordinated a collaborative process to revise social studies standards that will ideally facilitate learning the long, interconnected arcs of history, economics, politics, and geography that run through the American past, helping students make connections…

The term 'inclusive education' has evolved to connote various meanings and recently, neoliberalism has impacted how 'inclusion' is understood and enacted. In this paper, we use a disability studies in education framework to compare and contrast radical against incrementalist and reductionist approaches to educational reform related to students…

Traditional grading practices have been in place for well over a hundred years and grades received served to identify in which subjects a student is "smart" or in which ones they are not (Dewitt, 2017). The problem with traditional grading is that it does not provide qualitative information on the difference between an A, B, C, D, or F…

Despite the substantial shifts in education to align classroom instruction and assessment to common academic standards, traditional grading practices remain largely associated with longstanding beliefs and practices. Research suggests that traditional grading may be an inequitable practice that inaccurately communicates student learning (Plourde,…

This article examines the politics of curriculum design and evaluation in school settings globally. It examines the role of ideology and dominant meta-narratives of standards and academic achievement culture and its impact on education policy, curriculum design and implementation. The article discusses major models of curriculum design and their…

How physical education teachers approach standards-based assessment of the new National Physical Education Standards is yet to be determined. But the use of technology for assessments may be one way to support and empower students in the education process toward physical literacy. This article focuses on the ways in which educators have adopted a…

As part of their initial teacher education, most aspiring middle and high school science teachers take one or more semesters of coursework in the methods of teaching science. Surprisingly little is known about the curriculum of secondary science methods courses, however. This exploratory study aimed to better understand the goals and content of…

Throughout the 21st century, the discipline of developmental education has come under fire for low success rates and has created a great deal of controversy. This has especially been the case for developmental math. Over the years, there have been many initiatives to improve student success and completion in developmental math. Some have succeeded…

Despite reform efforts and calls to accept science as a primary subject in elementary school curriculum and instruction (NRC 2007, 2012), science is still often neglected, deprioritized, minimally taught, or taught through traditional methods where teachers and textbooks are the gatekeepers of knowledge (Banilower, 2019; Banilower et al., 2018;…

Assessment makes visible what we value and reciprocally what is assessed tends to become what is taken to be of value. Building on this, it can be argued that assessment does more than measure what is present rather it 'makes up' people. This piece offers a reflective commentary some of the insights to be gained from the Research Analysis and…

This study explores the experiences of teaching and learning in a progressive school. In this study, I explored three primary research questions: a) How do efforts to maintain a progressive educational approach to teaching and learning play out in the experiences of teachers and administrators? b) How does test-based reform affect or challenge…

The study examined how school closures and the rapid transition to online learning may have impacted student performance. In March 2020, a global pandemic was declared in response to the quick spread of the COVID-19 virus. The impact of this global pandemic was felt across all areas of daily routines. Businesses closed, and many workers found…