In "Absent from School," Gottfried and Hutt offer a comprehensive and timely resource for educators and policy makers seeking to understand the scope, impact, and causes of chronic student absenteeism. The editors present a series of studies by leading researchers from a variety of disciplines that address which students are missing…

This pilot study investigated the relationship between principal preparation program (PPP) field experience structure and principal instructional leadership preparedness as measured by state certification exams and state-wide student assessment results. The researchers sought to determine if a statistically significant difference existed in…

This book explores how peer reviews are used in school improvement, accountability and education system reform. Importantly, these issues are studied through numerous international cases and new empirical evidence. This volume also identifies and describes barriers and facilitators to the development, use, sustainability and expansion of school…

In December 2018, the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) Committee on STEM Education (CoSTEM) released "Charting a Course for Success: America's Strategy for STEM Education" (ED590474), a five-year STEM education strategic plan. The intent of this progress report is to provide Congress and the wider STEM education stakeholder…

This year's submission of consolidated state plans for implementing the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) revealed two things: New ideas made it to the table, and many people--including those who had not before engaged in education policy conversations--contributed to the process. What is still hazy as the dust settles is whether this…

The federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) grants states more authority over their school accountability systems than did No Child Left Behind (NCLB). Hence, states have an opportunity to design improved school rating systems. Three of the most important improvements that states can make are to ensure that their accountability systems: (1)…

The concept of data-informed decision making (DIDM), a term used interchangeably with data-driven decision making (DDDM) and data-based decision making (DBDM), is relatively new to Irish education and the school planning process. This research sought to clarify what data principals use and how they use that information for school improvement…

An educator, who compiled teachers' stories of accountability era reforms into a book, explains why teacher voice is central. The book, "Inside Our Schools: Teachers on the Failure and Future of Education Reform," is organized around the recurring buzzwords the mainstream education reform movement has used to define its policies:…

This memorandum presents results from a scan of states' accountability and accreditation systems, focusing on measures of student achievement and outcomes that are associated with school improvement. Particular attention was given to indicators that can lead to increased student achievement and school quality other than state assessments. The data…

With the passage of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) of 2015, California must integrate additional measures of student and school performance into the state-wide accountability system. To support the conversation as policymakers consider if/how to include chronic absenteeism data in the state's accountability system, PACE has conducted an…

This article outlines a case study of creating a system of quality assurance in Belize while also building the capacity of teaching staff in order to support the process of establishing quality standards in tertiary education. This case study outlines the process of establishing the first quality assurance system in the nation's history as well as…

Successful schools have a clearly defined vision for student success, usually measured by college and career readiness standards. They are able to articulate success indicators for student performance as well as success indicators for the staff performance needed to meet those student indicators. Successful schools are able to describe a theory of…

Purpose: School district superintendents say politics is the number one factor limiting their performance, yet research provides limited guidance on navigating the political dynamics of district improvement. State takeovers and district-wide turnaround efforts tend to involve particularly heated and polarized debates. Massachusetts' 2012 takeover…

California educates more than 6 million children in its K-12 public schools. More than half of these students are economically disadvantaged. Almost a quarter are English Learners (ELs), compared with fewer than one in ten nationwide. In order to better serve its student population, the state has enacted several reforms in recent years--and state…

In this commentary, the author states that, as the contributions of the focal articles make clear, there is much to learn about how value-added models (VAMs) are actually used in a variety of settings. Indeed, it is important to remember that VAM scores are but one component of a complex evaluation system that can play out differently in different…