With the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) in 2015, renewed attention was paid to the importance of guidelines for participation in alternate assessments based on alternate achievement standards (AA-AAS) and to understanding of who the students are who have significant cognitive disabilities. The analyses…

The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) represent an historic shift in K-12 curricular policy. Yet,few have explicitly traced the lineage of the CCSS and linked them to the decades-old standards-based reform movement. This essay situates the CCSS within the larger historical context of standards-based reform. It concludes with a discussion of…

One central component of a great school system is a clear set of rigorous, comprehensive standards so educators help all students achieve high goals. In Iowa, that effort is known as the Iowa Core. The Iowa Core represents the statewide academic standards, which describe what students should know and be able to do in mathematics, science, English…

As an early Common Core booster, Michael Petrilli had hoped that by now--10 years after most states adopted the standards--the nation's schools would have logged tangible improvements in teaching and learning that resulted in higher student achievement. In this article, Petrilli reviews what Common Core is and discusses the work ahead that is…

Pathblazer is a supplemental, online intervention program that helps struggling learners in grades K-8 achieve grade-level proficiency in mathematics and reading. It offers students individualized learning progression paths with fun, motivating content that addresses skill and concept gaps. Using existing student data or results from a screener,…

A chain of interconnected events has occurred over the past four decades that can transform the lives of students with disabilities and their families. These events include the national policy shift to standards-based reform, legislative action that is reflected in reauthorizations of federal educational laws and regulations, and sustained state…

The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) began to take form when dozens of educators from across the country were led by governors and chief state school officers in gathering and reviewing the academic standards of states that had the best outcomes. Their goal was to determine what the current best academic standards were in the country and then…

The discretion provided to states under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) offers new possibilities for policymakers to determine how best to allocate resources and support policies to provide students with a well-rounded education. As states begin to examine new strategies for improving student outcomes and developing the next generation of…

The statutory guidance is for local authorities given by the Department for Education, on behalf of the Secretary of State. Section 72 of the Education and Inspections Act 2006 places a statutory duty on all local authorities in England, in exercising their functions in respect of maintained schools causing concern, to have regard to any guidance…

This article is the third of three on "Sources of Authority in Education." All use the work of Amy Gutmann as a heuristic device to describe and explain the prevalence of market-based models of education reform in the US and the business-influenced Global Education Reform Movement. The other two are "Negating Amy Gutmann:…

The potential of our nation is hinged upon the strength of our educational system across all 50 states. Public education is the backbone of our country and continues to be a spotlight of focus for many. In 1983, President Ronald Reagan shared the "Nation at Risk" report, based on the findings from the National Commission on Excellence in…

Since the passage of "No Child Left Behind" (NCLB) in 2001, public schools in the United States have witnessed an influx of reforms intended to elevate students' academic standing in a global economy. The unprecedented federal involvement in education resulting from the passage of NCLB has propelled a nationwide movement to standardize…

Large-scale academic assessments have played a dominant role in U.S. federal and state education policies over the past couple of decades. Among the many validity issues that presently concern test users is the evaluation of alignment among large-scale assessments and the academic content and performance standards on which they are based. This…

This report is part of a five-report series on the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) that examines the Every Student Succeeds Act's (ESSA's) amendments to IDEA, explains their likely impact on students with disabilities as ESSA implementation progresses, and provides recommendations. The National Council on Disability conducted…

Education standards do not flop spectacularly. Their failure gives rise to nothing like the black-and-white films of early aeronautical experiments: no missiles exploding on launch pads or planes tumbling from the sky. But 10 years after 46 of the 50 states adopted the Common Core standards, the lack of evidence that they have improved student…