In this study, we seek to illuminate teachers' constructions of US teacher evaluation policies through close analysis of the way teachers in one district describe these policies. We conducted a thematic discursive analysis of 60 teachers' speeches, recorded during local school board meetings in a Tennessee school district. Using discursive…

We use the metaphor of building a plane while flying to describe the enactment of educational policies by teachers during COVID-19 and the impact of these policies on their ability to meet the needs of their students. Drawing from a series of three one-hour focus groups with seven teachers in Alberta, we apply critical policy analysis to describe…

Statewide performance assessments have gone in and out of vogue for over 30 years. While embraced as authentic representations of student work, they often prove burdensome for standardized assessment purposes. They can be a strong addition to a balanced assessment system--when implemented well for the right purposes. State policymakers looking to…

This article examines the relationship between shared governance and one school district's (in)ability to advance educational equity. Specifically, we consider the district's policies, discourse, and practice around equity within the context of site-based management and shared decision making. We suggest that if equity is indeed a major district…

This non-experimental, descriptive study explored the perceptions of PK-12 policymakers in West Virginia regarding the sources of information they use in the decision-making process; whether and how evidence-based research is relied upon; whether evidence-based research is considered credible and usable; and what barriers, facilitators, and…

In this research article, authors Hillary Parkhouse, Virginia Massaro, Melissa Cuba, and Carolyn Waters examine teachers' perceptions of their responsibilities to support undocumented students and the barriers they encounter in fulfilling them. Since the 1982 Plyler v. Doe decision guaranteed public K-12 education to undocumented students, there…

This study is a structural analysis of Texas law and policy processes relating to college and career readiness with emphasis on Hispanics and implications for educators. The study is presented in two separate, but related articles. The first article (chapter two) reports on the structural limitations of crafting Texas statutes that created college…

The call for more expansive access to bilingual education is grounded in a comprehensive synthesis of evidence on the benefits of bilingual education, bilingualism, and biliteracy for students and the larger social fabric. Many studies find that access to bilingual education programs has a medium to large positive impact on students' academic…

Following the 1983 "A Nation at Risk" report and culminating in No Child Left Behind (NCLB), states designed and implemented accountability policies to evaluate student achievement. External assessments of these policies identified substantial variability in the level of stakes associated with each system. This paper presents a…

Little is known about the role of local school boards in the policy-making process, particularly in terms of educational equity. Framed by concepts from existing scholarship on school board effectiveness, cultural responsiveness, and the opportunity gap, this article critically explores how school boards address policies and practices related to…

In this article, we draw upon notions of occupational professionalism and organizational professionalism to interrogate the complex, and sometimes contradictory, teacher learning practices that characterize educational policy enactment. We apply these understandings to the Growing Success assessment and evaluation policy in Ontario, Canada, and in…

In Illinois, Senate Bill 100 was known in the statutes as Public Act 99-0456, took effect September, 15, 2016. Illinois State Senator Kimberly Lightford and Illinois State Representative William Davis both sponsored Senate Bill 100. Senator Lightford said, "We're moving toward a disciplinary system that prioritizes educating students by…

While students comprise the largest population of educational stakeholders in the United States, they are rarely included in education governance at any level. Although they are among those most affected by education policy choices, they are often left out of education policy decision-making. As of 2019, only 23 states included student members on…

This booklet is in response to commonly asked questions from parents about preparing for, and entering kindergarten. Some questions parents ask are about district policy. Nebraska has over 200 individual school districts, each having their own board, superintendent, and policies. The Nebraska Department of Education provides guidance and…

In the wake of the global pandemic, equity has increasingly been on the hearts and minds of educators, policymakers, legislators, families, and students. Students of color, students from disadvantaged socioeconomic backgrounds, students that have English as a second language, and/or have a learning disability have historically faced obstacles at…