Centered on the theories of Carol Dweck (2006) and James Burns (1978), an expanding theory case study approach was used to analyze how growth mindset and transformational leadership influence instructional decisions made specifically for economically disadvantaged students. In addition, analysis of how leaders perceive these decisions to have…

This study was designed to investigate the decision-making processes involved with deciding the funding and framing of music programs in three suburban school districts in the New York metropolitan area. School leaders were interviewed to understand the factors associated with the decision-making process. The findings helped to understand…

Over the past 20 years, large scale crisis events categorized as adversarial incidental, human caused threats, biological hazards, natural disasters, and technological hazards have increased and posed significant challenges for executive leaders in curriculum and instruction (ELCIs) in K-12 educational settings. These crisis events disrupt K-12…

This proposal sought to understand the decision-making of the K-12 public school super-intendents during the COVID-19 crisis and periods of recovery. Western New York school district leaders participated in focus groups organized according to the New York State Department of Education classifications of high-, average-, and low-needs districts. By…

Educators globally are continually encouraged to use data to inform instructional improvement in schools, yet while there have been many recent innovations in data visualization and data science, educators are rarely included in dashboard co-design. On December 5 and 6, 2019, the Education Data Analytics Collaborative Workshop was held at Teachers…

The purpose of this study is to explore elementary educators' perceptions regarding what it means to conceptually understand mathematics, the emphasis teachers place on utilizing evidence-based teaching processes, as identified as effective by National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM), and how these perceptions influence their…

Community schools have a long history of helping students succeed in school by addressing the problems they face outside of school. But without specific data on students and the full range of their needs, community schools cannot be as effective as they would like to be. Driven by the desire to make more data-informed decisions, the Children's Aid…

According to literature, African American male students are disproportionately placed in special education programs throughout our national public school systems. Therefore, this study was intended to examine factors that may influence a teacher's decision to recommend students for special education services. The target population for this study…

This paper outlines current trends, progress, and possibilities for fostering more authentic ways to assess students' competencies and mastery of skills needed for college, work, and civic life in the 21st century. It provides an introduction to performance assessments and their value. The authors highlight efforts to develop such assessments in…

The report on which this brief is based describes performance assessments and their value for guiding and evaluating high school students' learning, as well as informing colleges and universities about what students know and can do. It explores state and local policies that support the use of such assessments, along with emerging higher education…

As schools and classrooms explore technology-based, student-centered, personalized approaches to teaching and learning, their efforts to innovate can be hamstrung by archaic district operating systems that do not allow them to take advantage of new technologies, to work with smaller startup companies, or to quickly make and implement decisions.…

COMPASS-AIM is a set of processes and tools used by participants in a research-practice partnership (RPP) to improve organizational capacities and individual and team competencies for organizational learning and improvement. The "COMPASS" team includes teams of teachers and school leaders who work with a university researcher and expert…

The "Quality Practice Project" (QPP) is the National Association of Charter School Authorizers' (NACSA's) multi-year research initiative to identify what high-performing authorizers do to achieve stellar student and public interest outcomes. Participants and researchers collaboratively investigated the perspectives and practices of…

There is broad consensus that high-quality environments for young children depend on teachers who are skilled at nurturing their development and learning, yet low pay and inadequate working conditions routinely hamper teachers in their efforts to apply their skills and knowledge. This condition exists among teachers in early education as well as…

K-12 education resources are often allocated non-strategically, with schools spending time and money on activities that have little relationship to student outcomes. Most of these decisions take place within districts, rooted in the processes of setting schedules, staffing levels, and assignments, and creating final budgets. Local Education…