This qualitative case study explored how grading can be used to support learning by analyzing the implementation of a skills-based grading system in a high school English department. Black and Wiliam's (2018) model for assessment in relation to pedagogy was used as a lens through which to examine the relationship between the grading system and…

A high school English department collaboratively addressed the issue of college-readiness in writing while utilizing a focused four-phase leadership model to guide their efforts. Although this discussion highlights the strategic use of writing rubrics, it is the intention to share the benefits of using the four phases of collaborative teacher…

In this article the author shares his thoughts on how perceptions can be distorted by blinders people impose on themselves which brings him back to one of his literary and intellectual loadstones--"The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn." He learned that the English department at the school where he taught has changed the American literature syllabus.…

The history between Cheektowaga Central and the University at Buffalo illustrates the benefits of forming long-term collaborative relationships between teacher education programs and local schools. In 1998, the author was approached by Suzanne Miller regarding the possibility of Meg Callahan, then a doctoral student at the University at Buffalo,…

The trouble started when an anonymous e-mail alleged abuse of power at Centennial High School in Howard County, Maryland. Each week, the local paper reported new developments in the investigation. On top of that, the family of a Black student reported that a culture of racism existed at Centennial. At the end of the year, members of the community…

One of the most undemocratic, destructive forces in education today is the tracking of students in high schools, as a great deal of research suggests. Schools that have successfully detracked instruction demonstrate similar characteristics. After careful preparatory efforts were made (including forming a study group), a high school in Long Island…

The Dayton Literacy Project (Ohio) uses a University of Dayton service-learning course to bring together undergraduates and local high school-equivalency-program students. The course's intellectual rationale, organization, and work with welfare mothers are discussed. The project's success suggests ways in which the discipline of English can be…