The main goal of this social policy report is to propose a holistic approach for promoting developmental success among Latinx children and youth. This report highlights the need to 1) redefine success and 2) account for intersectional inequalities. First, the current demographic landscape of Latinx students is presented to showcase the variability…

Moving schools up the performance slope takes energy, leverage, and the right research-based approaches. In 2010, the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction launched an initiative to "Turn Around the Lowest Achieving Schools" (TALAS). The Southeast Comprehensive Center (SECC) partnered with the state education agency (SEA) to…

This multiple case study investigated 143 teachers' responses to focus group questions about their experiences with the simultaneous implementation of three disruptive innovations as part of the U.S. Race-to-the-Top (RTTT) agenda: the Common Core Learning Standards, data-driven instruction, and annual professional performance reviews. We asked:…

This article describes how evidence-based theory fuels an audit culture for teacher education in the USA, placing faculty under monitoring and surveillance, and severely constraining judgment, discretion, and professional decision-making. The national education reform efforts, Race to the Top and Common Core State Standards, demand fealty to…

States participating in the four federally-funded assessment consortia are required to establish a "common definition of English Learner." This includes the two Race to the Top academic assessment consortia and the two Enhanced Assessment Grant English language proficiency (ELP) assessment consortia. This paper provides guidance that…

This study focused on the federal and Illinois State the reform legislation titled the Performance Evaluation Reform Act and Senate Bill 7. The Performance Evaluation Reform Act or "PERA" was created from collaboration between stakeholders as Illinois competed in a federal competition titled "Race to the Top." The legislation…