Schools and education in general have made an implicit and, we would assert, explicit promise to society to educate all the children in their care. Unfortunately, there are achievement gaps that illustrate how schools have broken this promise. Teacher evaluation and other accountability measures have been heralded as the answer to this problem.…

The number of teachers entering the profession through alternative certification and the number of charter schools in the United States have increased over the past twenty years. While there is a great deal of research on the efficacy of different paths to certification on teachers in public schools, there is little research exploring the needs of…

In December 2015, President Barack Obama signed the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), which replaced No Child Left Behind (NCLB), as the nation's major law governing public schools. ESSA retains the requirement that states test all students in reading and math in grades three through eight and once in high school, as well as the requirement that…

This article explores school districts such as New Haven (Connecticut) Public Schools, whose local union is an American Federation of Teachers (AFT) affiliate and where a shared concern for students has trumped the often adversarial union-management relationship. The author discusses what makes the successful contract negotiations headed by David…

In this article, we examine how the federal, state, and district policy environments affect the decisions and work of principals and teachers. Specifically, we examine principal and teacher perceptions of policies and practices focused on: (1) increasing the overall supply of qualified teachers; (2) recruiting qualified teachers; (3) distributing…

The development of teacher evaluation systems that promote professional growth is discussed, based on studies in South Kitsap, North Haven, and Levittown of adult development and teacher evaluation and the professional experiences of D. L. Duke. "Decoupling" accountability from professional growth provides the best means of forwarding…

A study of the skill priorities of Connecticut's adult education stakeholders asked 838 business and industry providers, 4,846 learners, 774 instructional service providers, and 753 state agencies and public service providers to rate how critical 55 competencies are to an adult's ability to function in society and the workplace. The competency…