Understandings of teacher expertise in the US have transformed over the past 40 years, arguably being "narrowed" and "numericized" due to high-stakes accountability and neoliberal education reform movements. While this trend has been thoroughly studied under the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) and Race to the Top regimes, less…

The recent turn toward core practices and practice-based teacher education has been accompanied by a growing literature on the definitions, pedagogies to teach, and assessments of core practices. Despite these developments, the field lacks core practices performance assessments designed to be used across course sections, courses, and subjects.…

The teacher evaluation process has undergone major reform in recent years. Teachers are scored on education standards and quality indicators. Other components of the reformed evaluation system are student growth measures, student learning objectives, student surveys, professional growth plans, and frequent feedback. The relationship between the…

While many factors have been identified as influencing student academic performance, previous studies consistently determined effective teaching as the most significant factor, within the control of educators, leading to improved student achievement. Nonetheless, educational experts, statisticians, and policy-makers alike acknowledged the…

This study examines the perceptions of teachers in one Midwest school district relative to the current teacher evaluation system used in the district as well as a new model of teacher evaluation connected to Missouri's educator standards. To fully understand the perspective of the teachers, this study incorporates a mixed-methods approach which…

The state of Missouri has recently adopted new standards for educators. This study examines the perceptions of teachers in one Midwest school district relative to the current teacher evaluation system used in the district as well as a new model of teacher evaluation connected to Missouri's educator standards. To fully understand the perspective 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…

With the implementation of Common Core State Standards (CCSS), K-12 teachers, counselors, and administrators will be held accountable for meeting the explicitly defined standards of college and career readiness for every high school graduate. An equivalent and reciprocal challenge is also placed upon universities to prepare future education…

Missouri's administrators in the public schools have the everyday task of creating an environment that allows faculty members and students to experience success. How to achieve this environment remains the question for many public secondary educators and administrators. This study was conducted to measure perceptions of Missouri's secondary public…

Never before in the history of education has there been more scrutiny of our public schools. With the increased accountability due to the passage of No Child Left Behind legislation and the pressure to perform adequately in international testing, it is imperative that high quality teachers fill the classrooms of America's schools. It is paramount…

This report set out to profile the Missouri Career Ladder program by delving beneath the surface and comparing how the program works in practice (based on stakeholder accounts) with how it works in theory (based on published statutes and regulations). The authors found that in many respects the program operates as one might expect. Districts…

THE OBJECT OF THIS THESIS WAS TO ESTABLISH A RELATIONSHIP WHICH WOULD SHOW INDICATIONS OF TEACHER SATISFACTION TO BE DIRECTLY PROPORTIONAL TO ACCURATE INTERPRETATION, OR COGNITION, OF NORMS AND EXPECTATIONS HELD BY PUBLIC SCHOOL OFFICIALS. DATA WERE DRAWN FROM A LARGER STUDY DONE BY BIDDLE AND ASSOCIATES IN 1961. IN A TEST SAMPLE OF 68 TEACHERS, A…

This article describes the approach of a five-year initiative, funded by the National Science Foundation, to improve the teaching of mathematics and science in 10 rural school districts of Missouri. Traditional challenges of improving the professional practice of teachers are addressed through a regional partnership. External project evaluation…

This study attempts to identify the opinions of social studies cooperating teachers toward student teacher placement, role relationships, evaluation, and inservice education. The hypothesis for this study was that northeast Missouri social studies cooperating teachers' opinions toward student teacher placement and evaluation would indicate that…

THE OBJECTIVES WERE TO IDENTIFY AND DESCRIBE EXPECTATIONS OF TEACHER BEHAVIOR, AND TO ANALYZE THESE EXPECTATIONS IN TERMS OF THE LEADERSHIP BEHAVIOR OF THE TEACHER. ELEMENTARY PUPILS (140), JUNIOR HIGH (148), AND SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL (140) STUDENTS FROM A SUBURBAN ST. LOUIS SCHOOL DISTRICT COMPRISED THE SAMPLE. AN ADAPTATION OF THE LEADER BEHAVIOR…