Assessment of student learning is typically undertaken with at least two goals in mind, accountability and improvement. This dichotomy of purpose has dogged assessment from the outset (Ewell, 2009) and contributed to conflicted or incomplete ends. As Banta and Palomba (2015) concluded, assessment undertaken primarily to comply with accountability…

Creativity is a commonly used word in education circles, yet it is also seen as something that is being undermined by contemporary agendas of standards, testing and an increasingly strong focus on core subjects that are used as indicators of school performance, which are impacting the work of teachers. This paper starts from Ball's 2006 paper 'The…

We examined the influence of accountability on the consistency of peer ratings and quality of peer feedback by comparing three conditions: only rating accountability, only feedback accountability, or both rating and feedback accountability. From a large undergraduate course, 287 students' peer ratings and peer feedback were coded for rating…

This fact sheet presents the graduation and dropout rates in Alaska for school years 2004-2005 to 2016-2017. The graduation rate methodology reflects a federal mandate requiring all 50 states to use a uniform graduation rate that is to be reported for all public high schools in the country. This rate, known as the "Four Year Adjusted Cohort…

A troubling shortage of K-12 Science, Technology, Engineer and Mathematics (STEM) teachers exists in the United States. One solution to increase STEM teachers involves recruiting STEM professionals to transition from industry to K-12 teaching. Research indicates that fostering resilience is one way to help new STEM teachers' retention and…

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, K-12 schools are under immense pressure to meet the diverse needs of students. But policies and practices have not evolved quickly enough to meet those needs -- and as a result, the system continues to fail far too many young people. In "Levers of Change: How State Policies Support District…

Few resources are available to support deans who lead reform while they navigate competing complex issues. Understanding how deans succeed in leading a reform agenda carries much significance in today's context where issues of equity and COVID-19 are challenging educators to reexamine the content and delivery of programs, while also grappling with…

The culture of competition in music education is pervasive, reflecting the overall growth in standardization and accountability measures in education. With this study, I addressed the intersection of two underexamined topics in music education: teachers' experience with competitive ensemble events and the structural challenges of working in a…

What does it take to develop an asynchronous curriculum for social work students, with attention to precision, policy accuracy, and community accountability? We attempt to answer the question by documenting our process of community collaboration and partnership to develop a gamified case study on the Indian Child Welfare Act. The curriculum was…

In response to increased accountability demands placed on teacher preparation programs across the United States, some programs are using standardized teacher performance assessments, such as edTPA. In our elementary teacher preparation program, a recent state mandate stipulated that teacher candidates had to successfully complete edTPA in order to…

This qualitative study explores the types of school-level teacher wellbeing initiatives reported by 51 teachers. The authors argue that the most well-received wellbeing measures are those embedded within supportive whole school cultures which aim to minimise burdensome workloads and maximise feelings of autonomy, relatedness and competence.…

School climate is important for continuous improvement. California's LCFF requires districts to report on school climate and use data to inform decision making. Qualitative data, derived from an explanatory sequential mixed-methods study, explored three belief constructs and sub-groups by response patterns. Education leaders have a range of…

This study aims to determine the relationship between the levels of work stress and the democratic perceptions of principals and teachers. The research was conducted in public schools located in Isparta. Correlational research design is followed. Interestingly, participants' perceptions of accountability for their superiors significantly predict…

Charter schools because of their entanglements with privatization remain one of the most publicly contested and controversial educational reform initiatives. Charter schools, in theory, are to balance autonomy and accountability in order to provide students with innovative learning environments and increased achievement on traditional academic…

A continued gap exists in student achievement between Indigenous and non- Indigenous students in the British Columbia school system. This article analyzes the balance of success and failure of the Accountability Framework, a provincial program designed to increase graduation rates in the province. In order to understand the successes and failures…