Nearly half of U.S. schools are facing COVID-related staff shortages that threaten the efforts to shape programming and invest in resources to solve students' unfinished learning. Without enough teachers and support staff, students won't receive rigorous instruction, won't have access to targeted intensive tutoring to address their unfinished…

This poll was conducted between March 16-March 22, 2022 among a sample of 1,000 all teachers. The interviews were conducted online. Among the key findings are: (1) In March, teachers in district schools were much more pessimistic about the profession compared to private school teachers; (2) About one out of four teachers reported a protest or…

The stakes are incredibly high in California to provide access to a high-quality education in a safe environment for all students. As districts across the state resumed full-time instruction and began the task of pandemic recovery, members of the California Collaborative on District Reform convened three times in 2021-22 to continue and deepen…

Special education teachers' practice is influenced by an understanding of special education policy and knowledge of implementation practice. This study examined the perceptions of nine special education teachers related to their interpretation of assessment, progress monitoring, and transition mandates in a large urban district. Qualitative…

This roadmap for Illinois public schools through school year 2022-23 defines the steps the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) will take to provide each and every student in the state with safe and engaging schools, excellent teachers, and equitable learning opportunities. This plan reflects both the realities and uncertainties are faced…

Data plays a starring role in promoting educational equity, and data-driven decision making begins with good state policies. With the recent passage of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) and a proposed federal rule to address racial disproportionality in special education, states will shoulder increased responsibility for eliminating…

Public education has been transformed by the widespread adoption of accountability systems that involve the dissemination of school district performance information. Using data from Ohio, we examine if elections serve as one channel through which these accountability systems might lead to improvements in educational quality. We find little…

The study of superintendent-school board relationships is a worthwhile endeavor from a practitioner's point of view and is important for the success of a school district. The conceptual framework consisted of features and ideas related to organizational leadership theory and the political view taken from the literature reviewed. The alliance…

The vocational math teachers at a vocational secondary school lack the adequate skills needed to be effective in math classrooms. The vocational teachers who teach math at the local vocational school have been identified as noncertified teachers based on their certification with the state department of education. The purpose of this project study…

Parent-led boards of trustees have been a feature of the New Zealand education system for almost 30 years. Over that time there have been consistent reports of difficulties in getting parents to participate on the boards of low-decile schools. However, there appears to be little research on what influences parent participation on boards of…

In early 2017, Congress rescinded two education regulations passed late in the Obama administration. The first regulation, which attempted to define and implement the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), received most of attention since states were busy planning how to implement the new law in the 2017-2018 school year. However the second regulation…

A Pennsylvania high school newspaper published an editorial in Fall 2013 announcing its decision to cease using the name of the school's sports teams, Redskins. That decision prompted the local school board to institute a policy giving administrators more editorial control over the newspaper. The controversy resonated with U.S. professional…

Texas has a large and growing population of adults who do not have a high school diploma or something equivalent. Recent changes to the national GED test and the introduction of additional exams in Texas have potentially exacerbated the problem. This report presents information derived from a community assessment of the Austin and San Antonio…

The purpose of this study was to investigate multiple perspectives and perceptions of good teaching as viewed through the lens of a Parent Teacher Organization's Teacher of the Year Award program. To better understand the complexity of good teaching, I conducted a single case study involving five distinct groups of people: students, parents,…

Policymakers and education system leaders who invest in formal instructional teacher leadership need to carefully consider how to do so in ways that will best sustain teacher leadership and maximize its benefits for instruction and learning. This report outlines how giving teacher leaders responsibility, accountability, and authority to drive…