It is said that “you measure what you value, and you value what you measure.” Nowhere is this more apparent than in education. In the United States, we increasingly measure students’ scores on standardized tests in math and language arts. These scores are often primary measures of student learning and school quality. Unsurprisingly, we tend
This is the final instalment in our series on teacher evaluation policy. Teacher evaluation has been a major feature of education policy reform in the United States during the past ten years. The triumvirate of Race to the Top (2009) funding competition, the No Child Left Behind waivers (2011), and the passage of the Every
Review by Jesus Tirado, University of Georgia Book Details: Mission High: One School, How Experts Tried to Fail it, and the Students and Teachers who made it Triumph. by Kristina Rizga. New York: Nation Books. 2016. 295 pp., $26.99. Kristina Rizga’s (2015) Mission High presents a deep look at a school and the people who breathe vitality
Over the past fifty years, there have been swings in United States education policy between didactic, basic-skills reading instruction and constructivist, whole language reading instruction. Under pressure to improve reading achievement, districts devote attention to issues of literacy and leadership. Many districts have initiated coaching as a lever to catalyze teacher development and reading reform.
My February 2014 AJE article, “Principal Leadership for School, Family, and Community Partnerships,” raises questions about accountability in reforming districts and schools. Specifically, what is the optimal balance of district-level supports and accountability needed to maximize the buy-in of key school actors such as principals? What are the effects of different district-level accountability strategies on school
