The effects of accountability measures in English secondary schools: early and multiple entry to GCSE Mathematics assessments

This study used semi-structured interviews with staff in 14 secondary schools in England to explore strategies for entering students to GCSE Mathematics, focusing on the use of early and multiple examination entry. The key findings suggest that teachers were keenly aware of performativity pressures and that this prompted the use of a number of strategic entry practices, including the frequent use of early entry to allow students multiple examination attempts. This approach aimed to maximise the number of students achieving a grade C, the threshold for school accountability measures and for accessing further education and employment opportunities. Widespread use of early and multiple entry is likely to cease in England following amendments to accountability measures announced in 2013, yet this study adds a further perspective to the well-established literature detailing the impact of accountability measures in schools, as well as depicting teachers’ views on the effects of early and multiple entry upon pupils’ education.     

An embodied cognition approach to enhancing reading achievement in New York City public schools: Promising evidence

The study purpose was to examine the relationship between the Mark DeGarmo Dance (AKA Dynamic Forms, Inc.) (MDD) program, involving principles of embodied cognition, and student achievement over time. The sample included fourth grade students (N = 169) in schools (N = 4) in New York City Public School District whose teachers and students participated in the MDD program. Using a pretest posttest single group design and hierarchical linear modeling, the results of this study analyze student achievement as measured by standardized test scores. Teacher survey results are also reported. The achievement results reveal a significant increase in reading between pretest and posttest for students that were in the program. Teachers reported adequate fidelity of implementation.     

The Trip to New York City

纽约市虽然不是美国的首都,但却是美国最大的城市,拥有美国最大的海港。此外,它还是全世界最重要的商业和金融中心之一。所以,这里有很多值得我们了解的东西哦。还等什么？赶快作出你的选择,并带上你要完成的任务,开始你的纽约市之旅吧！     

The role of teacher trust in segregated elementary schools: a multilevel repeated measures examination

This study aims to investigate how teachers’ trust in their students relates to reading comprehension achievement in socially and ethnically segregated elementary schools in Flanders (Belgium) by taking into account class composition characteristics. It is examined how student variables, ethnic diversity and the proportion of non-native students in the class, and teachers’ trust in their students relate to reading comprehension achievement and learning growth. A 3-level multivariate repeated measures analysis was conducted. At 2 measurement occasions, reading tests and questionnaires were administered to a sample (n = 417) of 7- and 8-year-old students in 32 classes. Teachers’ trust in their students was found to be a key factor relating to learning growth in reading comprehension, and mediated the relationship between the level of ethnic diversity in the class and learning growth. Teachers with a higher level of trust in their students seem to foster more learning growth in reading comprehension.     

Urban politics and federal equity policy: Title IX and employment in New York City public schools

The implementation of federal educational equity policies, such as Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, has been beset by numerous difficulties, of a political, legislative, and administrative nature. The paper analyzes these factors as they influenced the effect of Title IX with respect to employment of women in administrative positions by the New York City Board of Education in the period 1972–1981. It concludes that policy design and management, as well as local political alignments, condemned the law to ineffectuality and that they will continue to do so barring other policy formulations and political configurations.     

Educational assessment and accountability: a New Zealand case study

This paper discusses the increasing use of assessment as a market signal and as an index of educational accountability. It is argued that assessment policies in New Zealand reflect an uneasy balance between the interests of the new right and more progressive educationists. These influences are examined using three largely contradictory models of educational accountability (professional, market and management). Each model reflects a range of epistemological and ideological assumptions. Thus student assessment serves different and largely conflicting purposes. The paper uses a recent New Zealand policy document (Tomorrow's Standards) to examine the interaction of each model. It is argued that through a failure to state clearly the purpose of assessment, educational reform in this area is overly concerned with the means rather than the ends of education. This has important implications for student motivation and learning. The paper concludes with a comment on current policy development and concludes that some recent initiatives provide the hope that a system of assessment that is both meaningful and relevant to individual learners may be developed.     

Strategic responses to school accountability measures: It's all in the timing

The adoption of state accountability testing in the 1990s coincided with the movement of some school start dates from September into August. Using data from Wisconsin, this paper connects these phenomena, showing that some low-scoring districts advanced their school start dates to allow their students more time to prepare for exams. I use a 2001 Wisconsin state law that restricted districts to start dates after September 1st to identify the effects of this extra time on student achievement. Extra classroom days are associated with small increases in Math scores for 4th graders, but not average reading or language scores. Extra classroom time may also have increased third grade reading scores for students in the upper portion of the ability distribution.     

Measuring the effect of charter schools on public school student achievement in an urban environment: Evidence from New York City

This paper uses student level data from New York City to study the relationship between a public school losing enrollment to charter school competitors and the academic achievement of students who remain enrolled in it. Geographic measures most often used to study the effect of school choice policies on public school student achievement are not well suited for densely populated urban environments. I adopt a direct approach and measure charter school exposure as the percentage of a public school's students who exited for a charter school at the end of the previous year. Depending on model specification, I find evidence that students in schools losing more students to charter schools either are unaffected by the competitive pressures of the choice option or benefit mildly in both math and English.     

Walking on a tightrope: Agency and accountability in practitioner inquiry in New Zealand secondary schools

Teachers are increasingly engaging in inquiry through questioning, investigating, reflecting, and using data about their own practice and the functions of their departments and schools. The purpose of this study was to explore how inquiry is conceived in the literature and how it was enacted and experienced by New Zealand high school teachers. The literature on inquiry often conveys conflicting advice, competing demands, and contradictory purposes. Using interviews with a purposive sample of educators, this paper suggests that inquiry is a central, yet contested, concept; teachers feel tension when enacting inquiry; and their inquiry processes occasionally slip into accountability.     

Taking the risk to engage in race talk: professional development in elementary schools

Developing public education where every child has the right to learn requires that teachers pay attention to and engage in race talk – open discussion about race, social construction of race, and racism. While it is clear that children engage and reflect critically about these aspects of race even at a young age, teachers rarely engage in race talk with them. In this study, an African-American preservice teacher and a White teacher educator explore how African-American, Polynesian, and White in-service teachers, participating in Courageous Conversations professional development, address or avoid race talk in their elementary schools through the lens of Critical Race Theory (CRT) and what risks they take when they do. Findings, through in-depth, semi-structured interviews, demonstrate that (1) racism was observed and/or experienced by all teachers in elementary schools; (2) lived racial experiences impacted teachers’ approach to conversations about race; (3) creating an open space was crucial for race conversations; (4) Courageous Conversations provided a ‘new language’ to talk about race; and (5) administrative support facilitated more attention to race. Findings indicate the road to greater equity in schools requires more professional development about race talk in elementary schools.     

Juggling multiple accountability systems: how three principals manage these tensions in Ontario,Canada

Accountability in education is not new. Schools have always been accountable in one way or another to the communities they serve, regardless of the policy environment of the time (Elmore, The Educational Forum, 69:134–142, 2005). This article explores how three principals from Ontario, Canada manage the tensions of multiple accountability systems in their work. Findings indicate that the principals were able to find ways to be accountable to a variety of communities and ideals by prioritizing and honoring local needs and beliefs within the larger provincial mandate. Principals could not ignore the various accountability pressures; indeed, their success hinged on the ability to negotiate them. This delicate balancing act requires school principals to develop skills necessary to successfully juggle these competing demands.     

纽约多元文化的根源

纽约的建城史可以追溯到1609年，当时受雇于荷兰人的英国探险家亨利．哈德森，为找出一条到达东方的捷径而发现了曼哈顿岛。十五年以后，荷兰殖民者来到此地，开始建立殖民地——新阿姆斯特丹。这块殖民地迎来了世界各地愿意到此工作的人。在十七世纪四十年代，纽约城里说着十八种不同的语言。     

加入WTO背景下中小学教材的新取向

加入WTO对中小学教材产生了重大的影响，使之出现了一些新的取向，主要表现在教材形式的多样化，教材观念的更新以及教科书地位的变化。我们一方面应该努力改革传统的教科书，另一方面可以逐步试用和推广各种新形式的教材，使教材更好地为基础教育服务。