Based on work with elementary grades teachers in mathematics professional development to prepare for the implementation of the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics, we offer a set of recommendations for school leaders who wish to assist teachers in adjusting their instruction to meet the challenges that the new standards present.

The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the relationship between the length of superintendent tenure, longevity, and continuity relative to student achievement as evidenced by the 2008-2009 Grade 3 New Jersey Assessment of Skills and Knowledge (NJ ASK) in Language Arts. The researcher focused on New Jersey school districts in the…

In a time of limited means and continued calls for higher student achievement, school leaders need to be wise in their use of resources. Earlier research has called for greater levels of teacher preparation, and, while many school districts provide greater compensation for teachers with graduate degrees, some districts have begun phasing out this…

Pundits and bureaucrats use the results from international tests, particularly the PISA, to make claims about the quality of the public education system in the United States and make policy recommendations. In this article I argue, with evidence, that the scores and rankings from PISA are not important and that they cannot give policy makers or…

This article is a commentary on Australia's involvement in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) tests. It provides a rationale for Australia's participation in the PISA programme, the influences of PISA involvement on education policies and practices, and considerations and implications for school leaders and…

America is not Singapore and Singapore cannot be America. So why are we often comparing ourselves to high-performing countries based on international exams? Despite the educational crisis many U.S. schools are facing, Americans should be cautious not to mimic another country's model within our diverse classrooms. We are largely grounded on…

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development [OECD] is a global policy organization that includes the United States and about half of the Western Europe countries. It administers international comparison tests, called Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), for 15 year-old students in Mathematics and other subjects. I…

This paper presents results from an examination of the relationships between high school (HS) faculty mobility and 2009-2010 New Jersey High School Proficiency Assessment (HSPA) Math and Language Arts Literacy test results. Variables found to have an influence on standardized test scores in the extant literature were evaluated and reported.…

For the purposes of this article, I am advocating for a set of creative educational practices that are artistic in process and product, which are established with the intent of resisting, refusing, and revolutionizing the ways in which we conceive of, or embody, education praxis in public schools. As predatory reformers attempt to colonize public…

Participation in Advanced Placement (AP) classes and AP test-taking are widely viewed as indicators of students' college readiness. We analyzed enrollment in AP courses and AP test outcomes in Arizona to document disparities in students' access to rigorous curricula in high school and outline some implications of these patterns for…

This study examined the influence of student demographic variables (i.e., SES, race, attendance, and gender) and the school variable of placement in an inclusion setting on the academic achievement of general education students in grades 6, 7, and 8 (n = 1200) in an urban school district as measured by the 2010-2011 NJASK, the state's annual…

To assess satisfactory job performance of superintendents on the basis of school districts' high-stakes testing outcomes, existing teacher models were reviewed and critiqued as potential options for retrofit. For these models, specific problems were identified relative to the choice of referent groups. An alternate referent group (statewide…

This mixed methods study examined the relationship between school districts' principal evaluation practices and their impact on student achievement in mathematics and reading. School achievement data were collected from a sample of 41 campuses representing 27 Texas school districts. Data were also solicited from a convenience sample of campus…

A correlational research design was used to examine the influence of superintendent tenure on student achievement in rural Appalachian Kentucky school districts. Superintendent tenure was compared to aggregated student achievement scores for 2011 and to changes in students' learning outcomes over the course of the superintendents' tenure. The…

This comparative qualitative study was conducted in four countries: Cyprus (central scientific coordinator), Italy, Romania, Slovakia. Research priorities are domestic violence and children's rights. I present the results of the Italian portion of the study and report some of the themes drawn from testimonies (n = 58) from focus group interviews…