Responding to federal policy and recent research, states and districts have developed and begun implementing multiple-measure teacher evaluation systems. These systems generally include observational and/or student survey measures of instructional quality alongside measures of teachers' contributions to student learning (e.g., value-added…

In this study, we use the US nationally representative Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten Cohort to examine inequalities in opportunities to learn mathematics. Specifically, we examine the characteristics of US students' elementary school math teachers and the instruction they provide. While our findings are consistent with…

The 2001 No Child Left Behind Act requires local education agencies to publicly disseminate school performance data. In response, districts and state departments of education have created "school report cards" that vary widely. While data dissemination policies can improve institutional legitimacy and ensure ongoing support, we suggest…

Using data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten Cohort (ECLS-K)--a large, nationally representative sample of US elementary school students, we employed multilevel analysis to answer the following research questions: (a) Does students' mathematics achievement growth in grades K-3 vary among schools? (b) To what extent does…

A growing number of parents--particularly middle- and upper-middle-class parents--are working to fill budgetary gaps through their fundraising, grant writing, and volunteerism in urban public schools. Yet little is known about how this may shape norms and practices related to parental engagement within particular schools. Drawing from a case study…

A growing body of school choice research has shown that when school choice policies are not designed to racially or socioeconomically integrate schools, that is, are "colorblind" policies, they generally manage to do the opposite, leading to greater stratification and separation of students by race and ethnicity across schools and programs. Since…

Multiple-choice assessments are frequently used for gauging teacher quality. However, research seldom examines whether results from such assessments generalize to practice. To illuminate this issue, we compare teacher performance on a mathematics assessment, during mathematics instruction, and by student performance on a state assessment. Poor…

This article examines how formal school leaders are positioned in their school's instructional networks based on an analysis of data from all 30 elementary schools in one mid-sized urban school district. Premised on the assumption that advice and information are key building blocks for knowledge development, we analyzed the instructional advice…

Scaling up instructional improvement remains a central challenge for school systems. While existing research suggests that teachers' social networks play a crucial role, we know little about what dimensions of teachers' social networks matter for sustainability. Drawing from a longitudinal study of the scale-up of mathematics reform, we use…

It is widely recognized today that a teacher's surrounding professional community inevitably affects the kind of teaching that students are offered. However, until recently, it has been difficult to quantify and systematically study the nature of professional relationships in schools and districts. The articles in this special issue provide a…

There is evidence suggesting that missing school negatively relates to academic achievement. However, it is a difficult task to derive unbiased empirical estimates of absences in their influence on performance. One particular challenge arises from the unobserved heterogeneity in the family environment, which may relate to both absence behavior and…

The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) is the most prominent contemporary effort to professionalize teaching. Along with identifying exceptional teachers, the NBPTS seeks to alter teachers' work by establishing a cadre of expert teachers capable of and obligated to leading school improvement efforts. This article reports…

Previous research has consistently found a relationship between student race and discipline. For example, African Americans are more likely than whites to be sent to the office or suspended. However, much of this work is limited by a lack of student behavior and school-level variables. This study examined the effect of student race on office…

The findings on the social distribution of the immediate and lasting benefits of small classes have been mixed. We used data from Project STAR and the Lasting Benefits Study to examine the long-term effects of small classes on the achievement gap in mathematics, reading, and science scores (Stanford Achievement Test). The results consistently…

Home buyers exercise school choice when shopping for a private residence due to its location in a public school district or attendance area. In this quantitative study of one Connecticut suburban district, we measure the effect of elementary school test scores and racial composition on home buyers' willingness to purchase single-family homes over…