The author uses Maxwell's method of literature reviews for educational research to focus on literature relevant to test-based grade retention policies to make the following argument: although some studies have documented average gains in academic achievement through test-based grade retention, there is increasing evidence that these gains…

This paper presents a framework for evaluating efforts by organizations to share research as exemplified on their websites, then reports the result of an evaluation of these efforts in 100 organizations. The result shows that the overall research sharing efforts of these organizations are modest and not well aligned to evidence on effective…

The current educational reform policy discourse takes for granted the central role of using data to improve instruction. Yet whether and how data inform instruction depends on teachers' assessment practices, the data that are relevant and useful to them, the data they typically have access to, and their content and pedagogical knowledge. Moreover,…

An analysis of English/language arts standards development in Wisconsin and Minnesota in the late 1990s and early 2000s shows a process of compromise between neoliberal and neoconservative factions involved in promoting and writing standards, with the voices of educators conspicuously absent. Interpretive and critical discourse analyses of…

Identification of a language minority learner for placement in a program for English Language Learners (ELLs), and the length of the support program, may have a significant effect on the student's academic achievement. Widespread anecdotal evidence suggests that criteria used to make placement decisions vary widely across the U.S. This study…

The impact of performance funding on community college student outcomes is a contested issue. Performance funding policies in most U.S. states involve too small a proportion of funding to change college behavior. English further education colleges are similar to U.S. community colleges. 1992 policy reforms in England centralized policy control,…

With the mandate of "No Child Left Behind," high-stakes achievement testing is firmly in place in every state. The few studies that have explored the effectiveness of high-stakes testing using NAEP scores have yielded mixed results. This study considered state demographic characteristics for each NAEP testing period in reading, writing,…

The No Child Left Behind Act has brought great attention to the high school graduation rate as one of the mandatory accountability measures for public school systems. However, there is no consensus on how to calculate the high school graduation rate given the lack of longitudinal databases that track individual students. This study reviews…

Reviews the conditions of schooling for English learners in California, the state with the largest population of such students, representing about 40% of U.S. English learners. Identifies seven areas in which students receive an education demonstrably inferior to that of English speakers. (SLD)

Assembles evidence from several sources to show that home schooling is growing. Finds that home-schooled students are more likely to be middle-income, white, from larger families, and from two-parent families with one parent at home. The analysis finds support for a divide based on attitudes towards regular schools. (SLD)

Identifies themes in the theoretical literature on policy implementation that can be used to develop a research-based framework about how qualitative research can be used to analyze policy implementation through the investigation of informal and formal communication lines. (SLD)

Examined the relationship between state-mandated testing and teachers' beliefs and practices through a review of the literature. Findings suggest that a relationship between state-mandated testing and teachers' beliefs does exist, but testing does not appear to be an exclusive or primary lever for change. (SLD)

Discusses the under representation of women in managerial positions in Greece and the evidence of barriers that inhibit women from pursuing and taking such positions, a type of covert discrimination that is counter to notions of democratic citizenship. (SLD)

Examines the impact of Japanese nationalistic thought on the administrative systems and structures of colonial and modern higher education in Korea and analyzes Japanese educational policy in Korea in the colonial period (1910-1945). Identifies beneficial and negative impacts of the Japanese colonial education system. (SLD)

Examines the general process and outcomes of basic education reform in the context of changes in the educational system of China. Identifies lessons the Chinese reform experience can offer other developing countries. (SLD)