In 2002, Massachusetts voters passed Question 2, a law similar to its predecessors in California (Proposition 227) and Arizona (Proposition 203) to replace bilingual education with structured English immersion (SEI) programs. Using Ruiz's (1984) framework for language planning as an analytical lens, this study examined how three Massachusetts…

This paper stresses the importance of enacting positive transformation in language policy and planning in the United States as delineated by the idea of radical localism and supported by a critical pedagogy of place. Initially, I ask the following questions: Does NCLB impact opportunities for English language learners to take part in their…

Construct validity concerns for the IPT I Oral Grades K-6 Spanish Second Edition (IPT-S) as a measure of native oral language proficiency are examined. The examination included describing a subset of items that contributes most to overall score and native-language proficiency designation. Correlations between this subset of items and the overall…

Conventional data collection and analyses to evaluate opportunity to learn (OTL) is time and energy intensive. We propose an extension of an alternative approach suggested by Winfield (1993) by using a method to detect differential item functioning (DIF) to select items. These items are then used as initial indicators of possible difference in OTL…

Within the context of a mathematics reform effort to implement algebra in elementary schools, there is a pressure to provide results in the form of student achievement scores. However, widely-used measures of student achievement may be unrelated to the ideas and instructional practices encouraged by the reform effort. The inappropriate use of…

The purpose of this study was to analyze one high school district's use of student survey data to measure district-wide goal achievement. The premise was that student school climate factors may serve as a more robust measure of district goal attainment than the district's use of discrete item analysis. The data were gathered from archived biennial…

This study reports the results of a validation study of the Comprehensive School Restructuring Teacher Questionnaire (CSRTQ) and the School Observation Measure (SOM), which are intended for use in evaluating comprehensive school reform efforts. The CSRTQ, which putatively measures five factors related to school restructuring (internal focus,…

The work of Goleman (1998) in the area of Emotional Intelligence offers promise for the assessment and evaluation of leader behaviors not related to a technical skill set such as those related to finance, data analysis, curriculum alignment, law or strategic planning. Researchers at a West Central Georgia University initiated a project that…

This study was designed to analyze the effects of the support programs provided in education welfare action zones. Education welfare action zone policy came into effect by government from 2003 to guarantee actual educational opportunity to disadvantaged children in urban areas by providing educational, cultural, and welfare service. Education…

This article reports results derived from the national study of Grade 5 in Vietnamese primary schools in which teachers and pupils took tests in reading and mathematics. The test data were calibrated so that teacher and pupil results could be mapped onto the same continuum. Results showed that the overlapping tests for teachers and pupils were…

In 2004, Prime Minister Lee called teachers to"teach less" so that students might "learn more". In 2005, the Ministry of Education clarified this philosophical statement to mean transforming learning from quantity to quality--"more quality and less quantity" in education. This is in line with the national vision of "Thinking Schools, Learning…

This paper examined the debate on a reform of school-based management in Hong Kong, which was to set up the Incorporated Management Committee (IMC) to manage the subsidized school. The nature of the debate during legislation and the characteristics of the reform were examined. The advantages, disadvantages and the implications of the reform were…

How well boys perform during the compulsory years of schooling is a significant concern with considerable research highlighting that boys experience problems at school in terms of learning, behaviour, achievement and participation when compared to girls. In particular, the retention of boys to Year 12 has been problematic. This article reports on…

Questionnaire instruments are routinely translated to digital administration systems; however, few studies have compared the differential effects of these administrative methods, and fewer yet in authentic contexts-of-use. In this study, 326 university students were randomly assigned to one of two administration conditions, paper-based (PBA) or…

In the study of the Technology Immersion model, high-need middle schools were "immersed" in technology by providing laptops for each teacher and student, instructional and learning resources, professional development, and technical and pedagogical support. This article reports third-year findings for the teacher component of the theory-driven…