Everyone agrees that teachers' voices should be heard in their schools. But what does that mean? And how can teachers' voices be used to improve student learning? In this article, the author offers insights from his experience with the League of Professional Schools. As a result of the teacher empowerment movement that began in the mid-1980s and…

The federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001 (the latest revision of ESEA) has exerted strong pressure on the states to encourage local public schools to improve their standardized test scores. This emphasis reflects a desire on the part of politicians and policy makers for strict accountability in the form of current test scores that can…

When efforts to improve student learning fail, teachers often end up being blamed. Teachers were resistant to new ideas, say the leaders who were working with them. Rather than blame teachers and ask, "Why do teachers resist?" perhaps those who lead change should ask, "What can we do to makes it easier for teachers to implement new practices?" In…

In this article, the author offers a new vision of assessment that has the potential of bringing about remarkable gains in student achievement. The time has come to take advantage of the new understanding of the potential of assessment and to fundamentally rethink the relationship between assessment practices and effective schools in the United…

This article asserts that the health of public schools depends on defining a new model of accountability--one that is balanced and comprehensive. This new model needs be one that involves much more than test scores. This article outlines the premises behind this argument asking for what, to whom, and by what means schools should be held…

Many tout the "no excuses" mantra, from the Education Trust to President Bush, and the Heritage Foundation even titled its report on a group of higher-achieving, high-poverty schools No Excuses. As an antidote to decades of low expectations and substandard teaching for children from poor, often dysfunctional families and neighborhoods, the "no…