To expand the field component of our secondary education program, we added service-learning field experiences to three courses. This qualitative study (n = 99) was designed to determine what our students learned from participating in these experiences and to examine whether the experiences supported our programmatic goals. The findings demonstrate…

As children of immigrants are increasing in number across the U.S. classrooms, schools need to develop strategies to engage with immigrant families. Structural and attitudinal issues in the school system create challenges in communicating with immigrant parents. Immigrant parents have high expectations for their children's academic achievement…

Classroom assessment is a vital part of teaching. It helps make student learning--or a lack thereof--visible so that teachers can adjust teaching practices and better support learners. But designing and implementing reliable assessments is a complex process. In this comprehensive book by assessment expert Susan M. Brookhart, you will learn the…

This analysis explores the essential criteria necessary to define standards-based grading (SBG) and to judge its effectiveness. Findings reveal that although many schools today are initiating SBG reforms, there's little consensus on what "standards-based grading" actually means. As a result, SBG implementation is widely inconsistent due…

School accountability is necessary to measure school and student success. School accountability status, parent-teacher communication, and parent involvement since the online gradebook implementation have been factors in education. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to identify and evaluate patterns among teachers using the online…

In the current global economy, skills in the informational text genres are increasingly important for communicating ideas among professionals. The Reading Framework for the 2009 National Assessment of Educational Progress described informational text broadly as a major type of text that includes exposition, argumentation or persuasive text, and…

The role of the "principal" in encouraging and supporting parent involvement has not received as much research attention as it would seem to merit. While the recent literature on parent involvement is extensive, virtually none are devoted to investigating the impact of school leadership, particularly the function of the principal on…

The study aimed to examine the perceptions of immigrant parents regarding their school's efforts to encourage three types of parent involvement: Parenting, Communicating, and Learning at Home. The sample includes 106 immigrant parents with children who were enrolled in English Language Learners programmes at 10 schools in a suburban school…

Educational standardized testing impacts millions of children and educational professionals each year. In the current accountability climate, an effective educational system depends on professionals who are literate in assessment and can take the appropriate actions in response to test results. Measurement researchers should begin to focus more…

For children with the most severe and persistent academic and/or behavioral challenges, parent and family involvement is vital. Student outcome data suggest that the current educational system does not adequately prepare students with the most intensive needs, particularly students with disabilities, for the world of college and work. Although the…

As schools move forward with comprehensive school reform, parents' roles have shifted and been redefined. Parent-teacher communication is critical to student success, yet how schools and teachers contact parents is the subject of few studies. Evaluations of school-change efforts require reliable and useful measures of teachers' practices in…

School leadership in communicating to parents and students from diverse backgrounds is a problem in education that must be addressed. As the population of the United States is becoming more and more diverse, school administrators must develop new ways to reach their stakeholders. All families must be involved in their children's academic progress…

This article brings together the perspectives of 21 immigrant parents who speak eight different languages and have been in Canada less than six years with those of 61 teachers and 32 principals who work in schools with English as a second language (ESL) populations of 20% or greater who have been recognized for successfully involving immigrant…

District leaders have invested widely in the creation of parent portals, but have paid less attention to ensuring that they are achieving their purpose in providing information that parents can use in supporting their children's academic success. This study, based on qualitative field note data from a larger four-year study of a continuous…

District leaders have invested widely in the creation of parent portals, but have paid less attention to ensuring that they are achieving their purpose in providing information that parents can use in supporting their children's academic success. This study, based on qualitative field note data from a larger four-year study of a continuous…