In this article, the authors provide a selective review of both research and policy represented in part by two concepts that have been discussed in educational research--the "right to learn" and the notion of "literacy as a civil right" and how these issues of access and equity are undermined by the school-to-prison pipeline.…

In the past 150 years, educational systems have expanded and become integrally linked with economic, political, and social status in modern nation-states. As the stakes for education have risen, so has the call for more and improved use of scientific evidence as a basis for educational policymaking. Evidence from averaged scores on international…

The idea that validity should be considered a property of inferences, rather than of assessments, has developed slowly over the past century. In early writings about the validity of educational assessments, validity was defined as a property of an assessment. The most common definition was that an assessment was valid to the extent that it…

In this chapter, the author discusses immigrant newcomer populations and their experiences with K-12 schooling in preparation for and access to postsecondary education. Much attention has been paid to the concept of immigrant optimism, namely, that immigrant parents are optimistic about their children's futures, including their educational…