This annotated bibliography is reformatted and customized by the Center for Positive Practices. Some of the authors featured on this page include Robert W. Clark, Allen H. Seed, Nelda Wellman, Julian Vasquez Heilig, Steven M. Welch, Robert J. Egley, Mindy Kalchman, Elizabeth D. Richard, Suzanne B. Thomas, and Jennifer M. Bondy.
(2011). Responding to the Lived Lives of the Public: Teacher Education as Civic Imperative, Teacher Education and Practice. Those who are in university-based teacher preparation seem to constantly defend the ethos of teacher education, lately in the face of a concerted, organized, well-funded attempt to obviate the need for traditional preparation. For teacher educators who are preparing candidates to be on the front lines of a high-stakes testing battleground, it is easy to be overcome by the delusions of policies that presume that learners are widgets–interchangeable economic products that ebb and flow with the regularity of engine gaskets and blue jeans. In this article, the author briefly addresses three imperatives for civic engagement in teacher education: (1) relevance of the field of teacher education; (2) responsiveness to the changing needs of society; and (3) resoluteness of purpose, including the need for cautious attention to teacher dispositions. [More] Descriptors: Relevance (Education), Democratic Values, Beliefs, Teacher Attitudes
(2011). Normalizing English Language Learner Students: A Foucauldian Analysis of Opposition to Bilingual Education, Race, Ethnicity and Education. This article uses Foucault's (1977/1995) concept of normalization to analyze contemporary opposition to bilingual education in the United States. These contemporary movements have "normalized" English language learner (ELL) students by appropriating the technology of language in order to become "Americanized." This has become urgent and emergent in educational research, in part, because of the growing number of ELL students in United States' public schools. English-language proficiency is an essential element for academic success in the US's current English-only, high-stakes testing environment. This analysis questions the notion of an ideal American as the standard for how educators implement English-only curriculum and pedagogy for ELL students. The article concludes with a critique of the impact and implications of "normalizing" ELL students with an English-only education. [More] Descriptors: Educational Research, Bilingual Education, High Stakes Tests, English (Second Language)
(2009). Negotiating Identity and Science Teaching in a High-Stakes Testing Environment: An Elementary Teacher's Perceptions, Cultural Studies of Science Education. This study draws upon a qualitative case study to investigate the impact of the high-stakes test environment on an elementary teacher's identities and the influence of identity maintenance on science teaching. Drawing from social identity theory, I argue that we can gain deep insight into how and why urban elementary science teachers engage in defining and negotiating their identities in practice. In addition, we can further understand how and why science teachers of poor urban students engage in teaching decisions that accommodate school demands and students' needs to succeed in high-stakes tests. This paper presents in-depth experiences of one elementary teacher as she negotiates her identities and teaching science in school settings that emphasize high-stakes testing. I found that a teacher's identities generate tensions while teaching science when: (a) schools prioritize high-stakes tests as the benchmark of teacher success and student success; (b) activity-based and participatory science teaching is deemphasized; (c) science teacher of minority students identity is threatened or questioned; and (d) a teacher perceives a threat to one's identities in the context of high stakes testing. Further, the results suggest that stronger links to identities generate more positive values in teachers, and greater possibilities for positive actions in science classrooms that support minority students' success in science. [More] Descriptors: Urban Schools, Elementary School Science, Testing, High Stakes Tests
(2011). The Middle School Concept Meets the Age of Assessments: How One Middle School Has Adapted to the New Age, Current Issues in Middle Level Education. The Middle School Concept brings together good teaching practices with the unique needs of pre-adolescent students. Since the passing of the NCLB, more and more attention has been generated on the results of high stakes testing. The question of what happens to the middle school concept when it confronts the demands of this new age of testing is critical in understanding how to meet the multiple needs of the students and the school's need for accountability. This qualitative study follows a previous quantitative study conducted to determine the state of the middle school concept in Tennessee. The school with the highest interest in and implementation of the middle school concept was visited by the authors. They found that despite the pressure from escalating accountability and standardization efforts by the state and federal governments, the principal and staff at this school still believe that the middle school concept best meets the educational needs of young adolescents. [More] Descriptors: Middle School Students, Student Needs, Accountability, Standards
(2011). Creative Thinking in Schools: Finding the "Just Right" Challenge for Students, Gifted Child Today. Spurred on by explosive technological developments and unprecedented access to information, leaders in the fields of business, industry, and education are all calling for creative, innovative workers. In an atmosphere of high-stakes testing and global competitiveness, educators around the world are examining their teaching methods to determine best practices for producing learning environments that develop and nurture creativity, characterized by divergent thinking, innovative solutions to problems, and fresh, new ideas. In light of their responsibilities to teach an ever-expanding knowledge base, how can school personnel also foster creative thinking in students? This article provides a list of strategies that can be used to enhance creativity in the classroom. [More] Descriptors: Creativity, Access to Information, High Stakes Tests, Creative Thinking
(2011). Like a Fish in Water: Physical Education Policy and Practice in the Era of Neoliberal Globalization, Quest. Globally, Physical Education (PE) carries the stamp of neoliberalism and as a field we are keen, it seems, to accrue more of the vestiges of this ideology. While neoliberal positions and practices are not necessarily harmful to the long-term interests of the field or the students we teach, indeed it may be strategic to take them up, the field needs to realize and reflect upon the pervasiveness of neoliberalism. Two trends in PE will be presented: (a) high stakes testing and (b) outsourcing PE to private providers, making the case that each is a response to neoliberalism and potentially the deprofessionalization of PE. Yet each trend or set of practices is not only embraced by many in the PE profession but each is often espoused by the profession as a way of buying into the dominant policy agendas (e.g., accountability, reducing health costs, supporting choice) and gaining the ensuing recognition as a legitimate school practice. [More] Descriptors: Physical Education, Global Approach, Educational Change, Educational Practices
(2011). Experts Divide on Responses to Cheating, Education Week. The cheating scandal that has rocked the 48,000-student Atlanta school system was an egregious, but not entirely unexpected, byproduct of accountability pressures, many testing experts say. The reason: As long as test scores are used in any field to make decisions on rewards or punishments, including for schools or educators, a small percentage of people will be willing to bend the rules–or break them. But the allegations of systematic test alteration by teachers and principals in Atlanta, along with recent accusations of cheating in Baltimore, the District of Columbia, Philadelphia and other districts, have highlighted a split between those arguing for improved test management and security and those who ask if it is better to scrap high-stakes testing altogether. [More] Descriptors: Cheating, Testing, High Stakes Tests, Accountability
(2011). As Good as Advertised? Tracking Urban Student Progress through High School in an Environment of Accountability, American Secondary Education. No Child Left Behind's mandated high-stakes testing and accountability policies have pervaded districts and schools nationwide. To examine student progress and graduation in the midst of first generation Texas-style accountability, this study tracked individuals in a longitudinal dataset of over 45,000 high school students in the Houston Independent School District (HISD). Using descriptive cohort and inferential competing risk analyses, the study found evidence that student leavers were severely under-reported and graduation rates exaggerated. The majority of high school students in Houston actually failed to advance to graduation, and minority, LEP and economically disadvantaged students were disproportionately affected. An important question for the field, and the impending reauthorization of NCLB, is whether accountability policies are as good as advertised for urban schools. [More] Descriptors: Urban Schools, Graduation Rate, Federal Legislation, Economically Disadvantaged
(2011). Teaching against the Grain: One Title I School's Journey toward Project-Based Literacy Instruction, Literacy Research and Instruction. The current high-stakes testing environment is compelling many educators to teach reading in programmatic ways. This type of teaching contrasts research on effective literacy instruction. This article describes a Title I elementary school's effort to improve literacy instruction not by adopting a program but rather by providing professional development emphasizing project-based literacy instruction. A teacher research study examined how teachers implemented project-based literacy instruction and how they felt about using such instruction. This study found several themes in (a) the types of projects teachers implemented, (b) what went well in using project-based instruction, and (c) obstacles teachers faced in implementing this type of instruction. [More] Descriptors: Active Learning, Student Projects, Literacy Education, Elementary School Teachers
(2011). An Analysis of Program Issues Perceived by Cooperative Education Coordinators in Pennsylvania Secondary Schools and Career and Technology Centers, Career and Technical Education Research. Cooperative education has been a long-standing component of career and technical education. The practice embodies many established theories of learning and is a premier delivery model for the school-to-work connections espoused by modern legislation. Yet in this era of high-stakes testing and academic accountability, allocated time for cooperative education at the secondary level is being reduced in favor of academic areas of accountability. Using a three-round Delphi technique, this study produced nine major categories containing 51 top issues perceived by secondary education diversified occupations and capstone cooperative education coordinators in Pennsylvania as significantly impacting their programs. Addressing these issues and overcoming the barriers to work-based education for all students can have far reaching implications for practitioners, policy makers and students. [More] Descriptors: Vocational Education, Cooperative Education, Coordinators, Secondary Schools
(2011). Promoting Successful Transitions: What Can We Learn from RTI to Enhance Outcomes for All Students?, Preventing School Failure. Achieving positive postschool outcomes continues to be a challenge for many students. These challenges are compounded for students with disabilities, even years after the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (1990; IDEA) required systematic transition planning. In this era of accountability through high-stakes testing, schools and families may feel that they are sidelined to stand by helplessly as students–particularly those with special needs–experience life-altering circumstances such as high dropout rates, underemployment and unemployment, failure to access continuing education, and dependent living situations. To find practical and relevant suggestions for promoting successful transitions and enhancing postschool outcomes for all students, the authors examine the emerging tiered-intervention paradigm known as "response to intervention." [More] Descriptors: Intervention, Dropout Rate, Disabilities, High Stakes Tests
(2011). Using the Math in Everyday Life to Improve Student Learning, Middle School Journal (J3). Preparing middle school students for the mathematics portion of standardized tests without "teaching to the test" may sound challenging and implausible. Building students' confidence and competence for test taking by way of mathematics homework may also sound unrealistic. However, in this age of high-stakes testing, teachers must find ways to weave test preparation into their routine instructional practices without compromising the depth or breadth of the curriculum. In this article, the author situates the Math in Everyday Life (MIEL) assignment within the relevant literature and describes its implementation. She shares students' reflections about the assignment, provides examples of students' work as it progressed over time, and offers an analysis of the outcomes of the assignment. Finally, she discusses ways MIEL can be used to enhance classroom practice and to address middle level mathematics curriculum standards. [More] Descriptors: Test Preparation, Mathematics Curriculum, Standardized Tests, High Stakes Tests
(2006). Looking through Different Lenses: Teachers' and Administrators' Views of Accountability, Phi Delta Kappan. Teachers and principals don't always agree about the effects on education of accountability systems based on high-stakes testing. Mr. Jones and Mr. Egley look at the implications of these differing perceptions and suggest some strategies for creating a climate in which teachers and administrators can move forward on improving student learning. [More] Descriptors: High Stakes Tests, Accountability, Teacher Attitudes, Administrator Attitudes
(2011). Identification Disputes for Students with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: An Analysis of the Case Law, School Psychology Review. This study provides a systematic analysis of published court decisions concerning identification of students with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. The 41 pertinent child find and eligibility court decisions yielded 51 relevant rulings, with the majority being under the IDEA and in favor of school districts (i.e., rejecting eligibility and child find). The most frequent IDEA disability category at issue was other health impairment. Examination of the court opinions revealed three variables that appeared to be notable decisional factors: the presence of comorbid disorders, the results of high-stakes testing, and previous implementation of accommodations and interventions. After the 1999 recognition of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in the IDEA regulations, the frequency of relevant IDEA rulings and the proportion in favor of parents increased. The authors identify implications for school psychologists and areas of future research. [More] Descriptors: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Eligibility, School Psychologists, Disabilities
(2007). Teacher Voices: The Impact of High-Stakes Testing on Teacher Caring, Teacher Education and Practice. This study examined the impact of the high-stakes testing on caring practices from the perspectives of teachers in Grades 3 and 5. These teachers, located in an East Texas school district with high percentages of low socioeconomic students, were identified as caring practitioners by their respective principals. Through the qualitative method of narrative nonfiction, the stories of eight teachers were collected and analyzed to determine the relationship between high-stakes testing and the ethic of care in teachers' practices. The stories were coded for common themes of teachers' perceptions within the context of accountability. The five themes that evolved across the narratives were as follows: heightened need for caring relationships with children, amplified concern for children, increased pressure for improving scores, intensified emotional impact, and reinforced need for supportive administrators. The stories, although unique and different, created a tapestry woven and bound together by the emergent themes, thereby presenting a picture portraying the impact of high-stakes testing on the caring practices of teachers. [More] Descriptors: Testing, High Stakes Tests, Grade 3, Grade 5