Scientifically Based Research School Reform

Teachers shape the minds of students to realize what their purpose is in life. Lately, because of certain educational reforms, it has been hard for teachers to say what they need to say. “In 40-plus states, the math and English guidelines determine the knowledge students have to master by the end of each grade, what they’ll be tested on this year, and in many cases, how teachers and principals will be rated at their jobs once those test scores are released” (Strauss). Most educational reforms are adopting standardized testing and should be reconsidered. Statistics even show that since we have taken part in reforms like No Child Left Behind, Race to the Top, and Common Core State Standards math and reading are declining. These standards tell teachers what to teach and what the students should know by the end of the school year. The reforms also evaluate teacher performance by how well the students learn the information. Some people believe educational reforms should not be telling teachers how to teach their students, and others believe that the reforms are absolutely fine the way they are. However the truth is educational reforms are yet to be perfected.

The differences were connected with a teacher’s original preparation for the teaching profession, licensing in the particular subject area to be taught, strength of the educational experience, and the degree of experience in teaching along with the demonstration of abilities through the National Board Certification, in which all of these facets can be addressed through policy (Darling-Hammond, 2010).America has not produced a national method containing supports and reasons to guarantee that teachers’ are adequately prepared and equipped to teach all children effectively when they first enter into the career of teaching. America also does not have a vast collection of methods available that will maintain the evaluation and continuing development of a teacher’s effectiveness in the classroom, or support decisions about entry into the field of teaching and the continuance in the profession of teaching (Darling-Hammond, 2010). n order to reach the belief that all students will be taught and learn to high standards calls for a makeover in the methods our system of education in order to be a magnet for, train, support or uphold, and cultivate effective teachers in more efficient ways. A makeover that is contingent in a certain degree of how the abilities or skills are comprehended (Darling-Hammond, 2010).In the last few years there has been increasing

The scientific method continues to be misrepresented in public schools all over the world. Students are being taught that there is a beginning and an end to the scientific method, and that everything in between is protocol and must be followed chronologically. “Ask a question, do some research, come up with a hypothesis, conduct an experiment, understand your data, make your conclusion!” a grade six science teacher will tell their students. “It’ll be on your quiz!”. However, what those students are not being taught is that the scientific method has never been, and will never be a linear process. Scientists constantly revisit different steps of the process in order to better understand the subject matter; sometimes it can take many years to

During Reagan’s presidency in the 1980’s the Secretary of Education reported that education in the United States was very poor. The publication of this report enhanced the publics concerns about education. This was the beginning of the gradual process of making educational changes based on research evidence instead of unproven and ineffective teaching practices.

In Admiraal et al. (2016)’s article, four teachers participated in the study and they reported that through conducting their research, they were able to take diverse perspectives on teaching, think of alternative solutions to address the issues, thoroughly reflect on their teaching and their colleagues’ teaching (Admiraal et al., 2016). By researching and reading the literature that is relevant to their topics, these teachers mentioned that they use the findings of the educational research to inform and shape their practices by analysing and translating the research findings to pedagogical practice, and assess the effectiveness of new ways of teaching (Admiraal et al., 2016). Furthermore, Admiraal et al. (2016) proposed suggestions to close the gap between educational research and teachers’ pedagogical practice by offering more opportunities for collaborations between researchers and practitioners, and encouraging teachers to embark academic

“Unintended Educational and Social Consequences of the No Child Left Behind Act” Journal of Gender, Race and Justice, no. 2, Winter 2009, pp. 311. EBSCOhost. In this peer-reviewed academic journal article, Liz Hollingworth, an associate professor in the College of Education at the University of Iowa, explores the history of school reform in the United States, and the unintended consequences of No Child Left Behind (NCLB). Hollingworth states that the great promise of NCLB is that schools will focus on the education of low-achieving students, reducing the gap in student academic achievement between White students and African-American, Hispanic, and Native American student populations. Hollingworth states that an unintended consequence of NCLB was that teachers and school administrators had to shift curriculum focus in an effort to raise test scores, but in some cases, they had to also abandoned thoughtful, research-based classroom practices in exchange for test preparation. NCLB also affected teachers, highly qualified teachers left high-poverty schools, with low performance rates especially those schools where teacher salaries are tied to student academic performance. Hollingworth concludes her article by stating “we need to be wary of policy innovations that amount to simply rearranging the deck chairs on the

The No Child Left Behind act emerged as a result of a massive increase in the costs of schools, while failing to show an improvement in their students performances. (Paterson 32) Since these standardized test have been in effect teachers have been judged off them. The problem is that

“In 1983 American education reform entered a new era. It was in that year that the federal government published a report of the National Commission on Excellence in Education entitled A Nation at Risk: The Imperative for Educational Reform. Commissioned in August 1981 by President Ronald Reagan's secretary of education, Terrel H. Bell, and chaired by David P.” (1). School reform has been poisoning our American educational system for 33 years and keeps on going with Obamas’ No Child Left Behind. This article should inform you on how school reform had developed, what is still causing the problem, and how school reform affects society.

The paper included information regarding the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. In the paper, I discussed the strengths and weaknesses of the policy as well as recommended changes to the policy. This paper provided me with the opportunity to question what my beliefs and values are on a policy that directly impacts children. In addition, the paper addresses what I think is important regarding education based on my values. As I wrote the paper, I recognized that I do value the importance of education. I also realized the importance of questioning statements of values and the underlying ethics of policies. I will continue to be competent and strive to increase my professional knowledge and skills in policies as it relates to my values and beliefs.

Every few years, some new process, concept, reform, or innovation is touted as the magic cure-all that will remedy whatever ails the profession – followed by disappointment that many ailments continue to plague us. Educators are often baffled by – and perhaps impatient with – these perpetual shifts and their accompanying array of

Through teacher-led research, the findings which are generated through the gathered evidence for these enquiries can be employed by policy-makers and other governmental bodies in order to inform the production of new educational policies that are “evidence-supported” and not “evidence-based”, as all evidence must always be analysed carefully in order to avoid occurring in biased results (Pollard, 2014, online), and have a relevance within a classroom setting.

What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) is an important part of IES’s strategy to use rigorous and relevant research, evaluation and statistics to improve the education system. (What Works Clearinghouse Procedures and Standards Handbook, 2014) The WWC is created by Institutes of Education Sciences (IES) within the U.S. Department of Education in 2002, which was a respond to the Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002. From then on, the WWC has been a central and credible platform for the evidence-based research on educational interventions, practices, and policies. In 15 years, the WWC has reviewed more than 10,000 in education domain and has made updates in procedures and

Public education in the United States is perhaps one of the most critical issues we face as a nation. Once pronouncing the United States as a “nation at risk”, the educational institution began to implement one reform strategy after another. In efforts to improve schooling for K-12 students, education reform has fiddled with class size, revised graduation requirements, and created standardized testing just to name a few. Unfortunately, traditional public schools are still failing to provide students with a quality education. This is disheartening as we learn that the United States lags behind in math and science compared to our international counterparts. It is safe to say that educational reform has spent billions of dollars over the

Educational policies are the rules, guidelines and or boundaries that have shaped my career as student, a teacher and most recently as an educational administrator. Throughout my career I have not questioned always questioned the reasons for the development of these policies. From the readings in this course, I have begun to examine the how and why of policy development and beginning to understand role the policy analysis has in the evaluation of educational policies over time. The role of the state, the role of the individual within the state, changes to political ideologies and the development of globalization have all directly impacted policy development and the directions that education has taken over the last century.

The view of the world is different in the mind of every individual, but at times these views correspond establishing research schools. In the world of politics, research schools have different ontological and epistemological assumptions which allows them to view the state and power differently. Their primary concern is to figure out the nature of the world and be able to figure out what one is going to focus on and disregard. The four main research school are pluralism, rational choice, institutionalism and Marxism. Pluralism embraces societal values, culture and interests which they believe are the driven force of political outcomes. Rational choice focuses on the individuals’ self interest and self awareness and believes that an