Showing papers in "Educational Administration Quarterly in 2009"
TL;DR: In this article, a hierarchy of authority is used to organize the complex task of educating large and diverse groups of students, such as a classroom, a hierarchy, and a classroom.
Abstract: Purpose: Schools necessarily employ elements of a bureaucratic structure to organize the complex task of educating large and diverse groups of students— elements such as a hierarchy of authority, a...
466 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors explored the cultivation of collegial trust as a central feature of the capacity-building work of 11 high school principals, nominated for their expertise with capacity building.
Abstract: This article explores the cultivation of collegial trust as a central feature of the capacity-building work of 11 high school principals, nominated for their expertise with capacity building. This qualitative study examined interview data and school documents collected over 18 months. Principals regarded trust as critical and were motivated to engage in trust building based on their understanding of the importance of trust or by information that pointed to school-wide trust concerns. To address collegial trust concerns, principals set, enforced, and reinforced norms of interaction. Based on a review of interdisciplinary literature on trust development, and drawing upon a knowledge-based model of trust development where repeated interactions serve as a key mechanism for trust formation in organizations, three broad actions, emanating in large measure from principals' work to support and enhance collaboration, are identified as important with respect to the cultivation of collegial trust. Varied and context...
231 citations
TL;DR: In this article, Marginalizing dynamics can emerge in school communities that are experiencing rapid demographic change, even when led by equity-oriented principals, and the purpose of this article is to consid...
Abstract: Purpose: Marginalizing dynamics can emerge in school communities that are experiencing rapid demographic change, even when led by equity-oriented principals.The purpose of this article is to consid...
213 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigated the relationship between trust, empowerment, and involvement among teachers and administrators in program improvement (PI) schools and found that the presence of trust and leadership approaches that are participative and inclusive predicted lower levels of threat-rigid response.
Abstract: Purpose: The No Child Left Behind Act laudably brings social justice and equity issues to the forefront; however, the act’s threat- and sanction-driven methods are not only increasing stress levels but potentially causing a rigid response, especially in the growing population of schools labeled program improvement (PI). Specifically, threat–rigid responses tend to limit options and information flow, constrain decision making, and increase stress. The question then becomes, what can mitigate the organizational effects of perceived threat? This study hypothesizes the following: Trust and leadership dimensions that support empowerment and involvement will predict an educational organization’s ability to minimize a threat–rigid response and flexibly negotiate new demands. Research Methods: This study utilized original instruments to measure threat–rigidity, trust, and leadership. Specifically, teachers and site administrators were surveyed in four districts representing eight schools in PI and six schools in non-PI, to test the hypothesis that the multifaceted construct of trust and leadership has a predictive relationship with threat–rigid response. Data were also collected from focus groups of teachers and from interviews with principals from two schools in PI. Findings: Findings of multiple linear regression models, focus groups, and interviews indicate that the presence of trust and leadership approaches that are participative and inclusive predicted lower levels of threat–rigid response by teachers and administrators in PI schools. Implications for Research and Practice: Results suggest that when predictive factors such as trust, empowerment, and involvement are present, teachers and administrators perceive a less rigid response in schools under sanction from PI. This finding suggests the expanding role of trust as a resource for schools and districts that are negotiating accountability demands. Policy makers may well consider initiatives that move beyond compliance to the building of organizational capacity.
205 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a path analysis was conducted at the school level to model variation in trust and the proportion of students passing the state mathematics and reading assessments using path analysis and controlling for measures of school context.
Abstract: Purpose: Research shows that trust is significantly related to academic achievement. This study expands knowledge of this connection in two ways. First, because a stratified, random sample of elementary schools from an entire state was used, the results have considerable generalizability. Second, this study tested the relationship between trust and achievement and assessed whether links between academic achievement, socioeconomic status (SES), and racial composition are mediated by the levels of trust teachers report in students and parents. Data Collection and Analysis: Schools were systematically randomly selected and stratified by location, prior achievement, SES, and size to represent all traditional public elementary schools across Michigan. Teachers responded to surveys measuring the levels of trust in schools. A path analysis was conducted at the school level to model variation in trust and the proportion of students passing the state mathematics and reading assessments. Findings: Using path analysis and controlling for measures of school context, greater trust was associated with increased school achievement in mathematics and reading on state assessments used for accountability purposes. Also, school SES, racial composition, and size were indirectly related
183 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a mixed methods study was conducted to assess the instrument fidelity and construct-related validity of a 33-item instrument called the Schoolwide Cultural Competence Observation Checklist (SCCOC) by eliciting school leaders' views.
Abstract: Purpose: The initial purpose of this mixed methods study was to assess the instrument fidelity and construct-related validity of a 33-item instrument called the Schoolwide Cultural Competence Observation Checklist (SCCOC) by eliciting school leaders’ views. The SCCOC was designed as one tool for use in conducting school culture audits, which determine how well a school responds to the needs of diverse groups. The results revealed unexpected qualitative findings from school leaders’ narrative responses to open-ended items. The implications of these findings for school leaders and school leader preparation are discussed. Research Design: On a Web-based questionnaire, practicing school leaders in two large western states responded to open- and closed-ended items on the relevance of SCCOC items to cultural competence in actual school settings. Participants’ narrative responses were analyzed using an iterative process of coding and constant comparison to identify emerging themes. Themes were validated using in...
143 citations
TL;DR: The results suggested why overall validity of ratings was lower than expected and highlighted challenges in research on school leader decision making and cautions for using such decisions for high stakes purposes.
Abstract: Purpose: The article reports on a study of school leader decision making that examined variation in the validity of teacher evaluation ratings in a school district that has implemented a standards-...
140 citations
TL;DR: The authors investigated the relationship between principal leadership and variation in teachers' participation in a new literacy coaching program: Content-Focused Coaching (CFC), and found that principal leadership was significantly associated with the frequency with which teachers conferred with their new CFC coach and were observed by their new coach as teaching reading comprehension lessons.
Abstract: Purpose: This study investigated the relationship between principal leadership and variation in teachers’ participation in a new literacy coaching program: Content-Focused Coaching ® (CFC). Research design: Twenty-nine schools were randomly assigned to participate in the CFC program or to serve as a comparison. Interviews were conducted with elementary school principals and coaches, and teach ers completed surveys describing their experiences with their new coach. Correlation analyses investigated the relationship between the categories of principal support and the frequency of teachers’ participation in individual coaching activities. Principals’ actions and beliefs were also compared across schools, with teachers’ relatively high and low participation in coaching, to identify patterns in principal leadership. Findings: Principal leadership was significantly associated with the frequency with which teachers conferred with their new CFC coach and were observed by their new coach as teaching reading comprehension lessons. Principal behaviors associated with teachers’ increased engagement with coaches included actively participating in the CFC program and publicly endorsing the coach as a source of literacy expertise to teachers. Principal beliefs
108 citations
TL;DR: This article examined school-level determinants of individual parent-school trust from a sample of 79 schools and 578 parents drawn randomly from a Midwestern state, finding that 16% of the variance in parent trust was explained by school membership.
Abstract: Purpose: The authors' focus was on understanding antecedents of parent trust toward schools. Two questions guided the inquiry: Is there a systematic difference in parent-school trust across schools? If so, what organizational conditions predict between-school variability in parent-school trust? Research Methods / Approach: Using multilevel modeling, this study examined school-level determinants of individual parent-school trust from a sample of 79 schools and 578 parents drawn randomly from a Midwestern state. Findings: Intraclass coefficients were first examined on the school-level attitudinal variables to determine their collective disposition. Estimates indicated that these conditions were collective properties of schools. Results from the Level 1 Means-As-Outcomes analysis showed that 16% of the variance in parent trust was explained by school membership. Level 2 predictors were entered individually with significant variables retained and entered into a combined model. Affective norms of parent percei...
99 citations
TL;DR: This article found that culture homogeneity is positively associated with the principal's transformational leadership and the teachers' collective decision-making relative to pedagogical aspects, and that the impact of TL on culture homogeneous is partially mediated by teachers collective decision making.
Abstract: Purpose: Most studies on the impact of school culture focus only on teachers' average perceptions and neglect the possibility that a meaningful increment to the prediction of school effectiveness might be provided by the variance in teachers' culture perceptions. The objectives of this article are to (a) better understand how teachers' collective decision making and principal's leadership are related to the schools' culture homogeneity and (b) test the moderating role of the schools' culture homogeneity on the relationship between four cultural scales and the schools' mathematics achievement. Method: The sample of this study consisted of 2,595 students nested in 52 schools and 125 classes from the French-speaking community of Belgium. Students performed two mathematics achievement tests and answered a self-reported questionnaire on their backgrounds. All the teachers (n = 817) of the 52 schools answered a self-reported questionnaire dealing with the principal's leadership, school culture, and teacher collegiality. Hypotheses are tested using correlation, regression, and hierarchical regression analyses. Research Findings: First, it was found that culture homogeneity is positively associated with (a) the principal's transformational leadership (TL) and (b) the teachers' collective decision making relative to pedagogical aspects. Second, it was shown that the impact of TL on culture homogeneity is partially mediated by teachers' collective decision making. Third, the analyses found no moderation effect of culture homogeneity on the relationship between cultural values and students' achievement but did show partial evidence of such an effect in specific groups of schools (with low or high socioeconomic status composition). Implications: This study provides a deeper understanding of how social arrangements and leadership processes within schools contribute to the emergence of collective cultural values. But the results also shed light on the weak associations between cultural values and student achievement, even when considering an appropriate definition and conceptualization of the school culture..
90 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the extent to which teachers from a same school share a level of trust was explored, and an index of mean rater reliability based on the intraclass correlation coefficient from a one-way analysis of variance was used.
Abstract: Purpose: Teachers trusting other groups of actors in their school enhances a school’s functioning. Research relating teacher trust to school context has proven scarce, however. This study explores the extent to which teachers from a same school share a level of trust. Organizational value culture, size, and group composition are associated with faculty trust in students, parents, colleagues, and the principal. Research Design: Data were gathered via anonymous surveys completed by 2,104 teachers in 84 secondary schools in Flanders in the 2004-2005 school year. Measures for individual teachers’ trust were based on the scales developed by Hoy and Tschannen-Moran. To explore the existence of faculty trust, an index of mean rater reliability based on the intraclass correlation coefficient from a one-way analysis of variance was used. Findings: Faculty trust exists within Flemish secondary schools and is composed of four dimensions relating to four separate referents of trust. Organizational value culture, size...
TL;DR: The study shows that LDP log entries capture school leadership interactions as recorded by independent observers; it also demonstrates that study participants, with some exceptions, were not biased toward reporting certain types of interactions over others.
Abstract: This article aims to validate the Leadership Daily Practice (LDP) log, an instrument for conducting research on leadership in schools. Using a combination of data sources—namely, a daily practice log, observations, and open-ended cognitive interviews—the authors evaluate the validity of the LDP log. Formal and informal leaders were asked to complete the LDP log for 2 weeks; observers shadowed a subsample of leaders in each school, 1 day per week. Using the three sources of data, the authors analyzed interview responses (specifically, the participants’ interpretations of the log); they matched log entries with observer recordings; and they compared (a) the characteristics of the social interactions that were entered into the log with (b) the overall sample of interactions that occurred while observers shadowed participants. The study shows that LDP log entries capture school leadership interactions as recorded by independent observers; it also demonstrates that study participants, with some exceptions, were not biased toward reporting certain types of interactions over others. Still, some log terminologies were problematic for participants, as was the limited sampling period of 2 weeks. The authors propose ways to (a) change the LDP log to reflect the concerns raised by participants in the cognitive interviews and (b) alter the sampling scheme to capture leadership around the school year. The LDP log is less costly and time-consuming than in-depth ethnographic studies, and it is an important tool for researchers who aim to collect data in schools, one that reaches beyond surveys.
TL;DR: In this paper, the outcomes of one regional intermediate school district's effort to promote literacy coach role implementation in its 20 constituent districts were examined, and the findings from this study provide information about the kinds of district-level contexts that influenced literacy coaching role implementation and how those contexts were influential.
Abstract: Purpose: This study examines the outcomes of one regional intermediate school district’s effort to promote literacy coach role implementation in its 20 constituent districts. The findings from this study provide information about the kinds of district-level contexts that influenced literacy coach role implementation and how those contexts were influential. Research Methods: Data were collected from 20 districts that participated in a literacy coach training program provided by the regional intermediate school district. Interviews were conducted in spring 2007 with assistant superintendents or their designees. Findings: Districts’ implementation of literacy coach roles was influenced by four contextual factors: state and national reform, finances, student performance data, and existing roles and programs. Variations in these factors were associated with differences in districts’ implementation of literacy coach roles. Implications: This study has implications for how districts understand their role in relation to schools and the implementation of reforms.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors present a case for addressing evidence-based practice (EBP) in educational administration and identify barriers that may prevent the concept from being understood correctly, accepted philosophically, and implemented appropriately.
Abstract: Purpose: This article presents a case for addressing evidence-based practice (EBP) in educational administration. Content is arranged around four objectives: (a) summarizing the status of educational administration as a profession, (b) defining evidence and the model, (c) explaining EBP’s social and professional merit, and (d) identifying barriers that may prevent the concept from being understood correctly, accepted philosophically, and implemented appropriately. Proposed Conceptual Argument: The need to consider EBP is framed by society’s demand for greater accountability from professions, the realities of practice in an information-based society, and a proclivity to rely on the theory of legal accountability to improve schools. In the aftermath of the No Child Left Behind Act, critics have portrayed educational administration as a field lacking internal accountability, epistemological consistency, and a focused research agenda. The alleged deficiencies may be contributing to an erosion of state licensing laws for superintendents and principals and casting a cloud over the future of educational administration departments. Implications: Reliance on external accountability in the absence of internal accountability is unlikely to improve schools or to provide social authority for educational administration. Instead of continuing to agree to disagree over the most fundamental issues, scholars in this field need to define EBP in a manner that integrates empirical evidence, tacit knowledge, and values and then conduct research to determine the concept’s effectiveness.
TL;DR: In this paper, a conceptual framework that explores the relationships between teachers' intent to leave and a spectrum of ethics perceptions is developed. But the authors argue that these relationships are mediated by organizational commitment (affective and normative).
Abstract: Purpose: The present study focuses on developing a conceptual framework that explores the relationships between teachers’ intent to leave and a spectrum of ethics perceptions. The authors argue that these relationships are mediated by organizational commitment (affective and normative). Research Design: Organizational ethics was measured by teachers’ perceptions of ethical climate (caring and formal), organizational justice (distributive and procedural), and tendency to misbehave. Participants were 1,016 schoolteachers from 35 schools affiliated with a secondary-level school network in Israel. Findings: Results of a multilevel analysis reveal direct relationships between intent to leave and dimensions of all three ethical constructs. The mediation effect of affective and normative commitment was full for caring climate and partial for procedural justice and tendency to misbehave. Conclusions: The contribution of this study is the integrative approach to organizational ethics as predicting teachers’ intent...
TL;DR: For instance, this article found that vice principals who have a stronger desire for personal growth and who are more actively involved in professional development opportunities in their schools have a greater desire to become principals.
Abstract: Purpose: This study attempts to link four groups of contextual factors to vice principals’ desire for principalship using regression analysis. Relevant items representing context are grouped under professional, school, demographic, and motivational factors. The findings aim to provide greater understanding of the desire, or lack thereof, of vice principals to become principals. Research Design: A questionnaire was sent to all secondary school vice principals in Hong Kong. Respondents were asked to indicate on a 4-point Likert-type scale their degree of involvement in a set of professional work dimensions and to rate their agreement with motivational items to describe their needs. They were also asked to provide information about their school and demographic background. Of the 803 questionnaires distributed, 331 were returned, giving a response rate of 41.2%. Findings: A number of professional, demographic, and motivational factors appeared to link to vice principals’ desire for principal positions. These included involvement in professional development in school, a personal desire to keep learning, the applicants’ age, and their predisposition to disregard relational factors. Conclusions: Vice principals who have a stronger desire for personal growth and who are more actively involved in professional development opportunities in their schools have a greater desire to become principals. On the other hand, vice principals who value harmonious working relationships are less inclined to apply for principalships. Further professional development is necessary to increase both the quality and the quantity of principal aspirants. This should recognize the power of ingrained beliefs and norms and be built around human resource issues.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors describe an emerging model of boundary spanning leadership in homeless education, drawing from the pilot program that is being implemented in conjunction with the National Institute of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services.
Abstract: Purpose: This From the Field article describes an emerging model of boundary spanning leadership in homeless education. Drawing from the pilot program that is being implemented in conjunction with ...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examine the assumptions underpinning one UPward Bound program to understand how the program attempts to increase educational opportunity for all students in the United States by increasing educational opportunity.
Abstract: Purpose: The purpose of this interpretive case study is to examine the assumptions underpinning one Upward Bound program to understand how the program attempts to increase educational opportunity f...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors identify which journals have been recently cited by scholars publishing in the field of educational leadership (i.e., specifically publishing in Educational Ad-hoc journals).
Abstract: Purpose: The current study seeks to understand which journals have been recently cited by scholars publishing in the field of educational leadership (i.e., specifically publishing in Educational Ad...
Abstract: Purpose: The current literature's call for a more ecological approach to violence theory, research, and practice stimulated the current study. This model postulates that teachers' willingness to engage in behaviors intended to tackle violence in school as part of their in-role duties (role breadth) will affect school violence. Specifically, the model examined the mediating role of teachers' role breadth in the relationship of the organizational-level factors of participative management and job autonomy with school violence. Method: Data were collected from a survey of 1,512 teachers and their principals at 119 elementary schools in the northern and central parts of Israel. Findings: The structural equation model confirmed the main hypotheses and indicated that for both job autonomy and participative management only the indirect paths (job autonomy—role breadth— school violence; participative management—role breadth—school violence) were significant. These results indicated that role breadth fully mediated...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors report that massive retirements, increased expectations, and mounting political pressures have resulted in a diminished talent pool for school superintendents, leading to a "diminished talent pool".
Abstract: Background: Massive retirements, increased expectations, and mounting political pressures have resulted in a diminished talent pool for school superintendents. For school boards of the 124 school d...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined data from interviews with students in the Upward Bound (UB) Program (a federally sponsored program that provides academic support to students at risk preparing for college entrance) to strengthen understanding of the stages of trust in educational organizations that serve urban youth.
Abstract: Purpose: By examining data from interviews with students in the Upward Bound (UB) Program (a federally sponsored program that provides academic support to students at risk preparing for college entrance), this study seeks to strengthen understanding of the stages of trust in educational organizations that serve urban youth and in so doing provoke further thought regarding our collective understanding of trusting dispositions and behaviors in educational organizations. Research Design: This qualitative piece uses data from a study of student participation in leadership and interviews, observations, and document analysis of participants and informants to build conceptual understanding of the stages of interpersonal trust in educational organizations. Participants included 20 recent high school graduates enrolled in the summer Bridge Program of the UB Program at a university in a midsized city. Findings: Better understanding of the stages of trust came from examining the concept in an educational organizatio...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined the use of law enforcement in schools and whether the probability that student offenses are criminalized increases as a result, and found that schools using off-duty law enforcement officers report offenses to the police at a significantly higher rate than those that do not.
Abstract: Purpose: A factor largely overlooked amid the press for greater security in schools is the extent to which law enforcement participates in search and seizure and the implications such actions carry for student civil liberties. As case law suggests, police engaged in school searches may be held to the probable cause standard or the more flexible reasonable suspicion standard articulated in New Jersey v. T. L. O. (1985). This article examines the use of law enforcement in schools and whether the probability that student offenses are criminalized increases as a result. Data Collection and Analysis: In this study, researchers report data on 2,270 schools from the School Survey on Crime and Safety made available through the National Center for Education Statistics. Using a factorial ANOVA, researchers use various demographic indicators to measure whether schools ordinarily relying on law enforcement for security report offenses to municipal police to a greater degree than those that do not. Findings: Findings indicate that schools using off-duty law enforcement officers report offenses to the police at a significantly higher rate than those not using off-duty law enforcement officers. While poverty, minority composition, and urbanicity do not interact significantly with offduty police use, the minority composition of the school and the percentage of students receiving free and reduced-price lunch, when examined as main effects, yield statistically significant differences in the mean percentage of offenses reported to the police. These findings suggest the need for schools to develop clearly articulated policies with respect to police intervention, as well as the need for further research into decision making of principals in schools with greater concentrations of student poverty.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors provided an analysis of articles winning the William J. Davis Award in Educational Administration Quarterly (EAQ) from its start in 1980 through 2007. And they explored ideas for continued changes in EAQ's editorial policies relating to the award, based on patterns that emerged from the data.
Abstract: Purpose: This article provides an analysis of articles winning the William J. Davis Award in Educational Administration Quarterly (EAQ) from its start in 1980 through 2007. Findings: Information is presented on data relating to two guiding questions: (a) What themes or trends have emerged over time in Davis Award–winning articles? (b) What impact have Davis Award–winning articles had on the field relative to other EAQ articles? Conclusions: Based on patterns that emerged from the data, ideas for continued changes in EAQ’s editorial policies relating to the award are explored.
TL;DR: The authors of as mentioned in this paper proposed a Collaborative Inquiry Leadership Model for developing effective principals through collaborative inquiry, which has been shown to be effective in the development of effective principals in Taunton, Massachusetts.
Abstract: The implications of this study for research are multiple. School districts could test this model for producing results on district programs by comparing similar principals/schools who use this model with those who do not. Researchers could assess principal participant’s pre and post to determine what and how much they learned. Recording the topics and participants’ “insights” and then having a set of experts judging the validity of those issues would evaluate credibility. Much more research is needed to identify the real value of the Collaborative Inquiry Leadership Model. The title, Developing Effective Principals Through Collaborative Inquiry, is a bit of an overstatement given the limitations of the study and its description in this book. The Collaborative Inquiry Leadership Model by itself will not fully develop effective principals. The process has merit for collaboration and inquiry; however, it is school improvement content free and too dependent upon the participants to predictably cause effective behaviors. School district administrators could however utilize this model as a boost to district programs by selecting the problem for sharing among the principal participants. Arthur Stellar Superintendent of Schools, Taunton, Massachusetts
TL;DR: Strengthening the African American Educational Pipeline as discussed by the authors is a book about the journey of the editor, Jerlando Jackson, from the pecan groves of Ashburn, Georgia, to the Ivory Tower of Wisconsin-Madison, where he works as an associate professor.
Abstract: Strengthening the African American Educational Pipeline opens with an interesting story about the journey of the editor, Jerlando Jackson, from the pecan groves of Ashburn, Georgia, to the Ivory Tower of Wisconsin–Madison, where he works as an associate professor. Jackson’s story establishes an interesting parallel to that of the many African American students’ stories described throughout the volume. The stories of the latter are told in this book just as vividly as his but done through the sophisticated use of empirical data. Moreover, as an African American man working as an associate professor at a research university several years after migrating from Albany, Georgia, to attend graduate school in the Midwest, I can certainly identify with several of his experiences. Then it is no surprise that Jackson’s story as a young African American man struggling to navigate the appropriate channels to get an education is a compelling one, as is this book. What might be surprising are the many challenges that he and so many African Americans still must endure to tell their important stories to the world. In the introduction Jackson (2007c) explains what the metaphor “pipeline” means and why he uses it. He shares that the educational pipeline metaphor is used to describe and depict the critical stages in the educational process for African Americans, both as students and as professionals. The metaphor permits key decision makers (researchers, policy makers, and educators) to examine where additional interventions are needed. To his credit, he does present the fact that there are supporters and critics of the metaphor. However, he still prefers the metaphor because it provides clear stages for interventions to improve the educational conditions of African Americans. Those stages of the pipeline are, according to Jackson, pre-K–12 schools and higher education, and two of the book sections address these two stages, with a third section related to social influences that impact the individual as he or she navigates the pipeline. Hence, Strengthening the African American Educational Pipeline, which has 10 chapters, is divided into three sections titled Pre-K–12 Schools, Higher Education, and Social Influences. The first two sections have three chapters and the third section has four, including a Educational Administration Quarterly Volume 45 Number 3 August 2009 495-514 © 2009 The University Council for Educational Administration http://eaq.sagepub.com hosted at http://online.sagepub.com
TL;DR: This paper argued that too much assessment will detract from other key parts of education, such as having positive relationships with students, engaging in meaningful instructional practices, and fostering cultural and linguistic diversity.
Abstract: An easily interpreted title, A Pig Don’t Get Fatter the More You Weigh It, implies that more assessment is not an answer to improved instruction. On the contrary, too much assessment will detract from other key parts of education, such as having positive relationships with students and engaging in meaningful instructional practices. It then holds that students do not learn more the more you assess them. While reading this title many questions arose. One central question was, what would the authors have the readers believe? In answering this question, the overarching claim or theme of the book became apparent. That claim is that educators should use a variety of meaningful assessments to inform instruction on an ongoing basis. At the foundation of a better quality of education is losing the notion that assessments are add-ons to instructional practices rather than an integral part of instruction. This claim is found implicitly and explicitly throughout the book. In addition to this central claim, many of the authors in this book refer to diversity in culture and language and are concerned with, as are the editors, the learning context. The authors lead the reader to believe that there are specific, focused approaches to assessment at the classroom level that lend themselves to improved instruction. Furthermore, assessment is a part of instruction, not something tacked onto it as an afterthought. Effective instructional practices are believed, by the authors, to be those that use assessment in a continuous feedback process that informs instruction. Moreover, these focused approaches to assessment can help to foster cultural and linguistic diversity while improving instruction and enhancing standardized test scores. The discussion of cultural and linguistic diversity in the book brings forward a secondary theme of book—that of diversity. This second theme of the book addresses diversity of students, of assessments, and of instructional practices. Educational Administration Quarterly Volume 45 Number 1 February 2009 145-159 © 2009 The University Council for Educational Administration http://eaq.sagepub.com hosted at http://online.sagepub.com