Since the enactment of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, high stakes testing has continued to be one of the major driving forces behind educational reform. In this study, Georgia teachers' beliefs about the effects of high stakes testing were examined. A random sample of teachers from 100 of Georgia's elementary schools, middle schools, and high schools responded to a 49-item survey measured on a fivepoint Likert scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). Items were grouped into six domains: curriculum, teaching, work satisfaction, stress, accountability, and students. Teachers' responses did not differ by gender, educational level, or school level. African American teachers responded more positively than White teachers on the survey. Teachers' positive and negative responses were discussed and recommendations were made for teachers and school leaders.Keywords: accountability, high stakes testing, standardized testing, teachers Kaback (2006) indicated that due to America's obsession with testing, high stakes standardized testing will not become an endangered species anytime soon. Although there has been some resistance in education circles during the last 10 years, the general public, policymakers, and parents continue to demand better school performance and view the results of high stakes testing as proof of learning (Scherer, 2005;Wahlberg, 2003). The results of high stakes tests may reveal to taxpayers that their investment is producing quality outcomes (Lederman & Burnstein, 2006).As taxpayers, many parents want information allowing them to make comparisons of their children's and school's performance.Driesler (2001) reported 90% of parents wanted information that would allow the comparison about their children and schools. Moreover, 83% of parents indicated that high stakes tests provide important information about their children's education. Poll and survey data have indicated a positive view of standardized testing by the general public (Phelps, 2005). Phelps indicated the percentage point differential between positive responses and negative responses to standardized testing varied from a +90% for students passing a graduation test, a +39% for ranking schools, and a +28% for promoting students to the next grade. In a recent survey of parents, Tompson, Benz, and Agiesta (2013) reported parents think standardized testing should be used to (a) ensure students meet adequate national standards (83%), (b) rank or rate schools (65%), (c) evaluate teacher quality (60%), and (d) determine whether or not students are promoted or can graduate (58%).

The purpose of this study was to develop a retention model specific to the 2-year college environment using factors not typically combined with the study of student retention. The study operationalized factors representing the basic psychological needs of autonomy, competence, and relatedness combined with elements of Bean and Metzner’s nontraditional student attrition model. The data were analyzed using structural equation modeling techniques. The results indicated acceptable model fit and small to moderate effects were noted for competence and autonomy with grade point average (GPA). GPA exhibited the sole direct effect on student retention. The results further indicated the student characteristics of full-time enrollment and completion of 30 or more college-level credits combined with GPA explained a higher variance on student retention than did the factors of autonomy, competence, relatedness, external pull, or external support combined.

This instrumental case study design addressed the lack of improvement in Georgia's Title I elementary schools. The purpose was to determine if organizational structure influenced empowerment and collaboration among teachers. Using Covey's Maturity Continuum as the metric, teachers in a low-performing elementary school were interviewed regarding the impact of organizational structure on their abilities to work effectively together. The researcher found that the hierarchal structure created by administrators influenced Title I teachers to work dependently. The structure created by the administrators did not promote interdependency. The imposed structure included mandatory protocols, definitive decision-making, absolute expectations, and lines of authority. It was concluded, however, that this structure did not significantly influence bottom-line measures of success. The findings in this study can provide national policy makers, departments of education, teacher preparation programs, and education units with research and insights on how to better structure American schools.

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To examine the impacts of collaborative learning and video lectures, 94 students enrolled in online- graduate research and statistics classes completed a survey rating the impacts of course instructional methods and learning style preferences. Students’ comments suggested that the instructional methods brought the classroom to the online learner for many students, yet did not reveal a most preferred learning option.