This paper explores the impact of a Teaching and Learning Audit of all government schools in Queensland, Australia. This audit has a concern with the extent to which schools ‘differentiate classroom learning’. We note that in England, since September 2012, one of the standards that teachers have been expected to demonstrate is an ability to ‘differentiate appropriately’, and thus the lessons of how this particular audit was implemented in Queensland have relevance outside of Australia. The paper draws on data collected from Red Point High School, one of the State’s 1257 schools and education centres audited in 2010. We suggest that this requirement to differentiate classroom learning was implemented without appropriate clarity or support, and that it increased teacher surveillance in this school. However, we also argue that some spaces were opened up by this audit, and its concern with differentiation, to articulate a social justice agenda within the school. We conclude that differentiation is a complex concept which is not easy to shift from a policy to a classroom context, and requires more careful explication at policy level and more support for teachers to enact.

Formative assessment in K-12 education has been a notable teaching and learning focus area in schools over the last 20 years, as evidenced by numerous recent systematic reviews and meta-analyses investigating and summarizing the evidence for formative assessments’ effectiveness and sustainability. This umbrella review systematically reviews meta-analyses investigating the effects of formative assessment on learning, summarizes the current findings, and assesses the quality and risk of bias in the published meta-analyses. Meta-analyses were identified using systematic literature searches in the following databases: Scopus, ERIC, Academic Research Complete, ProQuest, APA PsycArticles, SPORTDiscus, Web of Science, and Humanities International Complete. Thirteen meta-analyses, each of which examined the effects of formative assessment on learning in K-12 students, were included in this umbrella review. The review considered evidence for the potential effectiveness of using formative assessment in class with primary and secondary school students. Formative assessment was found to produce trivial to large positive effects on student learning, with no negative effects identified. The magnitude of effects varied according to the type of formative assessment. The 13 included meta-analysis studies showed moderate (n = 10), high (n = 1), and low (n = 2) methodological quality (AMSTAR-2), although the robustness of the evidence (i.e., GRADE analysis) was very low (n = 9), low (n = 3), and moderate (n = 1). These findings offer valuable insights for designing and implementing different types of formative assessment aimed at optimizing student learning and ensuring the sustainability of assessment practices. However, the low-to-very-low certainty of the available evidence precludes robust recommendations regarding optimal formative assessment strategies for learning in K-12 students.

Reconciling sexual orientation with religious and spiritual beliefs can be challenging for Christian homosexuals, since many Christian churches teach that homosexual behavior is sinful. A qualitative study of 10 male and 10 female Christian homosexuals was conducted via semistructured interviews. This article seeks to explore the potential conflict between Christianity and homosexuality faced by the respondents. Participants' life stories and experiences varied widely. A few respondents were unaffected by the potential conflict between Christianity and homosexuality, however, the majority were affected. Effects included depression, guilt, anxiety, suicidal ideation, and alienation. Implications of the findings for support personnel are included.

The issue of the “research-practice gap”—the problematic relationship between research in education and educational practice—has been widely reported in the literature. This critical literature review explores some of the causes and features of the gap and suggests some possible approaches for addressing it. These solutions involve changes in the practices of both researchers and practitioners.