This issue of "Assessment Update" presents the following articles: (1) University of North Carolina at Charlotte: Using the EIA [Excellence in Assessment] Application as a Catalyst for Intentional Improvement (Christine Robinson and associates); (2) Editor's Notes (Stephen P. Hundley); (3) Northern Arizona University's Journey to…

The faculty research residency (FRR) model was launched in 2010, with the goal of transforming coursework to improve the preparation of teachers for high-need schools. The FRR model leveraged school-university partnerships and situated university faculty in high-need schools to conduct research related to the university courses they taught. This…

For many years, schools of social work have engaged in partnerships, especially with public child welfare agencies, to prepare a competent and professional child welfare workforce through the mechanism of Title IV-E training. In 2008 the National Child Welfare Workforce Institute (NCWWI) established an additional resource for preparing students in…

Over the past few decades, service-learning has surged in popularity. Although most programs are implemented in high school and college classrooms, service-learning has the potential for great impact in middle school. The present article evaluates a pilot service-learning program for fifth- and seventh-grade (N = 86) children in a large, urban,…

IN ITS SIMPLEST FORM, THE PROBLEM OF EDUCATION AND CULTURAL DEPRIVATION REDUCES TO ONE OF HOW CHILDREN WHO HAVE BEEN DISADVANTAGED BY THEIR ENVIRONMENT CAN BE BROUGHT UP TO THE EDUCATIONAL LEVEL OF MORE FORTUNATE CHILDREN. MANY APPROACHES ARE POSSIBLE. AMONG THE VARIABLES WHICH MUST BE STUDIED IN DEPTH ARE--THE STUDENT, HOME ENVIRONMENT, PEER…

A 4-phase study was conducted to provide an objective third-party assessment of the effectiveness of research and development (R. & D.) projects supported by the Research and Development Unit (RDU) of the Illinois Division of Vocational and Technical Education. Activities during the four phases consisted of: (1) a preliminary review to obtain…

Reports on a third account of a longitudinal investigation of the effects of the installation of a curriculum engineering system in a suburban Illinois elementary school district. A system of curriculum engineering is explained as involving the organization of all personnel in the school district in the performance of the two primary functions of…

Given the growth in community colleges, the projected need for health career workers, and the central position of the department chair in higher education, this study explored dimensions of leadership as identified by health career department chairs in five Illinois community colleges. Areas of study included: (a) professional profiles of health…

This publication contains the testimony of a hearing held to learn about the regional curriculum needs and priorities of individuals and groups from Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Wisconsin. The East Central Curriculum Coordination Center is described as the largest of the six curriculum…

This book embraces the idea of listening to and learning from students. Although many educational theorists have long argued that incorporating children's perspectives about teaching and curriculum has the potential for increasing students' interest and participation in learning, their radical perspectives are still ignored or dismissed in theory…

In Crystal Lake, Illinois, the Office of Curriculum and the teachers comprising the Curriculum Council of the district struggled for three years with the development of a sensible format for categorizing the importance of the many parts of the school's total instructional program. A working model was developed and is described here as the Crystal…

Research is summarized and analyzed in this revision of the author's 1960 "Analysis of Research on the Education of Gifted Children," which was used as a guide in the construction and implementation of the Illinois Plan for Program Development for Gifted Children. Information is provided on identification and definition and on…

As part of Project IMPACT's efforts to develop procedures for complying with the impact requirements of Public Law 94-482, a case study was made of the Illinois Occupational Curriculum Project (IOCP). The top-down study traced the IOCP from its developers to its users and documented measurable changes in the 1971 versus the 1979 curriculum…

This is the first part of a two-part position paper, updating an 1986 position statement, developed by the Illinois Art Education Association for the elementary, middle-level, and secondary schools in the state of Illinois. Part 1, the "Introductory Statement," highlights the contemporary context of educational reform as an opportunity…

A PLANNED, RIGOROUS SEARCH WAS CONDUCTED FOR A CONCEPTUAL SYSTEM BY MEANS OF WHICH THE CENTRAL PROBLEMS OF CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT AND INSTRUCTIONAL INNOVATION ARE IDENTIFIED AND RELATED TO EACH OTHER. EACH SEGMENT OF THE RATIONALE FORMULATED WAS RELATED TO AND CONTINUALLY CHECKED AGAINST PERTINENT RESEARCH AND RELATED STUDIES DURING THE…