This report is drafted with state leaders and policy makers in mind, including those who work with or support these education leaders. The information shared in this report will likely be most relevant to states that have either not yet considered a new data system on teacher preparation providers, are only now starting to consider the idea, or…

A quality improvement system (QIS) is an intentional effort to raise the quality of afterschool programming in an ongoing, organized fashion. There are a number of reasons the QIS is gaining popularity. The main reasons community leaders are drawn to improving quality is that they know that 1) higher quality programs will mean better experiences…

This article describes the process of replacing a modest Master's level school leader preparation program with an innovative Ed.D. program at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). The new doctoral program is intensive, highly selective, intellectually rigorous, and field-based. The authors provide side-by-side comparisons of the difference…

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…

Rend Lake College (RLC) has participated in several Pathways to Results (PTR) projects over the last five years. The PTR model has been an essential tool to drive evidence-based changes throughout the College. In 2015, RLC used the PTR Model to evaluate institutional processes related to the Perkins Career and Technical Education (CTE) Student…

This edition features current research, practice, and policy related to the Joyce Foundation's Shifting Gears initiative beginning with an interview with Whitney Smith, Manager of the Employment Program at the Joyce Foundation. Julie Strawn, Center for Law and Social Policy, presents a national perspective of basic skills reform efforts similar to…

High-quality out-of-school-time (OST) programs have a positive effect on youth development, but many cities have found it difficult to address the challenges of expanding and improving the quality of programs offered to underserved and high-need students. In response, The Wallace Foundation sponsored an initiative to help five cities increase…

High-quality out-of-school-time (OST) programs have a positive effect on youth development, but many cities have found it difficult to address the challenges of expanding and improving the quality of programs offered to underserved and high-need students. In response, The Wallace Foundation sponsored an initiative to help five cities increase…

The Illinois Board of Higher Education appointed a committee to review health professions education programs in Illinois and directed the committee to assess the educational needs in the health professions and the extent to which Illinois higher education is supplying qualified professionals to meet those needs. The committee also reviewed…

This guide begins with background information useful to understanding Illinois' framework for implementation and evaluation of Programs of Study. It starts with a visual depiction of the relationships between activity at the federal, state and local levels that evolved to the creation of Illinois' Career Cluster Model. This Model, which is based…

This report is the second of a series exploring implementation of best practices in programs serving young children and families, and focuses on the uses and benefits of developing and using a logic model in programs serving young children and families. A logic model is described as providing a way to clearly articulate the program's theory of…

This guide is intended to assist administrators, curriculum directors, and teachers throughout Illinois in assessing and revising their current industrial technology education programs. The first section discusses the rationale behind the Illinois state plan for industrial technology education and lists the program's overall goals and objectives.…

An Urban League project in Springfield, Illinois, provided instruction in small business management to persons who had been convicted of a crime. Phase II of the project required designing a self-instructional workbook and tape to be used when classes were not available. A resource guide listing agencies providing assistance to business persons…

The Quality Assistance Plan (QAP) for Vocational Education in Illinois is a state-funded program for locally initiated, developed, implemented, and evaluated projects that was begun in Fiscal Year 1982. Its purpose is to build the capacity, in each educational setting, for the improvement of vocational education programs. That improvement should…

In 1984, the State Board of Education, Department of Adult, Vocational, and Technical Education (DAVTE), contracted with an outside evaluator to assess the impact of the Illinois Quality Assistance Plan (QAP). (The QAP is a state-funded program for locally initiated, developed, implemented, and evaluated projects that was begun in Fiscal Year…