The Performance Evaluation Reform Act (PERA) has been the governing legislation for teacher evaluation in Illinois since its inception in 2010. PERA's original purpose was to improve the professional competence of teachers while increasing the academic performance of students. This study explored the perceptions and experiences of a small group of…

This study examined school psychology faculty beliefs, attitudes, and perceptions regarding the status of graduate training in evidence-based assessment and intervention. The perspectives of a national sample of faculty in the U.S. were obtained through an online survey. A qualitative examination of faculty responses provided an understanding of…

Though Holocaust education is of critical importance in the world of Jewish Day Schools, little research has been conducted about it. The purpose of this paper is to answer some critical questions about how they teach the Holocaust in Jewish Day Schools--the who, what, when, where, how, and why questions. Additionally, comparisons are made between…

The purpose of this study was focused on the various perceived impacts created by the expansion to a four-tier teacher performance evaluation rating model which would inform educational leaders in the State of Illinois. By studying the experiences of principals in two other states who previously underwent the same change, Florida and…

Few Spanish language tools are available for assessing important social-emotional learning (SEL) skills. The present study presents evidence of the psychometric properties of a Spanish-language version of SELweb (SELweb-S), a web-based system for assessing children's ability to recognize others' emotions and perspectives, solve social problems,…

This study examines the perceptions, attitudes and beliefs of administrators and teachers in a Southwestern Illinois School District regarding the recent reforms in teacher performance evaluation. This study uses a qualitative approach and provides data from individual and focus group interviews to determine the extent to which the district is…

The decision of higher education institutions to grade student performance with whole letters or with pluses and minuses has many factors. In particular, student and faculty opinions on this choice require further study. Faculty at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE) recently investigated recent opinions by reviewing literature and…

In the spring of 2014, Chicago educators met to reflect on the opportunities and challenges for progressive, democratic education in Chicago-area schools. This article weaves together the writings of teachers and principals from over 15 public schools and a couple of private and parochial schools who are thinking about their own experiences in…

In the 2012-2013 school year, Chicago Public Schools unveiled its new teacher evaluation system in all of its almost 600 schools. This study draws on 32 interviews from a random sample of teachers and 2 years of survey data from more than 12,000 teachers per year to measure their perceptions of the clarity, practicality, and cost of the new…

Responding to a student-expressed need for consistency among courses within the online Baccalaureate Nursing Completion program at Midwestern University, an instructional designer and nursing faculty member collaborated to build a course evaluation rubric, learning management system template, and corresponding matrix to help support student…

This article explores a two-year professional development initiative with four state geographic alliances. Professional development planners, whether planning for a large- or small-scale initiative or one with unlimited or limited funding, will benefit from learning about this successful professional development activity and how the impact in the…

This study focused on exploring Illinois community college faculty development coordinators' perceptions about how they are implementing faculty technology professional development programs and providing technical support for part-time faculty in the Illinois community college systems. Also examined were part-time faculty perceptions of the degree…

This study explored the perceptions of school administrators and teacher educators regarding the effective use of portfolios in the process of hiring new teachers. Three questions helped to focus this study: (1) What are the perceptions of school administrators and teacher educators regarding the value and use of portfolios in the employment of…

Researchers have raised a number of questions about whether student achievement data can be used fairly or accurately for purposes of teacher evaluation. Others have noted that achievement data alone cannot provide teachers with the information they need to improve their practice. Recognizing these limitations, the federal government and many…

This case study research was designed to examine the referral process for Washington Gifted Middle School in Peoria Public School District 150 in Peoria, Illinois. The purpose was to determine if perceptions of fourth wade classroom teachers who recommended students to the school were a contributing factor in the disproportionate number of African…