This article shares the results from a quasi-experimental mixed-methods study of a promising transition-focused professional development approach. The 12-week team-based intervention resulted in positive outcomes among intervention group participants' knowledge and capacities. The intervention group exhibited statistically significant changes in…

This study expands our understanding of how groups influence the higher education policy process through strategic policy narratives. As the number and diversity of interest groups attempting to influence the policy making process in higher education increases, the importance of considering how those interest groups strategically construct and use…

Previous research has examined world language classroom-based assessment practices as well as the impact of the Standards for Foreign Language Learning in the 21st Century (National Standards in Foreign Language Education Project, 1999) on practice. However, the extent to which K-12 teachers' assessment practices reflect national and state…

The Center on Standards, Alignment, Instruction, and Learning (C-SAIL), examines through four lines of study to determine how college- and career-readiness (CCR) standards are implemented, if they improve student learning, and what instructional tools measure and support their implementation. This brief presents findings from C-SAIL's…

States, programs, and schools have long focused on the inputs of teacher preparation--the rules for candidates and the preparation programs they attend--because inputs were thought to predict teacher effectiveness, and because they were often the best option available. But in the early 2000s, policymakers began trying to evaluate preparation…

The Ohio Department of Education created Early Learning Content Standards in 2004 for children aged three to five grounded in research in the content areas of math, science, social studies and English/Language Arts. This mixed method study was designed to examine the perceptions of preschool teachers as they aligned the early learning content…

Testing students once a year, with data reported many months later, is like using an autopsy to determine how to help a patient, says Cindy Ambrose, chief academic officer of the Horry County Schools in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. In Horry County and many other districts around the country, assessment that monitors vital signs on an ongoing…

A study was conducted to describe Ohio secondary vocational education teachers' use of student assessment information in making instructional decisions. The target population for the study was all teachers who taught in secondary vocational education programs in Ohio public schools. A questionnaire was mailed to a random sample of 393 secondary…

This study examined processes and techniques teachers used to ensure that their assessments were valid and reliable, noting the extent to which they engaged in these processes. A sample of 625 elementary and secondary teachers received mailed copies of the Ohio Teacher Assessment Practices Survey, which asked about steps that they followed and the…

As part of a continuing assessment of educational needs in a seven-state region, researchers conducted a verification study to check the validity of educational needs first identified in fiscal year (FY) 1980. The seven states comprise Alabama, Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. This report describes assessment…

To assess teachers' grading and other evaluation practices and policies in Ohio, a 79-item questionnaire was administered to 258 elementary and secondary school teachers, and 137 other teachers were interviewed by college students taking an educational assessment class. The typical teacher assigned term grades of "A" or "B" to…

THE EFFECTIVENESS AND FEASIBILITY OF USING CERTAIN TYPES OF LARGE GROUP INSTRUCTION AT THE COLLEGE LEVEL WERE STUDIED. COURSES WERE TAUGHT (1) BY TELEVISION, (2) BY LECTURE, (3) BY A PROBLEM OR CASE STUDY APPROACH, AND (4) BY GRADUATE STUDENT ASSISTANTS. EVALUATIONS INVOLVED COMPARISONS BETWEEN THESE EXPERIMENTAL METHODS AND CONVENTIONAL…

This evaluation of Cincinnati's Title I projects for the disadvantaged public school students notes that definitive statements about measurable results are unrealistic because the projects were evaluated after only 5 months in operation. However the evaluation establishes baseline data. Information about the 13 Title I projects was gathered from…

The needs of Ohio schools were assessed in relation to the area of Family Life Education, including education in sexual behavior, the prevention of alcohol, drug, and smoking abuse, and related social problems. The study was carried out in two phases. The first phase developed the methods for assessing the needs of Ohio schools, which involved…