Teaching does not happen in a vacuum. Teachers teach and students learn within a school. The environment within that school can be either conducive to teaching "and" learning or detrimental to both. The school's teaching and learning environment includes, for example, the instructional expertise and leadership available to teachers, the…

In this report, we summarize research on the identification of SLD and make recommendations for practice. The report begins with a summary of the legal requirements for SLD identification and what constitutes a comprehensive evaluation. It then discusses the attributes of SLD according to different conceptual frameworks and reviews research on the…

We draw on rich longitudinal data from one of the largest teacher education programs in Texas to examine the properties of rubric-based observational evaluations of preservice teachers (PSTs) during clinical teaching. Using a variance decomposition approach, we find that little of the variation in observation scores is attributable to actual…

Student learning objectives (SLOs) have become an increasingly popular tool for teacher evaluations as an alternative to Value-added Models (VAMs). However, the use of SLOs faces two major challenges. First, the target setting is mostly subjective and arbitrary. Second, there is little evidence on the reliability and validity of the tool. In this…

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to begin validation of a scale that will be used by teachers of students with visual impairments to determine appropriate recommended type and frequency of services for their students based on identified student need. Methods: Validity and reliability of the Visual Impairment Scale of Service Intensity…

The purpose of this study was to develop and validate the Parental Support Scale-Student Version (PSS-SV), a measure examining students' perceptions of how their parents supported them as they navigated the college environment. A total of 1,351 students participated in the study. After conducting an exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis,…

Research has long been clear that teachers matter more to student learning than any other in-school factor. Improving the quality of teaching is critical to student success. Yet only recently have many states and districts begun to take seriously the importance of evaluating teacher performance and providing teachers with the feedback they need to…

Purpose: To describe the development and preliminary evaluation of the Multicontext Sitting Time Questionnaire (MSTQ). Method: During development of the MSTQ, contexts and domains of sitting behavior were utilized as recall cues to improve the accuracy of sitting assessment. The terms "workday" and "nonworkday" were used to…

We tested the longitudinal measurement invariance of the Teacher Network of Relationships Inventory (TNRI), a teacher-report measure of teacher-student relationship quality (TSRQ), on a sample of 784 academically at-risk students across ages 6 to 15 years by comparing the model for each subsequent year with that of the previous year(s). The TNRI…

As state tests of student achievement are used for an increasingly wide array of high- and low-stakes purposes, evaluating their instructional sensitivity is essential. This article uses data from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation's Measures of Effective Project to examine the instructional sensitivity of 4 states' mathematics and English…

Seventeen state-sponsored residential math and science schools have been created across the country to direct talented teens toward STEM careers. Admission is selective, based on competitive grades, standardized test scores, and references. Most of the schools also require preadmission interviews. However, selection interviews may be challenged as…

We present the development and validation of a science notebook rubric intended to measure the academic language and conceptual understanding of non-mainstream students, specifically fifth-grade male and female economically disadvantaged Hispanic English language learner (ELL) and African-American or Hispanic native English-speaking students. The…

This article presents a review of the Comprehensive Test of Nonverbal Intelligence-Second Edition (CTONI-2), a nonverbal intelligence test created to assess reasoning and problem solving of children and adults. The goal of the CTONI-2 is to minimize the influence of language ability on intelligence test scores. Oral or pantomime instructions can…

The Texas State University-San Marcos undergraduate healthcare administration program requires all bachelors of health administration (BHA) students to pass a comprehensive examination to demonstrate their knowledge of specific core competencies. This also demonstrates completion of their didactic coursework in order to enter a practical…

This report highlights 10 of the most advanced and talked-about teacher evaluation systems nationally: Delaware; Rhode Island; Tennessee; Hillsborough County, Florida; Houston, Texas; New Haven, Connecticut; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Washington, DC (referred to throughout just as Washington); Achievement First (a charter management organization,…