Standard 2 from the Council for Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) Standards focuses on the importance of partnerships between P-12 schools and universities to enhance student learning and teacher candidate preparation. In the midst of discussions on how to improve partnerships between P-12 schools and universities, this article adds to…

Two fallacious assumptions can mislead assurance of learning (AoL) loop closing. Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business guidance states that learning goals should reflect the outcomes most valued by the program, but evidence shows that schools assign equal priorities to the skills selected. The second false assumption is that…

Assessment is a cyclical process within which educators construct outcomes, implement programs, assess constructs such as learning, evaluate results, and utilize results to craft stronger programs and services. Within educational and faculty development, assessment measures program impact on faculty, students, and/or institutional culture.…

We investigated students' perceptions related to psychological constructs in their science classes and the influence of these perceptions on their science identification and science career goals. Participants included 575 middle school students from two countries (334 students in the U.S. and 241 students in Iceland). Students completed a…

Assessing learning does not by itself result in increased student accomplishment, much like a pig never fattened up because it was weighed. Indeed, recent research shows that while institutions are more regularly engaging in assessment, they have little to show in the way of stronger student performance. This paper clarifies how assessment results…

Assignment of ESEA Title III monies to State agencies mandates a research model for needs assessment to facilitate interstate comparisons and generalizations. Theoretical postulates for and empirical evidence from the Virginia Needs Assessment Project suggest a prototype design, moving in three phases from ideas into program outcomes. Phase I…

Distance learning began as an institutional innovation, but as the field matures it faces challenges in finding its place in the community college mainstream. This chapter describes the best practices that helped the Extended Learning Institute at Northern Virginia Community College evolve into a mature distance learning program that is…

Provides an overview of the objectives of Virginia's Science Education Program Assessment Model (SEPAM). Describes the kinds of data collected in the program, how the data are analyzed, and how the data can be used in implementing components of an effective support system for science education. (ML)

The purpose of this practicum was to develop and implement an articulation model between a senior high school and a feeder intermediate school based on problems identified in a needs assessment. Treatments in the form of objectives were applied to the various problems uncovered and became the basis for the model. Subsequent evaluation indicated…

This practicum developed a model of vertical articulation between elementary feeder schools and an intermediate school. The program and model were developed after a formal needs assessment was carried out to determine articulation problems. After problems were determined, objectives were formulated and strategies developed. Objectives that…

Governors and state and local education officials assumed that raising student achievement in the elementary and middle grades would solve the problems with high schools--but it hasn't. Why? Good information is the basis for successful improvement, and high school reform lacks accurate information about what students are to learn and about how…

This resource guide, which is intended to help Virginia elementary school teachers integrate technology education into their instructional programs, reviews programs and learning activities designed to help students develop problem-solving skills and technological awareness. Discussed in the introduction are the following: the elementary school…