The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse (UWL), as a public comprehensive regional university of approximately 10,500 students, utilized National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) data regarding advising to jumpstart several key advancements that have yielded positive improvements as indicated in the most recent NSSE assessment data. Despite strong…

As additional states embark on the process of implementing four-year degrees at community colleges, they can learn from others' experience for help navigating the legislative, regulatory, and program approval processes. This brief uses examples from states currently offering bachelor's degrees at their community colleges to provide guidance for…

What common values do diverse Jesuit institutions share? In what ways are Jesuit colleges and universities working to maintain mission, identity, and traditions within the context of 21st-century higher education? To ground their response to these questions, the researchers first review the historical and ecclesial developments that have…

While teachers face new expectations for student learning and more equitable educational outcomes, instruction and assessment remain rooted in traditional approaches that are largely inequitable, culturally irrelevant, and intellectually disengaging, contributing to gaps in academic achievement across student groups (Darling-Hammond, 2010; King…

Among the great strengths of a policy-oriented foundation like Joyce is the willingness to take a long view, to be patient investors in ideas that take time to have impact, and to take chances on projects that may not work out. But in times of crisis, Joyce team and partners also have an obligation to be responsive to immediate challenges in their…

This booklet analyzes and summarizes responses of 12 Wisconsin school board presidents who were interviewed between April and October 1977. Each respondent was asked nine open-end questions dealing with the role of local school boards and the challenges facing them. Although the responses to the interview questions may reflect some prevailing…

Decades of research support the role of a positive school climate on teaching and learning. This newsletter takes a look at the topic of school climate and sets out to determine: (1) What is school climate? (2) How can schools assess their school climate? (3) What are some practical examples of how schools are assessing school climate? and (4)…

Systemic efforts to implement data-based decision making at the school and classroom level face several challenges. First, most data available within district information systems are limited to what has been deemed important for the operational needs of schools and the district. Second, educational organizations have little experience integrating…

This report summarizes preliminary and exploratory research conducted by the Council of the Great City Schools and the American Institutes for Research on urban school systems participating in the Trial Urban District Assessment (TUDA) of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). The study is one of the first large-scale analyses…

This guide is designed as a resource for leaders and evaluators of K-12 online learning programs. In this guide, the term "online learning" is used to refer to a range of education programs and resources in the K-12 arena, including distance learning courses offered by universities, private providers, or teachers at other schools;…

Five research objectives were identified by the Wisconsin State Board for Vocational, Technical and Adult Education in a project designed to evaluate the impact of vocational education research and exemplary projects on educational practices in Wisconsin: (1) An assessment of the impact of State funded research and exemplary activities to a…

This volume focuses on school finance challenges in large urban school districts, fiscal accountability in these schools, and the fiscal dimensions of urban school reform. The 12 papers are (1) "School Finance and Urban Education Reform" (Christopher Roellke and Jennifer King Rice); (2) "Can Whole-School Reform Improve the…

ALL PROFESSIONAL TEACHING PERSONNEL AND A RANDOM SAMPLE OF CITIZENS FROM AN EASTERN WISCONSIN SUBURB AND A NORTHWESTERN WISCONSIN RURAL COMMUNITY WERE SURVEYED BY AN 88 ITEM OPINION QUESTIONNAIRE TO COMPARE THE PERCEPTIONS OF TEACHERS AND CITIZENS IN REGARD TO PROBLEMS AND ISSUES OF EDUCATIONAL VIEWPOINT, THE TASK OF THE SCHOOL, AND DIFFERENTIAL…

In 1990, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) included a Trial State Assessment (TSA); for the first time in the NAEP's history, voluntary state-by-state assessments were made. The sample was designed to represent the 8th grade public school population in a state or territory. In 1996, 44 states, the District of Columbia, Guam,…

At the heart of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) is the call for all students to be "proficient" in reading and mathematics by 2014. Yet the law expects each state to define proficiency as it sees fit and design its own tests. This study investigated three research questions related to this policy: (1) How consistent are various…