With recent interest in communities of practice, learning communities, and critical inquiry theory, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC) developed, implemented, and studied the relationship of community and the cohort model. This paper shares information about successes and opportunities for improvement. Cohort-based learners across a…

This report provides information about the performance of Tennessee's 2016 graduating seniors who took the ACT as sophomores, juniors, or seniors; and self-reported at the time of testing that they were scheduled to graduate in 2016. Beginning with the Graduating Class of 2013, all students whose scores are college reportable, both standard and…

Most experts in the testing community have presumed that the $350 million promised by the U.S. Department of Education to support common assessments would promote those that made greater use of open-ended items capable of measuring higher-order critical-thinking skills. But as measurement experts consider the multitude of possibilities for an…

In the volatile, global environment of the 21st century, being able to communicate successfully is the key to employment, to citizenship, and to a quality life. The Partnership for 21st Century Skills--a coalition of American businesses with an international focus, funded in part by the U.S. Department of Education--recently released "A…

This report provides information about the performance of Tennessee's 2012 graduating seniors who took the ACT as sophomores, juniors, or seniors; and self-reported at the time of testing that they were scheduled to graduate in 2012 and tested under standard time conditions. This report focuses on: (1) Performance: student test performance in the…