Most students seeking to enroll in community college are required to take a placement test for math and English courses. Administrators are well aware of the shortcomings of using traditional placement tests alone, and state and college systems across the country are organizing multiple measures assessment (MMA) placement systems that will…

For Wisconsin schools and districts, implementing an equitable multi-level system of supports means providing equitable services, practices, and resources to every learner based upon responsiveness to effective instruction and intervention. In this system, high quality instruction, strategic use of data, and collaboration interact within a…

In order to comply with the regulations put forth by the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), as amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), states are required to submit evidence associated with their statewide accountability systems to the United States Department of Education (ED) for peer review. Some states have elected to…

In order to comply with the regulations put forth by the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), as amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), states are required to submit evidence associated with their statewide accountability systems to the United States Department of Education (ED) for peer review. Thirty-eight states submitted…

The standard evaluation forms used in most college and university courses are ill suited to assess courses and instructors whose goals and pedagogy differ significantly from the "chalk and talk" approach to undergraduate instruction. This article discusses an evaluation form that the author, a professor emeritus of economics at the…

Until recently, states focused on ensuring the presence of a "highly qualified teacher" in every classroom. Under the 2001 reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), known as No Child Left Behind (NCLB), this title described a teacher holding at least a bachelor's degree and the appropriate state license and…

Teachers have the greatest school-based effect on the achievement of any child in their classrooms, but highly effective principals can positively affect the achievement of every student in their schools. The difference between a highly effective principal and an average one is equal to two-to-seven months of extra learning per year for each child…

The Wisconsin Technical College System (WTCS) is working to comply with the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Improvement Act of 2006 (Perkins) to ensure that its graduates have mastered the technical skills needed by business and industry. The legislation requires that each state identify and approve program assessment strategies…

Policy discussions about funding in higher education focus primarily on revenues needed to balance budgets from year to year, rather than on how funds need to be invested to meet strategic priorities. The data in "Trends" show that the incremental approach to fundraising and spending has resulted in a slow disinvestment in core…

Are there management tools that professionals use in business that academics have used successfully in higher education? The answer to that question is "yes", and the balanced scorecard (BSC) is one such tool. The author reports on measures that administrators chose for the BSCs of 2 educational institutions whose successes have been…

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)…

Standardized tests are increasingly used to determine students' growth in reading comprehension. In some U.S. school districts, the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 has led to a focus on multiple-choice questions to better prepare students for these types of tests. Even though such questions can provide some important information, they do not…

Three common evaluation models are the scientific, interactive, and hybrid. A study of evaluation projects mandated by the Wisconsin legislature revealed that the hybrid model was most effective in achieving policy planning and policy control utilization, the interactive approach provided aid to individual utilization, and the scientific approach…

When the four administrators at a Wisconsin high school indicated they would appreciate staff feedback about their performance, union representatives undertook the task of formalizing an evaluation agreement, developing an evaluation instrument, implementing the evaluation process, and reviewing assessment procedures. The instrument and written…

The purpose of this report is to summarize steps taken in evaluating outcomes for the prevention of youth alcohol and other drug abuse (AODA) for selected AODA prevention programs and projects as reported to Wisconsin's Department of Health and Family Services by grantees. A study by Wisconsin's Legislative Audit Bureau evaluated 6 projects, which…