This statutory report presents the activities and accomplishments of the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Inspector General (OIG) from October 1, 2024, through March 31, 2025. The audits, investigations, and related work highlighted in this report are products of OIG's mission to identify and stop fraud, waste, and abuse; and promote…

Is a "fair test" the only way to carry out science investigations? Many children (and primary teachers) following the National Curriculum in England and Wales would answer "yes" to this question. This is because fair test investigations have historically been promoted in national assessment, published curricula, schemes of work…

Systemic assessment questions (SAQs) are novel assessment tools used in the context of the Systemic Approach to Teaching and Learning (SATL) model. The purpose of this model is to enhance students' meaningful understanding of scientific concepts by use of constructivist concept mapping procedures, which emphasize the development of systems…

North Dakota State University (USA) have been using video conferencing as a delivery mode for farmer education for about twenty years and report that their farmers find this delivery method both practical and worthwhile. With the number of New Zealand farmers attending learning events decreasing, due mainly to time and cost, maybe it is time to…

"MyScience" ("www.myscience.edu.au") is a pioneering primary science initiative that uses a distinctive team approach, with primary teachers, primary students and volunteer mentor scientists working collaboratively as students conduct authentic scientific investigations to find answers to their own questions. The initiative is…

This paper refers to a brief interaction with a mental health professional via written electronic communication. Web consulting services have proved popular, but there is controversy regarding the efficacy of such brief interventions to address problems and enable service users to access other forms of counseling. University students are…

The idea of a diagnostic process to identify students likely to benefit from additional support originated from two separate investigations relating to the performance of entry-level mathematics students at the University of South Africa (UNISA). One project explored the relationship between reading skill and mathematical performance. This…

This article reports the achievement of a nine-year program in which students from Xinzhou Normal College participate in semester-long substitute teaching in disadvantaged schools in a poverty-stricken area of Shanxi province. The substitute teaching, which constitutes an important part of the 411 Project by Xinzhou Normal College, takes place in…

This report aimed to measure the impact of a unique professional development program entitled Project ASTER III (Active Science Teaching Encourages Reform) on teachers' self-efficacy and perceptions about inquiry-based science teaching. Project ASTER III enabled teachers to explore inquiry-based science teaching through exhibit-based…

This paper describes an innovative service delivery model to reduce the number of children entering the child welfare system. Point of Engagement (POE) is a collaborative family- and community-centered approach initiated in Compton, a regional office in Los Angeles County that serves south Los Angeles, a predominantly African American and…

Reading First, which has already handed out nearly $5 billion in grants to some 1,700 districts and 5,600 schools, is designed to improve reading instruction in the nation's most disadvantaged schools through the use of research-based methods. However, a report conducted by the investigators for Inspector General John P. Higgins to evaluate…

This report summarizes the accomplishments of the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Inspector General (OIG), for the 6-month period ending March 31, 1993. An audit and inspection of student financial assistance programs administered by the Office of Postsecondary Education found that many postsecondary vocational training programs are funded…