Is assessment a top-down bureaucratic mandate, an undertaking that seems to have little to do with improving practice, an inauthentic activity that frustrates and disempowers, an afterthought? Or is it a process embraced and enacted together by all stakeholders as a means to learn and grow and enact change in the world? The authors of the…

This chapter concerns the state of the literature on early childhood education (ECE) -- formal programs offering group instruction for children younger than the standard eligibility age for public education. I describe how ECE programs can be convincingly evaluated and why they may or may not work to narrow gaps in well-being across the lifecycle.…

Changes in the field of intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) over the last 5 decades has resulted in the emergence of the shared citizenship paradigm. This paradigm is currently guiding the development of IDD-related policies and practices, and providing a framework for application, research-based inquiry, and evaluation. A shared…

The evaluation of learning and teaching is one central activity through which universities monitor the fitness-for-purpose of their education provision. This paper represents the outcomes of the work carried out by the European University Association (EUA) Learning & Teaching Thematic Peer Group on "Evaluation of learning and…

We present our nascent "STEM Access and Training for Underserved Students" (STATUS), a model to attract Latinx students first to attend college and second to enter the STEM fields. The program consists of a series of hands-on investigative activities in physiology, neuroscience, biophysics, genetics, exercise physiology, biomechanics,…

In this article, we reflect on our experience applying a framework for evaluating systems change to an evaluation of a statewide West Virginia alliance funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) to improve the early persistence of rural, first-generation, and other underrepresented minority science, technology, engineering, and mathematics…

Multitiered systems of support (MTSS) teams use data to match student needs with an appropriate Tier 2 intervention. School counselors mobilize quickly to provide evidence-based and culturally affirming interventions. We present a compilation of best practices for delivering culturally affirming, small-group Tier 2 interventions with fidelity.…

For some time now, the arts education community has designed for broader outcomes for youth. These programs intentionally foster not only youth achievements within the arts or academics, but also youth and community thriving--through outcomes such as youth civic engagement, occupational identities, and wellness. In this report, the authors seek to…

This article aims to describe the implementation, evaluation, and outcomes associated with a science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) research fellow experience at an historically Black college and university (HBCU) funded by the National Science Foundation. This experience, Polymer Research, was part of a multipronged approach for…

This is an executive summary of a full report that helps stakeholders of Professional Pathways for Teachers (PPfT) understand and refine the methods used to measure program implementation and outcomes. The full report also contains summative data on the progress of PPfT, having just completed its third year. PPfT first launched district-wide in…

In her April 2010 NILOA paper, "Opening Doors to Faculty Involvement in Assessment," Pat Hutchings called for institutions to involve students in assessment, citing the potential to increase faculty engagement. In Curtis and Anderson (2020), the first author interviewed numerous partnership experts in both the United Kingdom and the…

Bullying in schools is a tremendous challenge that many secondary educators are attempting to address within their school environments. However, educators are often unsure of the attributes of an effective anti-bullying program; thus, they tend to create programs on a "trial and error" basis. This article provides an overview of the…

New knowledge is created in the course of the application of outreach. Each complex problem in the real world is likely to have unique aspects and thus it requires some modification of standard approaches. Hence, each engagement in outreach is likely to have an element of inquiry and discovery, leading to new knowledge. The flow of knowledge is in…

Funders and policymakers are increasingly recognizing the afterschool field for its vital role in supporting the social and emotional growth and academic achievement of school-age youth. Although this recognition is welcome, it often comes with increased expectations for high-quality research demonstrating the value of programming. To satisfy…

In response to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, a cancer research education program at the University of Nebraska Medical Center designed for Native American middle school, high school and undergraduate students adapted activities to be delivered online. There are considerable challenges to adapting in-person science programming to online delivery that…