Established in 2006 by New Leaders for New Schools[TM], the Effective Practice Incentive Community (EPIC) initiative rewards high-need urban schools showing significant gains in student achievement. In exchange, schools agree to share the practices helping to drive those gains, which they do through an in-depth study of practice, aided by the EPIC…

The need for educational programs to show their return on investment is exemplified in the intense debate surrounding gainful employment programs--defined as programs that lead to gainful employment in a recognized occupation and theoretically differ from programs that offer education in the liberal arts or prepare students for further education.…

In 2006, six community and technical colleges in Washington State joined the innovative national reform initiative called Achieving the Dream (ATD). This report describes the progress each college made in implementing ATD's "culture of evidence" principles for institutional improvement, examines strategies implemented by the colleges to…

In the present study, an examination is conducted in three school districts of how data are used to improve classroom practice. In doing so, we explore the effects that attitudes toward data, principal leadership, and computer data systems have on how data are used to affect classroom practice. Findings indicate that educators are ambivalent about…

In connection with the Omnibus Appropriations Act, 2009, GAO (Government Accountability Office) was required to study the What Works Clearinghouse (WWC), a federal source of evidence about effective education practices. Operating through a 5-year contract awarded by the U.S. Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences (IES), the WWC…

Recommendations from the Wirtz/Lapointe report, "Measuring The Quality of Education" (ED 213 769), which evaluates National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), are presented. Six educators respond to the concern that NAEP's reports and material are not widely known or as useful to educators as they should be. (CM)

Comparing an institution's fund-raising cash proceeds with other institutions' is straightforward, using readily available data. However, measuring fund-raising productivity requires care in defining related expenses and resulting fund-raising achievements. Simplifying assumptions can be helpful. (Author/MSE)

An accurate needs assessment process is essential in designing effective career development systems. This model helps to guarantee a high-quality needs assessment. It provides a basis for conceptualizing an ideal system for a particular organization, for describing what currently exists, and for identifying gaps between the real and the ideal. (CT)

A benefit-cost analysis of the 1970 census emphasizes the allocative uses of data. Precedents for evaluating the production, analysis and dissemination of forecasts and projections, data used for determining allocations, and physical monitoring data are discussed. Benefit-cost analysis' greatest potential value may be for social monitoring data.…

A setting is described in which an evaluation was used with significant impacts on policies and programs. Some of those impacts are delineated, types of utilization employed by staff within the system are illustrated, and conditions under which the evaluation was conducted to obtain such a high level of use are discussed. In the 1979-80 school…

Describes the creation and objectives of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), and reviews the findings of an evaluation of the NAEP, published in "Measuring the Quality of Education," by Wirtz and Lapointe. Focuses on the role that the NAEP can play in establishing uniform, national educational standards. (GC)

Analyzed are the results of individual interviews with participants in the Indiana Global Education Program, which developed teacher in-service training sessions, dissemination networks, materials, and resource centers to strengthen global education in Indiana schools. This is the second phase of the evaluation study. In phase 1 questionnaires…

This report describes and evaluates the Indiana Global Education Program which developed teacher in-service training sessions, dissemination networks, materials, and resource centers to strengthen global education in Indiana Schools. The emphasis in this report is on how elementary and secondary Indiana teachers used the ideas and materials which…

This report is the result of investigations into the residual or long-term impact of the l975 Corp Member Training Institute (CMTI) of the Teacher Corps on Institute participants. Singled out for investigatlon were the trainers, the trainees, and the evaluators of the program. The impact of the CMTI on the Teacher Corps projects and schools where…

This report summarizes the proceedings of an Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI) sponsored meeting. The discussion and followup papers address issues related to disseminating promising and exemplary programs in conjunction with OERI's responsibilities to plan a system of expert panels. Section 1 of the report includes the minutes…