The purpose of this study was to conduct a program evaluation case study on the impact of standards-based grading in a North Carolina school district. The implementation procedures and end products of grading reform were assessed using the CIPP model. Data from teacher questionnaires, principal implementation checklists, interviews, and…

This dissertation reviews current policies regarding Teacher Preparation Program (TPP) evaluation and addresses "accountability era" influences which often minimize factors related to equity and promote a limited view of teacher and school "effectiveness." Integrated concept mapping is proposed as an alternative method of…

Teachers' assessment practices greatly influence student learning. However, the level of assessment literacy among teachers is inadequate relative to classroom assessment standards and expectations. Assessment literacy includes interpreting results of various assessments, creating assessments that are aligned to learning targets, using assessment…

Higher education in post-independence Africa remains trapped in foreign knowledge systems, despite decades of strong cries to replace them with Afrocentric systems. The purpose of this dissertation-in-practice was to evaluate the Africanization of an undergraduate program at a college in Southern Africa. Using the CIPP Model of evaluation, a…

Prior Learning Assessment (PLA) programs, built on the theories of andragogy, experiential learning, and transformative learning, are posited as a way for students to pursue college credit for their previous professional, personal, and volunteer experiences--via certifications, corporate and military training, non-credit coursework, exams, and…

An increasing number of parents are opting-out their children from high-stakes. Accountability systems in education have used students' test scores to measure student learning, teacher effectiveness, and school district performance. Students who are opted-out of high-stakes tests are not being evaluated by the state tests, making their level of…

Learning outcomes within the context of assessing general education competencies have gained increasing attention within higher education. Accrediting bodies have increased standards for the assessment of general education competencies, employers continue to indicate graduates from higher education institutions are not prepared for success in the…

The purpose of this study was to examine whether the concept of the ninth grade academy structure in Texas high schools affects a variety of variables indicative of student achievement. Data representative of performance by students served in 30 schools with a separately structured ninth grade academy were compared to data representative of…

Within the confines of this study, the researcher investigated Project Lead the Way (PLTW) Engineering curriculum goals within Missouri high schools. The study measured Missouri PLTW teachers' perceptions of various elements of the curriculum as well as state and national PLTW End of Course student assessment data to determine if a relationship…

Each day, in schools across America, teachers willingly embrace the often daunting task of educating the nation's youth. Students who share little more than a common birth year are placed together with a teacher who is expected to take them from wherever they happen to be academically at the beginning of the year to where they simply must be by…

North Carolina has increased the math course requirements for graduation and the rigor of standards students are expected to master at each grade level. Richmond County School students have consistently lagged behind the state average on the North Carolina End-of-Grade assessment in grades three through eight, an assessment used to determine grade…

The descriptive survey employed in this study explored current assessment practices of learning outcomes, including the resources used and the learning outcomes assessed for student programming board leaders. The researcher collected data through document review and phone interviews. She interviewed 21 student activities and union advisors who are…

A critical psychology perspective (Prilleltensky and Nelson, 2002) advocates for research that focuses on social change, the mutual participation of community stakeholders, and the empowerment of those served. The current study applies this critical psychology perspective to career education programming in a multiculturally diverse rural high…

The research study was an evaluation of a professional learning community (PLC) and its effect on teachers and student achievement in a high school serving predominately Latino students. The study was a mixed research study that consisted of both quantitative and qualitative data. The quantitative data included school-wide and Latino student…

The methods of evaluating teacher preparation programs are becoming increasingly more reliant on student test data. These test data driven formats, however, are not appropriate for small colleges. Small colleges are currently left off the Tennessee Report Card on the Effectiveness of Teacher Training Programs because the colleges did not produce…