This "First Look" presents findings from the Human Resources (HR) Component of the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) winter 2010-11 data collection. The HR component consists of the following three sections: Employees by Assigned Position (EAP) and Fall Staff for fall 2010 and Salaries for academic year 2010-11. Only…

Time and again, the authors have observed how a great program faculty creates unique learning experiences to everybody's satisfaction. They have experienced the pleasure that all involved feel when great learning has taken place, when the program participants leave the sessions with an enhanced skill set and co-created answers to pending and…

In "Value-Added Measures in Education", Douglas N. Harris takes on one of the most hotly debated topics in education. Drawing on his extensive work with schools and districts, he sets out to help educators and policymakers understand this innovative approach to assessment and the issues associated with its use. Written in straightforward language…

One of the many pieces of "consumer information" that the Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA) requires the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) to post on its College Navigator website is a student-to-faculty ratio for institutions in the IPEDS universe with undergraduate programs. NCES added the collection of this measure…

This report describes and evaluates the methods and procedures used in the 2004/09 Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study (BPS:04/09). BPS:04/09 is the second and final follow-up interview for the cohort of first-time beginning postsecondary students identified in the 2004 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study. For the first time…

As a method for placing Latina college students at the center of research, authors present a dramatic, or performative, text illuminating participants' life stories. The dramatic text serves as a fictional event bringing to light how five Latina students view their ethnic identities and educational values based on messages from family and peers.…

When viewing objects of different colors, you might notice that some appear brighter than others. This is because light is reflected differently from various surfaces, depending on their physical properties. The word "albedo" is used to describe how reflective a surface is. The Earth-atmosphere has a combined albedo of about 30%, a number that is…

The aim of this study was to investigate the consistency and composition of functional synergies for speech movements in children with developmental speech disorders. Kinematic data were collected on the reiterated productions of syllables spa(/spa[image omitted]/) and paas(/pa[image omitted]s/) by 10 6- to 9-year-olds with developmental speech…

Ensuring safer schools requires establishing good indicators of the current state of school crime and safety across the nation and regularly updating and monitoring these indicators. This is the aim of this report. This report is the thirteenth in a series of annual publications produced jointly by the National Center for Education Statistics…

This research project was undertaken in a time of increasing emphasis on the exploration of young children's learning and thinking at computers. The purpose of this study was to describe and interpret the characteristics of metaknowing talk that occurred during learning experiences with computers in a kindergarten community of learners. This…

This dissertation was designed to determine reasons graduate students do not complete requirements for a Master's in Middle Level Education degree at the southeastern university. Since the program's initial on-campus cohort (2000) the graduation rate has decreased from 80% to 62.96% with the fourth on-campus cohort (2005). The current cohort…

The purpose of this study was to examine parental involvement in a predominant Latino school lacking parental involvement support. The research focused on the relationship between parents and teachers. Specifically, this study sought to (1) study the relationships between teachers and Latino parents to identify characteristics among families…

Educators lack the data necessary to pinpoint concerns and successes in schools. A focus on collecting student achievement data in the past ten years has increased the amount of information school districts have, but these data are insufficient. Successful organizations use extensive data analysis to guide decisions, but few K-12 districts have…

The study of adolescent development rests on methodologically appropriate collection and interpretation of longitudinal data. While all longitudinal studies of adolescent development involve missing data, the methods to treat missingness that have been recommended most often focus on missing data from cross-sectional studies. The problems of…

In the atmosphere or on the ground, snow provides students with unique opportunities to discover winter weather patterns. Traditionally, when students study weather, it is limited to the collection of data one would see on a weather report. However, the interdisciplinary Students Synthesizing Snow data in Natural Objective Ways (SSSNOW) project…