This review examines published secondary analyses of National Longitudinal Transition Study 2 (NLTS2) data, with a primary focus upon statistical objectives, paradigms, inferences, and methods. Its primary purpose was to determine which statistical techniques have been common in secondary analyses of NLTS2 data. The review begins with an…

In joint partnership, Achieve, The Council of Chief State School Officers, and Student Achievement Partners have developed a Toolkit for Evaluating the Alignment of Instructional and Assessment Materials to the Common Core State Standards. The Toolkit is a set of interrelated, freely available instruments for evaluating alignment to the CCSS; each…

In joint partnership, Achieve, The Council of Chief State School Officers, and Student Achievement Partners have developed a Toolkit for Evaluating the Alignment of Instructional and Assessment Materials to the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). The Toolkit is a set of interrelated, freely available instruments for evaluating alignment to the…

The authors argue that the criticisms of their earlier article on teacher logs ("Educational Researcher," March 2009) by Smagorinsky and Willis do not address, much less undermine, the evidence they presented as part of their validation argument about the teacher logs. Moreover, they argue that their method for studying classrooms is not nearly as…

Objective: To identify trajectories of behavioral adjustment from age 6 through 14 years for youth placed in early foster care, and to examine links between trajectories and early cognitive ability and social competence, caregiver stability, and frequency, timing, and type of maltreatment. Method: Participants were 279 youth from the Southwest…

The purpose of this research study was to understand the construct of usability from the perspective of 74 students enrolled in six online courses offered by one online and distance learning program at a large, public university in the Midwest. Six courses, designed and developed by two different groups, professional and nonprofessional…

The traditional "black box" approach to evaluation of assignments in educational research courses has at least two effects: (1) products that fail to meet the expectations of the instructor; and (2) frustration on the part of students who do not know exactly what is expected, and who are consequently confused about or disappointed in the grades…

A review of the critical literature provides a brief history of systematic observation of classroom behaviors, long valued as an important data collection method in educational research. Milestones in systematic observation of classrooms are traced back to 1914 and the development and use of the Special Strategies Observation System (SSOS) through…

Intended to aid teachers in making systematic decisions regarding the use of research and development products, a check list has been constructed that compares products in terms of their predicted effects on school and classroom practices. A copy of the check list is included in the report. (LH)

This booklet provides some systematic guidelines for assisting educational planners to discriminate between high-quality educational research and research that should not be relied on for decision making. The guidelines focus on educational research studies that employ either experimental or survey-research methodologies. A checklist is presented…

The potential for schools of education as major resources for research and development and other knowledge-generation and knowledge-use activities is discussed, along with the negative view of federal policymakers in this regard. The study reported here was designed specifically to employ contemporary organizational theory and case study…

This article on evaluation perspectives and procedures is divided into six sections. The first section briefly discusses qualitative and quantitative research and evaluation. In the second section there is an exploration of the utility and validity of a checklist that can be used to evaluate products, as an instrument for evaluating producers, for…

Described in this article are the Teacher Performance Evaluation materials and techniques that are part of the School Improvement Model project, which endeavors to improve teacher and administrator performance with the ultimate goal of improved student learning. According to the author, this project utilizes new teacher evaluation technology…

An approach to educational research that is receiving renewed attention is participatory action research (PAR), which emphasizes a bottom-up approach to research as well as useful outcomes. PAR is a philosophy, and not a methodology per se. It is a deliberate, goal-directed, structured, and applied means of obtaining information that looks to…