Background: Despite extensive literature on school-based health center (SBHC) characteristics and outcomes, their quality of care has not been examined nationally. Standardized quality metrics can inform health care delivery and improvement. Methods: SBHC national performance measures (NPMs) were developed by reviewing measures from national child…

Exciting developments for New Zealand education have provided opportunities recently for teachers and other educators to express their professional aspirations in assessment. The mantle of fostering teachers' professionalism through strong relationships across the education sector and relevant stakeholder groups, and the provision of timely…

The purpose of this study is to report National Board Certified Teachers' (NBCTs) perceived impact on student learning. The guiding research question for this study, "How do teachers perceive the influence of the National Board Certification process on student learning in their own classrooms?" was explored. A total of 496 NBCTs…

The purpose of this study is to answer the question: How do pilot users of the Danielson Evaluation System perceive this model in two mid-south high schools? The study describes the perceptions of teachers and administrators who implemented the Danielson Teacher Evaluation Model. The primary focus was on teachers and administrators experience with…

In 2006, special education teachers made up 12% of the educational workforce but only 7% of National Board Certified teachers. In contrast, general education teachers made up 88% of the educational workforce and 93% of National Board Certified teachers. This study surveyed a sample of special education teachers who successfully completed…

Three literacy teacher-educators chart the ways in which portfolio assessment impacted their program. They discuss the tension between the demands of national accreditation standards and faculty belief systems in more ecological approaches. They describe the processes of change that occurred programmatically and individually which continue to…

This study examines how mathematics and science teachers' classroom assessment practices were affected by the National Board Certification process. Using a 3-year, longitudinal, comparison group design, evidence of changes in teachers' classroom practice were measured on six dimensions of formative assessment. The National Board candidates began…

In an earlier paper some of the conceptual and curriculum coherence challenges of linking practically based experiential learning with authentic attainment in high-stakes examination awards in physical education were analysed (Thorburn, 2007). Problems often existed for students in deriving subject knowledge understanding from tasks where there…

Background: In this article we address some of the challenges posed by the development of national assessment systems and discuss the need for high quality information on trends in attainment; support for school improvement processes and ways in which learning should be enhanced through valid assessment. Purpose: Key elements are explored,…

This study examined a model of assessment that could be applied nationally for Year Twelve Vocational Education and Training (VET) subjects and which could yield both a differentiating score and recognition of competence. More than fifty colleges across all states and territories of Australia field-tested the approach over one school year. Results…

This study investigates what teachers learn from a graduate-level course that prepares them to pursue an advanced form of professional teaching certification based on the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS). The study draws from Habermas's (1972, 1974) three knowledge constitutive interests--the technical, the practical, and…

Summarizes literature on early childhood (EC) program evaluation, presents an overview of the national standards addressing quality in EC programs, and presents the results of a survey of the evaluation practices of 18 model EC programs. Found that the programs' evaluation procedures were varied, well-developed, open-ended, and process-orientated.…

This article reports on "Beyond the OPI: Integrated Performance Assessment (IPA) Design Project," a three-year (1997-2000) research initiative sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education International Research and Studies Program. The primary goal of the project was to develop an integrated skills assessment prototype that would measure…

In its effort to simplify the accreditation process, the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education has limited the amount of documentation that a program can use to support its efforts for accreditation. With this "no frills" approach, the rubrics or scoring guides that accompany assessments provide critical information about the…

This article reflects on the reliability of the evidence contained in the National Qualifications Framework Impact Study, a longitudinal comparative study conducted by the South African Qualifications Authority since 2002. In so doing, the veracity of evidence-based research in determining the impact of the South African Qualifications Framework…