Non-certified personnel in K-12 education in Pennsylvania represent approximately one-third of all public education employees. Although there has been large-scale reform in the evaluation of certified staff, the non-certified population may not be evaluated at all. The lack of consistency in evaluating this large segment of K-12 education…

The educative Teacher Performance Assessment (edTPA) has been adopted by many state legislatures and teacher preparation programs (TPP). These states require teacher candidates to pass the edTPA with a state-specific passing score to be recommended for licensure. In the 19 states where passing the edTPA has not been required as a condition of…

Background: Non-standardized assessment tools are preferred when assessing communication of individuals with developmental disabilities. Currently, there are limited tools available for assessing this population. Informant report tools such as the Pragmatics Profile (PP) of Everyday Communication Skills are beneficial in gathering a representative…

Current discussion of the professionalization of the practice of evaluation is focused on matters of competencies and credentialing and largely overlooks several significant issues. These include conflating professionalizing the practice with promoting the value of evaluation as a social good, assuming there is widespread agreement on what the…

Teacher evaluations can be used by states and districts to support and develop an exceptional workforce. Accurate evaluations based on quality data can help differentiate teacher performance, inform feedback, improve professional development, provide opportunities for pay increases and advancement, and provide rationale for teacher dismissals. Yet…

One challenge of conducting evaluations is finding the right questions to guide the work. A clear purpose for a study gives the evaluator a good sense of what information can answer the questions, and helps frame the scope of the project as a whole. Knowing the scope of the evaluation project provides a sense of the resources needed. A common…

It is thoroughly agreed that English language textbooks stand amongst the foremost components in any language classrooms worldwide, being referred to as valid, beneficial and labor-saving tools to fulfill an extensive range of needs. An ELT textbook is not merely a set of sheets of paper fastened together to hinge at one side, but is the beating…

A newly identified character trait defined as "passion and perseverance for long-term goals," grit adds to our understanding of student behavior. While certain parts of grit can be taught, research is only beginning to examine how educators can do so.

Funded grant projects all involve some form of evaluation, and Advanced Technological Education (ATE) grants are no exception. Program evaluation serves as a critical component not only for evaluating if a project has met its intended and desired outcomes, but the evaluation process is also a central feature of the grant application itself.…

Expanded and increasingly diversified systems of higher education are generally differentiated vertically and/or horizontally. National quality management systems attempt to identify both kinds of differences in quality and standards across their higher education systems. But different quality management systems and processes can pose different…

In this article, we make the case for the development of a numeracy practices measure in the light of a review of relevant research and extant measures. We argue that a numeracy practices measure would acknowledge and validate adult learners' practice gains and inform teaching geared to their circumstances, needs and interests.

This chapter frames the discussion regarding the importance of measuring co-curricular learning and the role of the IR office.

Increased demand for accountability has forced Extension educators to evaluate their programs and document program impacts. Due to this situation, some Extension educators may view evaluation simply as the task, imposed on them by administrators, of collecting outcome and impact data for accountability. They do not perceive evaluation as a useful…

The assessment movement that has emerged on American college campuses over the last twenty years emphasizes the need to carefully articulate the particular outcomes colleges seek for students, and it demands that faculty and administrators provide evidence of their students' success with respect to these outcomes. It also requires that this…

From 2006 to 2008, Educational Testing Service (ETS) produced a series of reports titled "A Culture of Evidence," designed to capture a changing climate in higher education assessment. A decade later, colleges and universities already face new and different challenges resulting from societal, technological, and scientific influences.…