As one-to-one computer initiatives become more prevalent in schools across the state of Missouri, school leaders are faced with the challenge of determining whether one-to-one initiatives are achieving the desired academic results. Studies show that there is a connection between one-to-one initiatives and increased student engagement; however, in…

We consider issues surrounding the introduction of the federal educational standards in preschool education (FGOS DO) by analyzing data from a survey of directors and teachers at public and private kindergartens. The results show that teachers are well informed about the content of the new standards. They actively participate in professional…

This study examines the impact of implementing the professional development program, Keeping Learning on Track (KLT), on teaching and learning in a rural school in a Midwestern state. KLT was a program developed by Dylan William and his colleagues at the Educational Training Service and published by the Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA).…

The purpose of this quantitative study was to explore the influence of principal leadership behaviors and potential of utilizing adult learning strategies on the development of a school's professional learning environment (PLE). The intention was also to determine if principals considered themselves prepared to develop and sustain such an…

In 2014, The Wallace Foundation launched the Principal Supervisor Initiative (PSI), a four-year, $24 million-dollar effort to redefine principal supervision in six urban school districts. The initiative sought to help districts transform a position traditionally focused on administration, operations, and compliance to one dedicated to developing…

This mixed method study was a practitioner inquiry into the teacher evaluation system that was enacted as a result of Pennsylvania House Bill 1901 (Act 82 of 2012). The study was an effort to gain an in-depth understanding of (a) factors that led to the passage of the Act 82 teacher evaluation policy, (b) what the policy was intended to do, and…

Over the past 25 years, a small but growing number of school districts have implemented weighted student funding (WSF), a type of school-based budgeting system, as a way to increase school-level autonomy and flexibility and more equitably distribute funding among schools. In these districts, education leaders have implemented policies that…

The purpose of this study was to understand the decisions elementary principals have made during the Common Core State Standards reform. Specifically, (a) what decisions principals have made to support Common Core implementation, (b) what strategies elementary principals have employed to communicate with stakeholders about Common Core State…

These appendices accompany the report "Final Report of the i3 Impact Study of Making Sense of SCIENCE, 2016-17 through 2017-18." Science education has experienced a significant transition over the last decade, catalyzed by a re-envisioning of what students should know and be able to do in science. That re-envisioning culminated in the…

The Special Education Technology Integration Specialist (SETIS) program provides professional development for special education teachers to assist them in achieving proficiency with 21st Century Technology Tools. The program completed its eighth and ninth rounds during the 2012-2013 and 2013-2014 school years, training more than 30 special…

The Reading Apprenticeship instructional framework was developed by WestEd's Strategic Literacy Initiative (SLI) two decades ago to help teachers provide the literacy support students need to be successful readers in the content areas. It has since reached over 100,000 teachers in schools across the country, at the middle school, high school, and…

In 2012, WestEd received a "Development" grant from the U.S. Department of Education's Investing in Innovation (i3) competition to develop and implement Internet-based Reading Apprenticeship Improving Science Education ("iRAISE"). "iRAISE" was implemented in Michigan and Pennsylvania and was provided to over 100…

For over a century, school systems in the U.S. have attempted to improve instructional quality by investing in the education and training of their teachers. Today, over 90% of teachers report participating in some form of professional development (PD). Practitioners have responded to critiques of PD by re-envisioning it in the form of…

The "Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965," as amended (ESEA), provides funds to States and districts to improve the quality of their teachers and administrators in order to raise student achievement. These funds are provided through ESEA Title II, Part A ("Improving Teacher Quality State Grants--Subgrants to LEAs").…

This report investigates the behaviour, attitudes and experiences of New Zealand secondary students with money and financial products. It also looks at financial literacy programmes in New Zealand secondary schools and explores barriers to the implementation of financial literacy teaching. The research was commissioned by the Commission for…