Universal screening measures can be used to identify students at risk academically due to learning disabilities or other difficulties. Research and legislation support the use of screening measures early in students' education to ensure they receive any supports necessary to bolster their academic achievement. When selecting a screening measure,…

Over the past two decades, preparation of LIS professionals to conduct credible research has been both scrutinized and encouraged by a variety of scholars. The conclusion of these researchers has been that there is a paucity of courses and that opportunities for students to participate in authentic field research are few. There is a resulting need…

A comprehensive assessment system is one in which three types of assessments: summative, benchmark, and formative assessments are routinely administered to all students in K-12 classrooms. The first part of this report summarizes the research on comprehensive assessment systems and provides clarity in terms of how each individual assessment type…

Researchers have raised a number of questions about whether student achievement data can be used fairly or accurately for purposes of teacher evaluation. Others have noted that achievement data alone cannot provide teachers with the information they need to improve their practice. Recognizing these limitations, the federal government and many…

The original plans for the Follow Through (FT) program were to provide a program extending the Head Start community action model to the public schools which would serve all disadvantaged children. Because of the small budget allocation authorized by the Congress, the United States Office of Education reformulated FT as an experimental program of…

The original plans for the Follow Through (FT) program were to provide a program extending the Head Start community action model to the public schools which would serve all disadvantaged children. Because of the small budget allocation authorized by the Congress, the United States Office of Education reformulated FT as an experimental program of…

This paper summarizes a report on a search for potential new educational approaches and assesses the readiness of these approaches to be implemented within Follow Through (FT) programs. Evaluation of potential FT sponsoring agencies focused on program implementation and maintenance, rather than on effectiveness in improving student outcomes. Three…

Over a 15-year period the use of computer technology in the Montgomery County (Maryland) Public Schools increased dramatically, expanding from a small operation supporting the finance department to a full system with applications in all aspects of administration at the central office and local school levels as well as in instruction. Four of the…

Prevention and intervention research studies often fail to include an assessment of program integrity, and when they do, it is often examined in a limited way. Further, despite efforts to reform the intervention research process to include community stakeholders more actively in every phase of investigation, current practice generally employs a…

A comparison of current views of "teaching methods" or "methodology" from the standpoint of curriculum plan and instructional procedure demonstrates that the views are more complementary then contradictory and that they illustrate approaches to teaching and learning of a foreign language by the researcher, the educator, and the teacher. (Author/CB)

Latent semantic analysis (LSA) is an automated, statistical technique for comparing the semantic similarity of words or documents. In this article, I examine the application of LSA to automated essay scoring. I compare LSA methods to earlier statistical methods for assessing essay quality, and critically review contemporary essay-scoring systems…

This book presents case-study findings of five school systems' efforts to become true learning communities through action research into the school-renewal process. The programs were located in the Southeast, Midwest, Far West, and an overseas region of the Department of Defense Dependents Schools. The programs shared three characteristics: a focus…

A format is proposed for use in systematic instructional designs where small group activities are planned. The format includes descriptive categories of activity identification; instructional objectives; role, task, and reward structures; evaluation procedures; and support system. Examples are given of how the format can be used. (Author/MBR)

"PBS Mathline Middle School Math Project" is a national program offered by the Public Broadcasting System (PBS) to local affiliates to increase middle school teachers' understanding of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics Standards, encourage discourse among teachers, and develop classroom applications based on video models of…