The Division of Student Engagement and Enrollment Services at Old Dominion University (ODU) submitted a Request for Assistance to examine the challenges sophomore students face that can lead to attrition. A doctoral research team conducted a exploratory, sequential, mixed-methods study consisting of a literature review, focus groups and interviews…

This study examined the application and perceived effectiveness of the Council for the Advancement of Standards (CAS) in a community college Student Affairs Division. The two research questions were as follows: (1) How does a Community College apply CAS standards? (2) What is the perceived effectiveness of applying those standards? A case study…

Success for All (SFA), one of the best-known school reform models, aims to improve the reading skills of all children but is especially directed at schools that serve large numbers of students from low-income families. First implemented in 1987, SFA combines a challenging reading program, whole-school reform elements, and an emphasis on continuous…

Success for All (SFA), one of the best-known school reform models, aims to improve the reading skills of all children but is especially directed at schools that serve large numbers of students from low-income families. First implemented in 1987, SFA combines a challenging reading program, whole-school reform elements, and an emphasis on continuous…

This article describes the "dreamscape" as EdVisions Schools moves forward as an education development organization. "Dreamscape" refers to the goals leaders have developed for the network of more than 40 Edvisions schools nationwide. In this article, the author describes the evolution of objectives for EdVisions school sites…

This article summarizes how the components of the Schoolwide Enrichment Model were used to dramatically reduce the achievement gap in a school with a high at-risk student population. The theories of enrichment and instructional differentiation replaced an existing remedial paradigm and a strength-based methodology was embraced by the school…

First implemented in 1987, Success for All (SFA) is one of the best-known and most thoroughly evaluated school reform models. It combines three basic elements: (1) Reading instruction that emphasizes phonics for beginning readers and comprehension for students at all levels, and that is characterized by a highly structured curriculum, an emphasis…

Despite the growing popularity of Madeline Hunter's Program for Effective Teaching staff development model, there is little evidence that student achievement increases after such a program has been implemented. A recent study of South Carolina achievement test data corroborates this assertion. Coaching length and quality may be key factors in…

Although teacher inservice programs based on Madeline Hunter's Program for Effective Teaching (PET) have become very popular in U.S. schools, there is little evidence that the Hunter model ultimately results in increased student achievement. This longitudinal study attempts to evaluate the effects of Hunter-based staff development programs on…

The School Improvement Model launched by the Iowa State University College of Education in 1964 uses a total-system approach to measure and report teacher performance. SIM focuses on student achievement and emphasizes validity, reliability, discrimination, and 360-degree feedback from principals, other teachers, parents, and students. A Wyoming…

Research for Better Schools (RBS) is supporting improvement efforts in Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. One form of this support is RBS's participation in collaborative projects to develop a system-wide, research-utilization approach to the improvement of basic skills instruction. Educational systems following the approach employ a staff…

Because of increased emphasis on accountability, program evaluations today must go beyond measures of change in program participants to consider the effects, either direct or indirect, of staff development on students and their learning. A model is presented illustrating the relationship between staff development for teachers and student learning…

Summarizes the classroom and school literature on the effects of teacher expectations, proposes a school-based model for the influence of teacher expectations on student performance, and describes applications of the model in Connecticut's school improvement efforts. (RH)

This book is about developing "resiliency," a new paradigm of student and staff development that offers schools a coherent, research-based framework for the achievement of success and lifelong learning for all. A six-step plan of action for resiliency building is introduced. The resiliency model offers hope based on scientific evidence…

Activities in three of eight school districts that linked testing and evaluation data with instructional decision-making matched the seven components of management information systems. Each district had a unique system that focused, respectively, on student achievement, school improvement, and staff capacity building. (MLF)