Based on national test data, students are performing at a basic achievement level (below grade-level) in both reading and math (NCES, 2022). Research indicates four causes for low academic performance: poor pre-service preparation; inconsistent presence of standards-based, grade-level curriculum; lack of ongoing, evidence-based professional…

Based on national test data, students are performing at a basic achievement level (below grade-level) in both reading and math (NCES, 2022). Research indicates four causes for low academic performance: poor pre-service preparation; inconsistent presence of standards-based, grade-level curriculum; lack of ongoing, evidence-based professional…

School districts have recognized the undeniable power of using data to enhance performance. As a result, teachers are now required to use data to prepare for critical state assessments and to improve district levels. These assessments are crucial in determining the school's rating by the state and can even result in a state takeover if scores are…

The assessment of human performance is not a new phenomenon. We have evidence that people have been required to prove their worth dating back at least to the Epic of Gilgamesh. What has changed, at least on a large scale, is the importance given to quantitative evidence in the evaluation process. For example, many employers have begun subjecting…

Interscholastic athletics represent the most significant body within the sport industry (Fraina, Forsyth, Johnson, & Whisenant, 2022) given the lasting positive outcomes that can be enjoyed by student-athletes through their participation. With the impact of head coaches, both positively and negatively, in shaping the achievement of these…

This dissertation examines whether Tennessee's adoption of PBF as part of base appropriations for public higher education institutions in 2010 is associated with changes in STEM degree production patterns at public four-year universities. The study investigates the policy impact on the total number of degrees awarded, the number and proportion of…

Like America at large, Kansas sees a divide between a largely white teaching body, and an increasingly diverse student body. Teacher performance assessments have been created to facilitate "good teaching" and high-quality teachers. At the same time, multicultural teaching research indicates that diverse students need more than a single…

The Performance Appraisal System (PAS) plays a key role in the overall success of an organization. An appropriate PAS has the potential to increase employee satisfaction at work. When employees are satisfied with the PAS they tend to be more satisfied with their jobs. This study aims to demonstrate the level of practices and the characteristics of…

In 2014, the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) communicated a plan to replace five Standards of Learning (SOL) assessments with alternative assessments based on legislation passed by the Virginia General Assembly (VDOE, 2014b, p. 1). School districts were able to choose the type of alternative assessment to implement, yet they were…

At the center of teacher preparation is the student teaching placement experience. However, research on student teacher placements often overlooks the nuanced perceptions and attitudes of student teachers (STs). These factors significantly influence educator outcomes and programmatic success. This research delves into the attitudes and perceptions…

The purpose of this mixed methods case study was to understand the hiring practices of a school district when considering a principal and how the school district attends to leadership within those hiring practices. The central premise of the study was leadership matters and is second to teaching in student achievement. However, the historical…

While traditional faculty mentoring programs exist across higher education institutions, support is typically delivered to mentees in a one-way format, resulting in mentoring that does not promote ownership of improving instruction. To study the problem, a conceptual framework incorporating constructivism teaching theory and post-modern…

Although researchers have studied the impact of teacher evaluation laws on teachers and administrators, we know very little about how administrators, who assume most of the responsibility for implementing the state-mandated teacher evaluation system, proceed in making use of the evaluation tool their district uses for its performance evaluation…

Fitting wrongly specified models to observed data may lead to invalid inferences about the model parameters of interest. The current study investigated the performance of the posterior predictive model checking (PPMC) approach in detecting model-data misfit of the hierarchical rater model (HRM). The HRM is a rater-mediated model that incorporates…

In the United States, textbook cost affects student debt and student success. To reduce textbook costs for students, the California legislature provided funding for Zero Textbook Cost programs. In the study, the researcher examined group differences based on Textbook Type, Zero Textbook Cost, and Non-Zero Textbook Cost in public speaking course…