The state of Texas requires that each district and campus write an annual improvement plan (Texas Education Code, n.d.b). Although this study was conducted in Texas concerning Texas districts and campuses, it would be reasonable to assume that most, if not all, of the other states in the U.S. have similar improvement planning processes. The…

Head Start has long focused on assessing and improving program quality to ensure that the children served receive the best possible preparation for school and life. Most research has been focused inside the classroom--the classroom environment, teacher qualifications, and teacher interactions. Of course, the classroom is important because that is…

Driven by issues of accountability, the assessment movement in higher education has gained significant momentum in recent years. However, successful implementation of assessment processes varies radically across institutions and organizational units. A key issue is faculty engagement. This qualitative case study explored factors that impact…

Purpose: Research-intensive universities have special challenges in providing their students with civic education, particularly education that is rooted in the curriculum. Their efforts are important to the overall effort to promote education "for the common good" at colleges and universities because of their stature within the higher education…

Recent policy changes have facilitated an expanded role for VET in Schools in supporting school completion, with vocational education and training (VET) in schools qualifications and subjects receiving increasing recognition in senior secondary certificates. Despite increased attainment of VET qualifications amongst 15 to 19-year-olds (Australian…

Student attainment of educational outcomes is a core purpose of any institution of higher education and assessment provides a vehicle through which a program of study is able to ascertain how well it is achieving its stated learning outcomes and how program improvement might be achieved. Assessment of student learning begins with the clear…

This article seeks to contribute to the recent discussion regarding school finance, teacher quality, and English language learners (ELLs) based on a comparative study within a school district with a significant ELL population. The study described in this article utilizes an exploratory multiple case study methodology to examine the complex…

Linking teacher practice to pupil outcomes has proven challenging for teacher educators. Methodological problems occur when linking individual teacher actions with subsequent pupil performance, including substantial intervening variables, questions about appropriate measures of student learning, issues regarding the lack of test standardization…

This article describes a physical education program self-assessment tool, "The Physical Activity and Fitness Promotion Checklist," which was developed by a panel of nationally recognized physical education teachers. This checklist, which specifically addresses national physical education standards three and four, includes 20 items organized into…

Focusing primarily on test data from locally developed tests, the document presents results and an evaluation of the first year of a program developed for elementary grades at Dutemple School, Cranston, R. I. The first section discusses behavioral objectives and presents pre- and posttest results, grade by grade tabulated to show levels of…

A draft of untested instruments and procedures for evaluating vocational/technical education programs, intended for discussion and use in field tests, is presented. The guidelines, criteria, and evaluation methods presented are divided into two major categories--institutional form and program form. Items within each category are grouped under the…

In late 2012, both the second edition of the "Geography for Life: National Geography Standards" and the National Science Foundation-funded "Road Map for Geography Education Project" reports were released; the former document describes the conceptual goals for K-12 geography education, and the latter, a route to coordinating reform efforts to…

A Swedish study examined student and teacher perceptions regarding career education (CE) and working life orientation in Sweden's lower secondary schools. Twenty-seven pupils and a total of 30 school professionals (13 teachers, 8 career teachers, 3 school welfare officers, and 6 head teachers) from 3 lower secondary schools were interviewed. The…