Civil Society Organizations (CSO) can improve their effectiveness and add measurable value to society by using a megaplanning approach as the guiding criteria for their organizational planning. This article shows how Asociacion Conciencia, a leading Argentinean CSO, has used megaplanning to clarify its vision, mission, align its goals and programs…

A year-long collaborative action research project used networked technologies to connect researchers at a university-based online professional development program and a group of practitioner researchers based in a range of schools and educational agencies in several countries. They studied the process and effects of online professional development…

In 2006, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation launched the Early Learning Initiative (ELI) to improve the school readiness of Washington State's children through three main strategies: (1) development of high-quality, community-wide early learning initiatives in two communities; (2) enhancement of statewide systems that support early…

This interpretive case study focused upon the outcomes of a 13-year collaboration between a PreK-5 elementary school serving a high percentage of low-income students, and a church located in their urban neighborhood. The purpose of the investigation was to: (1) perform a qualitative study that identified central themes underlying this successful…

In the United States in the last few years, a considerable amount of attention has been given to literacy programs as a way to close the academic gap between English-only (EO) students and English language learners (ELL). Teacher education programs around the country have been dealing with issues of academic inequity for some time. There are no…

This study investigates how different types of prior knowledge influence student achievement and how different assessment measures influence the observed effect of prior knowledge. We introduce a model of prior knowledge that distinguishes between different types of prior knowledge and uses different assessment measures to assess different types…

In June 2007, the Educational Policy Improvement Center (EPIC) was awarded a grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to develop the College Ready School Diagnostic, a web-based diagnostic instrument. The purpose of this tool is to provide individual school profiles and customized recommendations, enabling each institution to make…

RIT Online Learning courses have an overall course completion rate of 94%. For lower-division courses the rate is 92%, undergraduate 93%, and graduate 96%. In this case study we will share additional measurements we have used to monitor student success and describe strategies we have used to promote online discussion as a key component of…

Background: In this article we address some of the challenges posed by the development of national assessment systems and discuss the need for high quality information on trends in attainment; support for school improvement processes and ways in which learning should be enhanced through valid assessment. Purpose: Key elements are explored,…

This publication focuses on 14 colleges and universities that are successfully meeting the challenge of preparing middle level teachers. After the Foreword (John H. Swaim), the 16 chapters are: (1) "Middle Level Teacher Preparation in Perspective"; (2) "Elizabeth City State University" (Eloise B. Roberts); (3) "Georgia Southwestern College" (Lynn…

The issue of program quality must be paramount on state educational agendas if the America 2000 preschool goal--that all children start school ready to learn--is to be attained. This paper describes four types of preschool programs (Project Head Start, Montessori, public preschools, and private day cares) and reviews the evidence on their…

Noting that family literacy is an intergenerational approach to education that addresses the needs of both the adult and child learner, this booklet presents aspects of family literacy programs and steps to help ensure the program's success. After discussing the need for family literacy, the book discusses the effectiveness of family literacy and…

This publication provides evaluative information to decision makers at the state and local levels to assist in making judgments about the extent to which the goals of the Model Career Options Program (MCOP) were attained. The MCOP goals are: (1) to provide an opportunity for teachers to expand their professional horizons and explore new avenues in…

This document presents the final report on the evaluation of California's model student assistance program (SAP) demonstration projects implemented in five locations across the state from July 1989 through June 1992. The report provides an overall, integrated review of the evaluation of the SAP demonstration projects, summarizes important findings…

The purpose of Project CMYC (Catch Me if You Can) was to develop and test a model for longitudinal study of local (Texas) Early Childhood Intervention (ECI) program graduates and their families. The model called for comparison of ECI graduates and families to a group of children with similar disabilities and of comparable age, who had not…