Summative performance assessments in teacher education, such as the Performance Assessment for California Teachers (PACT) and the edTPA, have been heralded through polices intended to enhance the quality of the teaching profession and raise its stature among other professions. However, the development and implementation of the PACT, and…

Charter Theatre is a small professional theatre in Washington, DC. Its mission is to develop and produce new plays. Like other organizations, Charter Theatre wants to be accountable. Its members saw early the need for evaluation--a repeatable process to assure the quality of their work, and have infused their development process with evaluation.…

In September 2007, the Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges (SBCTC) officially launched the Student Achievement Initiative, a system-wide policy to reward colleges for improvements in student achievement. Developed by a task force comprised of State Board members, college trustees, presidents, and faculty representatives,…

Family home childcare providers play an important role in the delivery of essential childcare and in early learning. According to the 1999 U.S. Census, 30.7% of children under 5 years of age in non-parental care attend organized family home care (Child Care Bureau, 2001). In Washington State, 27% of children attend regulated family home childcare…

This guide is designed as a resource for leaders and evaluators of K-12 online learning programs. In this guide, the term "online learning" is used to refer to a range of education programs and resources in the K-12 arena, including distance learning courses offered by universities, private providers, or teachers at other schools;…

An early childhood education program for children of migrant and seasonal farm workers, the Project provides tutoring, usually outside of regular school hours, to kindergarten and first grade children. The tutoring is done by adult paraprofessionals who are former migrants or seasonal farm workers. Program focus is to: (1) develop the child's…

The nine articles of this special section focus on the role of evaluation in the reform of the mental health system in Washington. The reform process is described from its inception through its design to the dissemination and utilization of evaluation results. The final article considers implications for statewide evaluations. (SLD)