This policy brief summarizes and critiques the findings of the US Department of Education's Section 5005 Report on Rural Education. In September of 2018, the Department of Education released the "Section 5005 Report on Rural Education: Final Report." The report was written in response to a provision of the Every Student Succeeds Act of…

On Dec. 10, 2015, the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) (P.L. 114-95) became law. ESSA primarily reauthorizes the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), but includes other provisions as well. Among these, Section 5005 requires the U.S. Department of Education (the Department) to "review the organization, structure, and process…

This chapter describes the historical and contemporary theoretical underpinnings of learning communities and argues that there is a need for more complex models in conceptualizing and assessing their effectiveness.

Since the mid 1970s, a series of international declarations that recognize the critical link between environmental sustainability and higher education have been endorsed and signed by universities around the world. While academic initiatives in sustainability are blossoming, higher education lacks a comprehensive evaluation framework that is…

Due to the declining state of the current economy, a greater demand is being placed on student affairs professionals to provide evidence of the success of their programs, their impact on student learning and development and overall contributions to the undergraduate learning experience. It is a growing imperative that student affairs professionals…

In response to a statewide need for locally-directed evaluation, the State of Illinois funded a locally-directed evaluation project. Developed by personnel from the University of Illinois and Northern Illinois University, this project was directed toward devising and delivering information and assistance to local education agencies (LEA's) to help…

Volume III with its appendixes analyzes critically many different facets of officer education and training. It starts from the factual base of the current Army Schooling system established in Annex B of AD-743 252 and takes cognizance of schooling programs in other public and private sectors. It attempts to take the long view of officer education…

This article, written by Fiona Hallett, pathway leader for the inclusion and special educational needs masters programmes at Edge Hill University, Graham Hallett, senior lecturer for special educational needs and inclusion at the University of Cumbria, and Mary McAteer, programme leader for an M level professional development programme at Edge…

The document examines the need to develop and implement more adequate evaluation methods for broad-aimed adult education programs, and presents some suggestions. Broad-aimed adult education programs are described as those which seek to affect the quality of the learners' lives through education and to help learners cope more effectively with their…

A procedure for determining the degree to which student performance is meeting expected or desired levels is discussed. Five steps in conducting a needs assessment are listed: (1) a student body profile, relating data already available to the six system-wide goals, is provided for each school; (2) using the student body profile, brainstorming…

An implementation proposal for a needs assessment model for South Carolina's public schools is presented. Part One, a narrative presentation of the suggested procedure, includes: identification of task force members, formation of the expenditure coordination committee, task force training conferences, task force organizational meetings, task force…

The article recommends (1) the formulation of course objectives and valid measuring instruments for evaluation and (2) the determination of training needs. The solution is a four-step procedure to identify: parameters for ranking training needs, types of training programs needed, criteria for evaluation, and ways training contributed to…

In the nine years following the passage of the Elementary Secondary Education Act (ESEA), several models have been developed to attempt to remedy the deficiencies in existing educational evaluation and decision theory noted by Stufflebeam and co-workers. Compilations of evaluation models have been undertaken and listings exist of models available…

The Colorado Learner Needs Assessment (CLNA) is described, with operational models for sampling, computer analysis and reporting. The rationale of the program is discussed, followed by its specifications (scope, reporting possibilities, precision and data format), development (meetings, letters, preliminary tryout, sampling and analysis plans,…