The Alberta Initiative for School Improvement (AISI) is a bold approach to improving student learning by encouraging teachers, parents, and the community to work collaboratively to introduce innovative projects that address local needs. Initiated in 1999 by the Alberta Government and its partners, AISI provides targeted funding to school…

Monitoring and evaluation has been identified as one of seven key strategies for advancing the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (DESD). The UN International Implementation Scheme for the Decade has called for the development of relevant and suitable indicators at all levels. Choosing appropriate education for sustainable…

This report is the final evaluation of the State Dissemination Grants Program (SDGP), a major initiative within the mission of the National Institute of Education (NIE) to assist state education agencies in implementing, strengthening, and institutionalizing dissemination services that improve educational practice and equity. The multi-year…

A report is given of a study conducted on the nature and extent of support that local school systems in Maryland currently provide to new teachers. The study had two components: a statewide survey and case studies of promising programs. The survey polled Associate or Assistant Superintendents of Instruction in 23 of Maryland's 24 county school…

A project at Bucknell University is described that was designed to: evaluate faculty teaching, conduct faculty seminars and workshops, disseminate sources of information to faculty, provide funds for the support of instructional improvement projects, develop a means of relating the quality of teaching and scholarship to a system of financial and…

THE MOST SUCCESSFUL AREA OF THE PROGRAM WAS READING. THE BOOK LEVELS INCREASED FOR THE CHILDREN. THE LONGER A CHILD WAS INVOLVED WITH THE PROJECT, THE GREATER WAS HIS RATE OF PROGRESS. IN EVALUATING THE ROLE OF THE LANGUAGE LABORATORY, IT WAS EVIDENT THAT A MEDIAN INCREASE OF SLIGHTLY MORE THAN THREE READING LEVELS WAS ACHIEVED. THROUGH THE…

A training project for regional accreditation evaluation teams of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) was evaluated. The project was designed to train WASC team members to understand and use effectively newly-developed standards and to function effectively in team visits. Training procedures were as follows: a workshop for…

A field test of the materials unit from the LAMP Project for low motivated secondary students is discussed. Facilities, students, teaching methodology, and the evaluation of the situation are described.

This toolkit is designed to provide educational leaders with information, tools, resources, and practical examples to help schools to effectively implement Title I schoolwide programs. It is intended to serve as a useful resource for states, districts, and schools to use, along with other resources and technical support, to create or refine…

Evaluates a program designed to improve self-esteem in adolescents. Used commercial movies about teenagers to enhance adolescents' interest and understanding of their world. Findings indicated significant increases in measures of self concept, self satisfaction, family self, and social self over the course of the program. (RJM)

Describes reforms at Berniss Elementary School (Spokane, Washington) from 1992 to 1999. A Title I school serving poor and immigrant neighborhoods, Berniss showed dramatic improvements in standardized test scores. Reform strategies included hiring four facilitators as peer coaches to encourage reform, changing teaching methods to promote active…

Stung by a negative accreditation review, Los Angeles City College established an administrative position and a planning process that is successfully creating a culture of continuous improvement. At the core of this success is a "plan-act-check" reinforcing systems loop that links planning, budgeting, and institutional research. (Contains 2…

Evaluative inquiry--systematically gathering and analyzing data for the purposes of judging program or innovation merit, worth or significance and/or supporting ongoing school-based decision making and problem solving--is an option available to educators that is not often used; this despite recent interest in action research and school-based…

The Rural and Low-Income School (RLIS) program is part of the Rural Education Achievement Program (REAP) that was authorized under Title VI, Part B of the "Elementary and Secondary Act of 1965" ("ESEA"), as amended by the "No Child Left Behind Act of 2001" ("NCLB"). The RLIS program provides additional funds…

Results-based management (RBM) is an approach to programme planning and management that integrates strategy, people, resources, processes and measurements to improve decision-making, transparency and accountability. The Commonwealth of Learning (COL) began the adoption of a RBM model with its 2003-2006 Three-Year Plan. This led to a significantly…