The core practice of professional scientists is inquiry, often referred to as research. If educators are to prepare students for a role in the professional scientific and technological community, exposing them to inquiry-based learning is essential. Despite this, inquiry-based teaching and learning (IBTL) remains relatively rare, possibly due to…

The purpose of this paper was to conduct a scan of the current state of the evidence regarding what works in helping disconnected young people, defined as the population of young people ages 16 to 24 who are not connected to work or school. The following four main research questions were investigated: (1) What local, state, and federal policies…

As part of the "American Reinvestment and Recovery Act of 2009," the U.S. Department of Education sponsored the "Race to the Top" competition to encourage education reforms anchored in improving teacher effectiveness as a driver for improving student-achievement outcomes and closing achievement gaps. The New York State…

In recent years, increased focus on the effectiveness and accountability of prevention and intervention programs has led to greater government funding for the implementation and spread of evidence-based health and human service delivery models. In particular, attention has been paid to programs that require significant infrastructure investment…

As part of the federal Preschool Development Grant Program in late 2014, the Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care (EEC) was awarded a Preschool Expansion Grant (referred to as the Massachusetts PEG program) to expand high-quality early childhood education to four-year-old children from low-income families. The Massachusetts PEG…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to summarize a consensus statement generated on the current challenges, strategies, and potential of health promoting schools (HPS) at a 2011 colloquium at the Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Study where 40 people from five continents came together to share their global and regional experience surrounding…

The National Association of State Directors of Special Education (NASDSE, 2005) defines response to intervention (RTI) as the practice of providing high-quality instruction and intervention based on a student's needs, changing instruction and/or goals through frequent monitoring of progress, and applying the student response data to important…

"The Measures of Success" (MoS) project set out to develop, implement, and present the results of an evaluation model that could assess longer-term outcomes of workplace education programs for increasing literacy and Essential Skills. The model was tested at 18 work sites in Manitoba and Nova Scotia and included training programs that…

The "PISA 2009 Technical Report" describes the methodology underlying the PISA 2009 survey. It examines additional features related to the implementation of the project at a level of detail that allows researchers to understand and replicate its analyses. The reader will find a wealth of information on the test and sample design,…

Response to Intervention (RTI) has emerged as a method for providing early academic assistance to students with difficulty learning. This brief outlines the tiered structure of RTI and how it can be implemented as an effective technique for teaching English learners who are having difficulty making academic progress. It touches on methods of…

In 1997, New York State lawmakers passed the Universal Prekindergarten (UPK) legislation, a bold new approach to early childhood education. It established new part-day Pre-K programs that were free and open to all four-year-olds. Today, the state invests $414 million annually in Pre-K, which serves more than 100,000 children in public schools and…

The National Research Center on Learning Disabilities (Lawrence, KS) prepared this manual as a tool for implementing Responsiveness to Intervention (RTI). The manual can help schools understand, design, and evaluate the RTI features that they will implement. This RTI Manual is based on current research regarding the features of RTI. While striving…

The experiences of a group of evaluators evaluating a multisite integrated human service delivery system illustrate many design and measurement considerations in the preimplementation and implementation phases of evaluation. The reemergence of human service integration approaches will make such evaluation issues increasingly common. (SLD)

Challenges faced in the evaluation of programs for the disabled are discussed, focusing on values orientation, key stakeholders, program structure, and measurement issues. Workers in the field are presently witnessing a fundamental change in the philosophy that underlies programs for persons with disabilities. Evaluators must be sensitive to the…

An evaluation was conducted of tech prep, a focused, sequential 6-year course of study for high school and technical college students in North Carolina, using 19 criteria that were identified as being necessary to qualify for tech prep funding. Evaluation activities carried out by the North Carolina Departments of Public Instruction and Community…