This paper describes the development and validation of a set of three assessment instruments that can be used to assess students' progress on the energy concept (ASPECt) from fourth through twelfth grade. Rasch analysis techniques were used throughout the development process to guide the construction of an item bank and the selection of items for…

This article describes and theorizes a failed writing program assessment study to question the influence of "the rhetoric of agreement," or reliability, on writing assessment practice and its prevalence in validating institutional mandated assessments. Offering the phrase "dwelling in disagreement" as a queer perspective, the…

The purpose of this quantitative study is to analyze data around school culture and climate during the authorization process of the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme. Data collected was analyzed to test the hypothesis that the authorization process serves as a "weeding out" of students by causing a significant difference to…

These administrative rules of the Illinois Community College Board are divided into eight sections. Under Title 23: Education and Cultural Resources, Subtitle A: Education, Chapter VII: Illinois Community College Board, the following parts are included: (1) Part 1501 Administration of the Illinois Public Community College Act; (2) Part 1502 Joint…

Community colleges offer an array of programs designed to help students meet different goals. Noncredit education provides training for students seeking targeted, often shorter, courses for personal and professional enrichment (Cohen, Brawer, & Kisker, 2014). Many community colleges are now increasingly emphasizing noncredit workforce…

This study longitudinally examined the experiences of four different student cohorts who participated in Adelante, a sustained orientation/transfer program designed to assist students in the transfer process from the community college to a baccalaureate-degree granting university. The researcher found that students positively perceived the…

Background: The objective of this study was to develop the School Health Score Card (SHSC) and validate its psychometric properties. Methods: The development of the SHSC questionnaire included 3 phases: item generation, construction of domains and items, and field testing with validation. To assess the instrument's reliability and validity, we…

The "NADE Self-Evaluation Guides" are a compendium of best practices in four areas: (1) Tutoring Services; (2) Course-based Learning Assistance; (3) the Teaching & Learning Process; and (4) Developmental Coursework, also recently known as transitional, co-requisite, accelerated, or bridge programs, all of which are…

With the majority of "good jobs" that pay a family-sustaining wage requiring at least some college education -- such as a technical certificate, associate degree, bachelor's degree or another credential of value -- ensuring the existence of high-quality postsecondary CTE [Career Technical Education] programs and programs of study is more…

Dialogic approaches are promising vehicles for effective pedagogy, providing opportunities for students to talk about learning; build on and sustain individual and collective identities, and; advance thinking and understanding in ways that support enhanced achievement. Whilst this is an idealised view of talk in classrooms, international…

This study aimed to test a theoretical model of self-efficacy applied to the context of professional choice, verifying the sources of self-efficacy as predictors of self-efficacy beliefs and self-efficacy beliefs as antecedents of vocational exploratory behavior. A total of 388 high school students from public and private schools in the state of…

Project "TEAM" teaches transition-age youth with developmental disabilities (DD) to identify physical and social environmental barriers and supports, generate solutions to barriers, and request modifications to increase participation. Establishing the social validity of this environment focused intervention with youth and their parents…

Educational researchers conduct studies to gather critical empirical evidence in the determination of what are "evidence-based" curricular programs, which in turn, directly inform adoption efforts. The predominate method of validating these programs is through the use of group experimental designs, although single-case designs have also…

This article describes a modified importance-performance framework for use in evaluation of recreation-based experiential learning programs. Importance-performance analysis (IPA) provides an effective and readily applicable means of evaluating many programs, but the near universal satisfaction associated with recreation inhibits the use of IPA in…

This paper describes the development of a simple magnetic circular dichroism (MCD) apparatus from a wood base and neodymium magnets and its configuration in the Faraday alignment. The applicability and effectiveness of the apparatus for MCD spectra measurements have been examined. The apparatus was used by undergraduate students to conduct MCD…