The purpose of this report is to help stakeholders of Professional Pathways for Teachers (PPfT) understand and refine the methods used to measure program implementation and outcomes. This report also contains summative data on the progress of PPfT, which just completed its third year. PPfT first launched district-wide in AISD in the 2016-2017…

This is an executive summary of a full report that helps stakeholders of Professional Pathways for Teachers (PPfT) understand and refine the methods used to measure program implementation and outcomes. The full report also contains summative data on the progress of PPfT, having just completed its third year. PPfT first launched district-wide in…

Background: Research suggests a number of benefits from teacher participation in school improvement--chief among them that it can increase teacher receptivity to innovation and reform adoption. Improvement science has been put forward as a new paradigm for involving local school stakeholders in the improvement process. Purpose: We describe the…

This report presents findings from RAND's evaluation of the Appalachian Renaissance Initiative (ARI) in 17 districts totaling 99 kindergarten-12th grade schools within the Kentucky Valley Educational Cooperative (KVEC). The initiative took place from the 2014-2015 through 2017-2018 academic years. The evaluation examined various aspects of ARI…

In 2010-11, Wake County Public School System (WCPSS), North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI), and SMART Technologies began a two-year collaboration to promote the use of formative assessment in mathematics classrooms at three Wake County public schools: Millbrook Elementary, East Millbrook Middle, and Millbrook High school. The…

This qualitative study explored the collaborative team practices used by elementary teachers working in collaborative teams within one school district. The study consisted of simultaneous data collection that included: eleven observations of team meetings, fifteen individual in-depth interviews, one focus group discussion and document review…

The study examines relationships among variations in the implementation of participative decision making, instructional improvement, and student learning in 1 school district of about 3,300 students over 5 years. Findings support the conclusion that teacher participation in decision making is related to instructional improvement and better student…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness and the efficacy of regional special education programs. Focus groups were conducted in an independent school district and two special education cooperatives. Focus groups were conducted with general education teachers, special education teachers, principals, paraprofessionals,…

Principals and superintendents often make decisions about the purchase and allocation of computer hardware and software without consulting individual teachers; however, teacher participation is necessary for successful implementation of all phases of computer programs. Initially, computer literacy training should be made available to both…

This book describes the chain stretching from President Nixon's announcement of the Experimental Schools Program in 1969 to the midpoint of its implementation in the Butte-Angels Camp School District (pseudonym for a small mountainous district 400 miles from Denver) in 1976. The story is told in some detail to illustrate the complexities of the…

This paper describes the implementation and effects of a behavior management system in eight middle schools, including control schools, in an urban school district. The components of the system included school discipline policy review and revision, computerized behavior tracking, classroom organization and management, and positive reinforcement.…

This outline of the Program for Effective Teaching (PET), developed by the Arkansas State Department of Education, was generated by a statewide seminar convened to review and revise the PET model in the light of the growth and needs that have surfaced since the program began in l979. The PET program was developed to improve the skills of…

This evaluation report describes the Quality Improvement Program Plan for Special Educators (QUIPP) which provides supplemental professional development opportunities for New York City special education professionals and paraprofessionals at the elementary, middle, and intermediate/junior high school levels. The program stresses design of the…

This article is about one school district's effort to reform its elementary science curriculum through a program of professional development called Science, Parents, Activities and Literature (Science PALs). The differential exposure of the district's K-6 teachers to Science PALs and differences in how well teachers implemented Science PALs-type…

The Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE), schools districts, and institutions of higher education have initiated a number of efforts to improve teacher quality and professional development. The first section of this report highlights the recommendations of leading commissions and reports released in the past ten years pertaining to…