With real-world examples from actual schools, this book illustrates how to nurture a culture of continuous improvement, meet the needs of individual students, foster an environment of high expectations, and meet the requirements of NCLB. Each component of the Data-Driven Instructional Leadership (DDIS) model represents several branches of…

The "Code of Virginia" (Section 22.1-279.3:1) requires school divisions statewide to submit data annually to the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) on incidents of discipline, crime, and violence (DCV). School divisions began reporting data on discipline, crime, and violence to the VDOE in 1991. The federal "Gun-Free Schools…

This report examines the relationship between technology and access to postsecondary education, and identifies four basic themes: technology and access to postsecondary education in general; access to technology-based learning; preparation for using technology; and the effectiveness of technology in learning. The report presents a review of the…

This digest discusses the difficulty of assessing the speech and language of culturally and linguistically diverse students and recommends strategies for identifying communication disorders. It begins by reviewing what qualifies as a communication disorder, discussing the limitations of speech and language tests, and outlining test considerations.…

This paper reports on the range of methods used by state education agencies (SEAs) to report special education information to the public and the challenges related to this reporting. The report is based on a September 2001 survey completed by state directors of special education from 34 states. First, the paper summarizes reporting requirements of…

The youth development approach has gained traction over the past twenty-plus years, across a range of youth-serving fields, including public health. While it is important for Adolescent Health Coordinators, other practitioners and policy makers focused on youth to be familiar with youth development concepts, it is critically important that they…

This book is developed to enable students to think clearly and critically about the scientific process of research. The author emphasizes that the ability to think clearly about research methods, reason through complex problems, and evaluate published research are important in today's changing educational landscape. Students using this book will…

The aim of this paper is to describe developments in education and training in Japan that are a reaction upon the many changes in work, work processes, the economy and society.

Targeted to mental retardation/developmental disability (MR/DD) and vocational rehabilitation agencies, developmental disabilities councils, consumer and advocate groups, and protection and advocacy programs, this manual is designed to assist in the development of state-level data systems responsive to current accountability requirements. It also…

This Digest discusses computer assisted advisory practices currently in use in community colleges, outlining the types of data collected and how they are used, including the use of tracking to plan interventions for at-risk students. Enhanced computer technology has improved the effectiveness of academic advising by enabling more thorough and…

This paper reports learning environment research conducted in Australian Catholic high schools. A two-stage methodology involving quantitative and qualitative data-collection methods was employed. In the first stage, a sample of 1,719 students and 160 teachers responded to a specially developed classroom-environment questionnaire. Results…

Basic principles and methods of ethnographic research are outlined for students who may wish to undertake this form of qualitative research. Ethnographic research is defined as a form of study based on observation of human action, discourse, and self-perception, and is suggested as an appropriate form of research when experimental research is…

Although policy makers have expressed interest in expenditures by private elementary and secondary schools, nationally representative data in this area are not available. In the absence of expenditure data it may nevertheless be possible to derive national estimates of total expenditures by private schools indirectly, by using the information that…

This paper addresses the potential of the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) to measure education reforms in the United States through Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS). How the SASS can measure reform, the type of reform it should assess, and the elements of school reform that would best serve the needs of state and federal…

This book helps educators produce assessments of their schools' drug and violence prevention programs. It contains over 30 separate resources that can be adapted to specific evaluations (e.g., sample youth and adult participant feedback sheets, sample classroom observation sheets and teacher implementation logs, sample en-route participant…