This study evaluated the instructional benefits and barriers related to the use of online formative and summative assessment tools. Data were collected from samples of undergraduate students in different semesters to allow for differential use of summative assessment (paper versus online delivery). Formative assessment was manipulated by providing…

With accurate information, educators are better able to make effective decisions. Besides being used to assess student performance, a complete program of data collection and use can also show educators how management skills, individual learning styles, and other elements affect student achievement. This digest in Spanish provides an overview of…

This paper discusses the notion of community as an outcome of working within an online environment. In particular, the paper explores the concept of users' development of a sense of community as an outcome of working within an online environment designed to support the professional and personal development of its users. The paper discusses…

Using data from the National Education Longitudinal Study 1988 (NELS:88), a nationally representative sample of eighth graders in 1988, who were studies again in 1994 as was analyzed for three voting patterns: registered to vote (68.1%), voted in 1992 presidential election (45.5%), and voted last year in local or state election (30.6%) and…

This paper presents a model for analyzing and drawing inferences from pre- and post-assessment data that are not as clean as might be desired. The model was applied to comparison of freshman and senior scores on the Academic Profile and Short Form at Cardinal Stritch University (Wisconsin). As of 1997-98, 891 pre-tests had been administered to new…

This study explored how adult students define success in college and their perceptions of factors that either support or hinder achievement of this success. Thirteen returning adult students at two institutions were interviewed using a grounded theory approach. Data were analyzed inductively and iteratively to identify persistent themes. Students…

The Common Core of Data (CCD) program of the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) consists of five separate surveys. An evaluation was conducted of the nonfiscal surveys from the CCD for 1996-97. It focused primarily on the agency and school universe surveys, but it also included the state nonfiscal survey. The evaluation explored such…

Continuing professional development is an important activity for most teachers in the K-12 system, and it is even required of some teachers in order to maintain certification (Maldonado, 2002). Professional development programs are predicated on the assumption that the teachers who receive the training will in turn positively affect student…

This handbook is a basic "how-to" guide to help one's Parent Training and Information Center (PTI) or Community Parent Resource Center (CPRC) evaluate its programs. Evaluation may seem overwhelming, but a center already performs some steps of the evaluation process for the reports required by the Technical Assistance ALLIANCE for Parent Centers…

This is a checklist of key items to get right when conducting a randomized controlled trial to evaluate an educational program or practice ("intervention"). It is intended as a practical resource for researchers and sponsors of research, describing items that are often critical to the success of a randomized controlled trial. A significant…

This study examined (1) the extent to which, since 2000, states have enacted and proposed statutes and regulations to govern commercial activities in schools; (2) the extent to which districts have developed policies implementing amended provisions of the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA) in the No Child Left Behind Act on the use of…

Evidence-centered assessment design (ECD) is an approach to constructing educational assessments in terms of evidentiary arguments. This paper provides an introduction to the basic ideas of ECD, including some of the terminology and models that have been developed to implement the approach. In particular, it presents the high-level models of …

The passage of the Children First Act in 1988 ushered in a new era of data collection, analysis, and reporting about the overall quality and condition of education in Louisiana. Implemented in 1990, this major piece of legislation resulted in the publication of the Progress Profiles (School Report Cards, District Composite Report, and the…

The purpose of scientifically-based research within No Child Left Behind (NCLB) is to identify and disseminate conclusive information on ?what works? in education, with an emphasis on determining what instructional input (curricula, instructional techniques) works to increase student outcomes such as academic achievement and language proficiency.…

This report describes research that Mathematica Policy Research, Inc. (MPR) has conducted for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Food and Nutrition Service (FNS), to develop methods to track the use of "competitive foods" in schools over time. Competitive foods are foods from a la carte cafeteria sales, vending machines, school stores,…