The field of evaluation faces a number of serious challenges in light of No Child Left Behind legislation, among them feasibility, resources, and blurring lines among research, evaluation, and assessment. At the same time, these challenges open the door for opportunities in evaluation. Now more than ever, the expertise of evaluators is needed and…

For most of the last 50 years, teachers and administrators have perceived professional development and the instructional role primarily in terms of what one individual does with classes of others. Teachers, like their students, were considered to be rather passive acceptors of the instruction, rather than active modifiers. Thus, there was very…

What are the common pitfalls experienced by school researchers and how can they be avoided? Edited by Lisa M. Dinella of Monmouth University, "Conducting Science-Based Psychology Research in Schools" includes the collective knowledge of both established and emerging names in the field, providing an unparalleled resource for those interested in…

As the United States has become progressively more diverse in rural areas, America's higher education system has wrestled to comprehend and resolve issues related to diversity in higher education. Community colleges enrolled nearly 50% of culturally diverse college students (Cohen & Brawer, 2002) because they often afford the only points of…

Students in research methods courses, especially those taught in an intense format, might be hard pressed to actually conduct research studies due to logistics and time constraints. I describe the use of single-case research design and a personalized behavior project as an alternative research project for students in an undergraduate psychology…

This article examines theoretical and empirical issues related to the statistical power of impact estimates under clustered regression discontinuity (RD) designs. The theory is grounded in the causal inference and hierarchical linear modeling literature, and the empirical work focuses on common designs used in education research to test…

Teachers and parents who read about the brain on the Internet should do so critically to determine fact from opinion. Are the assertions real about certain methods/strategies that claim to be based on brain research? Will they make a difference in their teaching and in achievement levels? Turning theory into fact take time and replication of solid…

This paper reports the findings of a Stage I meta-analysis exploring the achievement effects of computer-based technology use in higher education classrooms (non-distance education). An extensive literature search revealed more than 6,000 potentially relevant primary empirical studies. Analysis of a representative sample of 231 studies (k = 310)…

Respecting children's rights to be heard in matters that directly affect their everyday lives has become an established principle in Ireland and internationally. Accessing children's voices raises a number of important issues for researchers across a wide range of disciplines. This article reflects on the organizational, practical and ethical…

Donald W. Compton, the first director of evaluation services at the National Home Office (Atlanta) of the American Cancer Society, tells the story of building the unit in conditions of high demand and a limited budget. Along the way, evaluation was brought to regional divisions and to local offices in part as a response to United Way and to his…

This action research study was conducted for purposes of changing the formal evaluation for school administrators to one constructed around the Interstate School Leaders Licensure Consortium (ISLLC) 2008 standards, inclusive of multifaceted components aimed to increase the active participation of both the evaluator and the individual being…

In an ex post facto causal-comparative research design, this study investigated the effectiveness of Automated Writing Evaluation (AWE) programs on raising the student writing achievement. Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP) writing achievement scores from the 2010 administration were utilized for this study. The independent variable…

This inquiry used autoethnography methodology in a self-narrative format that places the self within the position of a first time Superintendent as an African American woman. The design of this research will allow the reader to travel with me through my experiences to obtain information about the challenges and obstacles of the superintendent…

The purpose for this study was to determine the influence on achievement and classification rate into special education of racially, culturally, ethnically, linguistically diverse students following the use of a district-designed response to intervention (RtI) structure by examining local processes that may contribute to student achievement and…

The 2005 Summit on High Schools led to redesigning schools and promoting 21st Century Skills. Consequently, this study assesses the implementation of supplemental online courses, offered through the Virtual High School (VHS), at one suburban New Jersey public high school. The following questions guided this research project: (1) How do the VHS…