It should surprise no one that there are faculties throughout North America that refer to themselves as professional learning communities (PLCs) yet do none of the things that PLCs do. Conversely, there are faculties that could serve as model PLCs that may never reference the term. A school does not become a PLC by enrolling in a program, renaming…

Information fluency is the ability to access, make sense of, and use information to build new understandings. The term "information fluency" is now accepted in the field of library science as a replacement for "information literacy" because students must not only know the skills, but also apply the skills fluently in any personal or academic…

Districts play a key and relatively unexamined role in distributed leadership research. This article explores how leadership was distributed through a district structure designed to improve the quality of teaching by improving the quality of teacher evaluation. It examines peer assistance and review, a policy designed to address the key problems…

This report describes the purposes of benchmark assessments and provides recommendations for selecting and using benchmark assessments--addressing validity, alignment, reliability, fairness and bias and accessibility, instructional sensitivity, utility, and reporting issues. We also present recommendations on building capacity to support schools'…

Secondary vocational-technical education programs in Mississippi are faced with many challenges resulting from sweeping educational reforms at the national and state levels. Schools and teachers are increasingly being held accountable for providing true learning activities to every student in the classroom. This accountability is measured through…

Secondary vocational-technical education programs in Mississippi are faced with many challenges resulting from sweeping educational reforms at the national and state levels. Schools and teachers are increasingly being held accountable for providing true learning activities to every student in the classroom. This accountability is measured through…

Despite clear evidence that formative assessment creates vantage points throughout the teaching-learning cycle for both teachers and students, research suggests that teachers are not taking advantage of the full cadre of formative assessment strategies available to them--particularly those that have been associated with improved student learning…

The Delaware Geography-Health Initiative is a Web- and GIS-based set of lesson units for teaching geographic concepts and research methods within the context of the state's high school geography standards. Each unit follows a research-based, inquiry-centered model addressing questions of health because of Delaware's high incidence of cancer,…

Background: To attain accurate information about student performance, teachers must apply sound classroom assessment practices. First, teachers need to be able to understand and identify the purpose of their assessments. Teachers also need to provide their students with clear learning targets, in language that students can easily understand, so…

We developed alternate forms of a math test for use in both screening students at risk of failure and monitoring their progress over time. In this technical report, we present results of the screener, used in the fall of 2009. The 48-item test was aligned to the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) Curriculum Focal Point Standards…

Current research indicates that a professional learning community (PLC) is an effective means for helping teachers to bridge the gap between research and practice. A PLC is a team of educators systematically working together to improve teaching practice and student learning. This study evaluated the PLC formed by teachers at a public elementary…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to report on the rationale behind the use of a unique paper-based individualised accounting assignment, which automated the provision to students of immediate formative and timely summative feedback. Design/methodology/approach: As students worked towards completing their assignment, the package provided…

The developmental psychology of mathematical thinking and the clinical interview method can make major contributions to education by transforming the process of formative assessment--the attempt to use information concerning student performance, knowledge, learning potential, and motivation to inform instruction. The clinical interview is a…

The assessment of oral language is now quite commonly done in pairs or groups, and there is a growing body of research which investigates the related issues (e.g. May, 2007). Writing generally tends to be thought of as an individual activity, although a small number of studies have documented the advantages of collaboration in writing in the…

In our pre-service department, university practicum supervisors are faculty members who offer academic, social, and personal support to teacher candidates during their year-long program. Their role is described as one designed primarily to provide formative assessment and feedback to improve classroom practice and reflection on practice. This…