Cherryvale Secondary School is located in a small, rural city. Mike Randall has been the principal there for three years. Each year principals are required by the school district to devise a School Improvement Plan. In Mike's first year, he chose a social justice goal, focusing on "Student Success on a Case-by-Case Basis." Mike and…

Policy makers' attempts to improve low-achieving schools through reform measures are not new to the 21st century. Research asserts that this policy churn has done little, if anything, to change student achievement levels. Based on the research, I assert that policy reforms such as teacher evaluations and test-based assessment, and school…

A growing body of empirical evidence shows that some financial aid programs increase college enrollment. Puzzlingly, there is little compelling evidence that Pell Grants and Stafford Loans, the primary federal student aid programs, are effective in achieving this goal. In this paper, we provide an in-depth review of this evidence, which taken as a…

This document was developed by the Mid-South Regional Resource Center (MSRRC) and is designed to be used as an assessment of State systems by State Part B and Part C staff and their stakeholders. It provides a detailed process for State Education Agencies (SEA) and Lead Agencies (LA) to follow that will guide improvement efforts relative to the…

The Department of Accounting at California State University Northridge (CSUN) has developed a unique sequence of courses designed to ensure that accounting students are trained not only in technical accounting, but also acquire critical thinking, research and communication skills. The courses have proven effective and have embedded assessment…

The incidence rates of traumatic brain injuries (TBI) are increasing, yet educators continue to be inadequately trained in assessing and serving students with TBIs. This study examined the efficacy of a half-day TBI training program for school psychologists designed to improve their knowledge and skills. Results of quantitative and qualitative…

This one-page guide provides a handy reference to help you understand state and federal accountability program terminology. Terms defined herein are: (1) Academic Performance Index (API); (2) Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP); (3) Comprehensive School Reform Demonstration Program (CSRD); (4) California Standards Tests (CSTs); (5) High Priority…

Professional education, including managerial accounting education, at independent colleges and universities faces two challenges: (a) meeting shifting demand with static or declining resources and (b) ensuring that graduates gain the technological knowledge and skills that they need to succeed in their future careers. For many schools, the…

Purpose: This paper sets out to examine methods that can be used to enhance the quality and consistency of dissertation assessment. Design/methodology/approach: The paper includes a review of literature on quality, consistency and criteria of dissertation assessment to highlight the current practices in higher education. A case study approach was…

The authors conduct open-ended surveys of 530 students and teachers in three publicly funded schools with different approaches to providing a high-ability "school-within-a-school:" a gifted program, an international baccalaureate program, and a high-ability program with a science focus. Overall, the authors find that teachers and students in all…

Peer mentoring programs are designed to address problems experienced by new students to assist them in making the transition to university study. The University of New South Wales offers such a program to new undergraduate students. Feedback on the program is obtained from participants through questionnaires and is used to identify problems and to…

The CASCADE-MUCH system was designed to help teacher-designers in Shanghai, China with the development of instructional scenarios for multimedia curricula. After four rounds of prototyping, a summative evaluation was carried out to assess practicality. Results showed that the system was practical for the intended target users in Shanghai and also…

This study is designed to document and evaluate how one program is attempting to transform a long established training model to meet current standards for training licensed professional counselors and for continuing program accreditation. A formative, or process, evaluation method has been implemented to evaluate and, simultaneously, to improve…

This document provides summaries of conference papers and discussions at a workshop focused on improving the quality of literacy education in developing countries. The workshop was attended by 20 project leaders and observers from 11 countries: Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Costa Rica, India, Laos, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, and…

The most serious problem with the current work force preparation system is that many employment and training programs operate today to serve roughly the same people. Instead, these programs should be coordinated better to lower costs in the face of lowered funding. The General Accounting Office reports that about 125 federal programs do…