What happens when teams from 57 cities building afterschool systems gather to discuss two key system responsibilities--improving afterschool programs and using data for informed decision-making? Lots of rich discussion. This report covers a national afterschool conference held in February 2013. It details what mayors, program providers, system…

"It's All About Student Learning Assessing Teacher Candidates' Ability to Impact P-12 Students", provides practical assistance for institutions designing or revising assessment systems or individual assessments for use by units or programs. The publication includes performance assessments currently used by teacher preparation institutions and…

Literacy skills are fundamental for all learners. For students who require augmentative and alternative communication (AAC), strong literacy skills provide a gateway to generative communication, genuine social networking, improved access to academic opportunities, access to information technology and future employment opportunities. However, many…

This is a special issue published in version 1.0 of "Global Journal of Computer Science and Technology." Articles in this issue include: (1) [Theta] Scheme (Orthogonal Milstein Scheme), a Better Numerical Approximation for Multi-dimensional SDEs (Klaus Schmitz Abe); (2) Input Data Processing Techniques in Intrusion Detection…

Fourteen elementary and 6 middle level student teachers were observed and interviewed throughout their initial field placement teaching experience. The Classroom Observation and Performance Assessment for Teachers-Revised (COPAT-R) observation instrument and semistructured interviews were used to compare general and content-specific pedagogical…

Reports a reanalysis of data collected in a person x task x occasion rater or method G-study design (M. Ruiz-Primo and others, 1993), and brings this reanalysis to bear on the interpretation of task-sampling variability and the convergence of different performance-assessment methods. (SLD)

In the present study we examined the basis of students' self-evaluations of comprehension performance. We manipulated text difficulty to maximize performance variability across reading trials and to minimize the likelihood of giving similar performance evaluations across trials. Students were allowed to acquire task (prior) experience across nine…

This report provides short descriptions of systemic approaches for American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding including: (1) 21st Century Classroom; (2) Comprehensive Professional Development; (3) Statewide Longitudinal Data Systems; (4) Formative Assessment; (5) Digital Content; (6) Virtual Learning; and (7) Learning Management Systems.

To ensure the best possible outcomes for young children with and without disabilities, early childhood educators must enter the classroom ready to conduct all types of early childhood assessment--including determining if children need additional services, planning and monitoring instruction, and determining program effectiveness. They'll get the…

The Federal Workforce Investment Act (WIA), Title II: Adult Education and Family Literacy Act (AEFLA) provide funding for states and territories to provide instruction in English as a Second Language (ESL), Adult Basic Education (ABE), and Adult Secondary Education (ASE) to adults in need of these literacy services. California State Budget Act…

The 2011 Central States Conference on the Teaching of Foreign Languages, a joint conference with the Indiana Foreign Language Teachers Association, focused on trends, innovations, and national programs that are picking up steam as the first decade of the twenty-first century ends. Several innovations have the potential to unify world language…

The present report documents the pilot's influence on teachers' job satisfaction; attachment to the teaching profession, their school, and the district; data use practices; teaching efficacy; collegial experiences; and requests for transfer.

The start of a new school year is a challenging and exciting time for any teacher--and a time when beginning teachers particularly need our support. Working with new science teachers in the New Science Teachers' Support Network (NSTSN) has shown the authors that veteran teachers have the greatest impact on beginning teacher's success. The NSTSN is…

We observed 17 graduate and advanced-undergraduate piano majors practicing a difficult, three-measure keyboard passage from a Shostakovich concerto. Participants' instructions were to practice until they were confident they could play the passage accurately at a prescribed tempo in a retention test session the following day. We analyzed the…

Background: There is an absence of research concerning the assessment of housing support worker job performance, particularly in the development of job performance measures that reflect the priorities of people with intellectual disabilities and their families. Method: A worker-oriented job analysis method was used to develop four short job…