This is the first of three evaluation reports on the effectiveness of a regional train-the-trainer strategy to support classroom implementation of the Next Generation Content Standards and Objectives (NxGen CSOs). This report focuses on six regional Educator Enhancement Academies (EEAs) hosted by the eight regional education service agencies…

Along with the reform of Chinese Government public finance, higher education belongs to the public product, gradually changes from "fund investment management" to the "expenditure performance management". The evaluation of expenditure performance system becomes the key point of higher education investment mechanism reform. This…

Social network analysis (SNA) is a methodological approach to measuring and mapping relationships. It can be used to study whole networks, all of the ties within a defined group, or connections that individuals have in their personal communities. The resulting graph-based structures illustrate the composition and effectiveness of networks on a…

The Striving Readers program aims to support literacy interventions for adolescent readers in middle and high school. In 2006, Springfield Public Schools and Chicopee Public Schools were awarded $16,655,483 over five years for the Springfield/Chicopee Striving Readers Project. Both districts are located in southwestern Massachusetts and have a…

This report forms an important part of the programme of work that Universities UK is undertaking in preparation for the independent review of variable tuition fees in higher education in England that will begin this year. This new report which is based on work that CRA International has undertaken over the past few months, extends our work in a…

The Governor's Educator Excellence Grant (GEEG) program is part of a long history of performance pay programs and policies in Texas. The GEEG program was state-funded and provided grants to schools to implement three-year locally-designed performance pay plans. During the 2005-06, 2006-07, and 2007-08 school years, the GEEG program operated in 99…

The Conceptual Model of Nursing Health Policy (CMNHP) was used to guide this study of client satisfaction as one component of an ongoing assessment of the Essential School Health Service (ESHS) Programs conducted by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. Random samples of parents/guardians of students who use the school nursing services…

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) program is a series of periodic assessments administered nationally to samples of students and designed to measure different content areas. This article describes a multi-year study that focused on the breadth of the development, administration, maintenance, and renewal of the assessments in…

"Veteran parents" (VPs), or parents who have experienced challenges concerning their children's health and then mentor other families through similar situations, are widely used for parent support. This model has been adopted by Child Protective Services (CPS) to increase parent engagement. Here, we expand the theoretical discussion of VPs in CPS…

Granting awards to recognize outstanding service and leadership is among the more important functions of professional associations. The School Psychologist of the Year Award (SPYA) is one of several national-level recognitions. Although NASP's annual SPYA dates only to 1991, several state associations were already granting such distinctions. Their…

Support for early care and education among policy makers and the public is at an unprecedented high. As investments in early care and education programs in the United States continue to rise, the issue of quality becomes increasingly critical. This article addresses the need for adequate infrastructure to support high-quality early care and…

Objective: Identifying community physical activity interventions that facilitate increases in moderate physical activity (MPA) is important in meeting targets set in government health policy. This study evaluated community interventions that aimed to increase levels of MPA. Intervention themes included exercise referral, classes and groups, peer…

An evaluation is designed to judge the worth of a program in regards to whether or not it should be continued, modified, or eliminated. Program evaluations can be performed either by those inside or outside of the organization, and can occur pre-implementation, during implementation, or at the end of a time period. There are many models or methods…

This paper reviews empirical research on the use of evaluation from 1986 to 2005 using Cousins and Leithwood's 1986 framework for categorizing empirical studies of evaluation use conducted since that time. The literature review located 41 empirical studies of evaluation use conducted between 1986 and 2005 that met minimum quality standards. The…

Fidelity measurement has increasing significance when making claims of educational practices being effective in today's classrooms. This study explored the reliability, using multi-informants, and convergent validly, using multi-sources, for curriculum fidelity. There were significant differences between the outside observer and teacher and…