The recent special report, "Indiana's Vision of Response to Intervention" issued by the Center for Evaluation & Education Policy (CEEP) was the first of a three-part series aimed to build a fundamental understanding of a Response-to-Intervention (RTI) framework in Indiana's schools to aid in the prevention and intervention of both…

The literature on formative assessment shows great potential for significant improvements in student achievement. However, little is known about combining formative-assessment strategies, based in large part on short-cycle and medium-cycle assessments, with continuous quality improvement concepts to improve student achievement in mathematics at…

The purpose of this study was to use meta-analysis to synthesize findings from randomized control trials and quasi-experimental research on instructional approaches that enhance the mathematics proficiency of students with learning disabilities. A search of the literature from January 1971 to August 2007 resulted in a total of 42 interventions (41…

Background: Health educators have discussed the importance of the eight component Coordinated School Health Program (CSHP) approach to facilitate the success of school health education. Conducting a School Health Index (SHI) assessment of the CSHP is an important early step for improving the health, environment and academic success of youth.…

Using a cross-case analysis of three distinct participatory program evaluations, this paper contributes to current discourse on how evaluators create opportunities for learning. Although each team of evaluators intended to promote planned process use, post-evaluation discussions amongst them identified evidence where use emerged throughout the…

Research about the benefits of formative assessment as a means of improving student learning has encouraged policy-makers and teachers in countries like the UK, Australia and New Zealand to promote and use classroom-based assessment for learning in the qualifications arena. However, recent research suggests teachers are implementing a narrow…

Today's students will require knowledge and skills that differ from those typically provided by schools. Comparisons of learning and assessments in informal, everyday settings (e.g., homes, businesses) with those that occur in typical school settings provide ample evidence that new assessment strategies are needed. Those comparisons reveal many…

Undergraduate theses and other capstone research projects are standard features of many science curricula, but participation has typically been limited to only the most advanced and highly motivated students. With the recent push to engage more undergraduates in research, some faculty are finding that their typical approach to working with thesis…

How mentors in their role as assessors appraise practice teaching lessons may strongly influence their student teachers' learning of how to teach. It can be contended that an assessment for learning (AfL) perspective on process and criteria of appraisal will support a shared valuation of student teachers' practice teaching and acceptance of…

While blogs, wikis and many other Web 2.0 applications can be employed in learning settings, instruction is not the primary purpose for these tools. The educational field must actively participate in the definition and development of what repurposed or new Web 2.0 applications means in educational settings. One way of viewing this needed…

The purpose of this article is to propose that a combined response to intervention (RTI)-psychoeducational assessment model be used for expedited evaluations required during disciplinary proceedings [Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act, 20 U.S.C. Section 1415(k)(5)(D)(ii)]. An expedited evaluation would determine if the child…

This paper describes the facilitators and barriers to implementing an attachment-based intervention in early education and care settings, the Partnerships in Early Childhood program (PIEC), based on findings from the process evaluation of its first year of implementation. The paper focuses on four areas: the nature of the partnership and program…

This article asserts the importance of e-assessment. It further suggests that assessment questions and tasks will change substantially as the art of e-assessment progresses. The article then exemplifies sophisticated e-assessment tasks, notes taxonomic schemes that have attempted to classify them and seeks to identify aspects of their definition.…

As part of a CfBT Education Trust funded study, we investigated the practical steps school leaders can take to ensure that self-evaluation of school performance led, through the effective staff development, to genuine school improvement. On the journey from self-evaluation to school improvement our research identified what schools did that worked,…

The Quakertown Community School District, or QCSD, is a traditional K-12 public school district in rural southeastern Pennsylvania, located in Bucks County, about an hour north of Philadelphia. QCSD has ten schools, including one high school, and serves approximately 5,500 students, 24 percent of whom are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch…