A three-year study compared 121 at-risk nursing students participating in Partnership in Learning for Utmost Success (PLUS) and 89 nonparticipating students. PLUS participants were more successful in terms of retention, grade point average, and graduation rate. (SK)

Newly admitted international graduate and undergraduate students, the majority of whom come from Asian countries, participated in an International Peer Program (IPP). Results suggest that the IPP participants showed significantly higher social adjustment scores than nonparticipants. Students from Asian countries had more difficulty adjusting to…

Reports on a study of schools that have developed their own drug-abuse prevention curriculum. In general, the process that local schools use is characterized by high levels of involvement by a variety of personnel, low levels of training, little use of resources outside the school corporation, poor training of teachers who will be implementing the…

Two examples from the cluster evaluation of the W. K. Kellogg Foundation's Community Partnership for Health Professions Education illustrate why flexibility in evaluation design and activities is essential to collaborate with program directors and be responsive to program needs. (SLD)

A survey at Armstrong Atlantic State University (South Carolina) obtained responses from 167 students and 24 faculty in an allied-health occupations interdisciplinary core curriculum. Both groups agreed the courses had a positive impact on students. Faculty enjoyed interdisciplinary teaching despite increased workload and had opportunities for…

Examines the status of Broward County (Florida) Public Schools high school students, who must satisfy the district's algebra requirement in order to graduate. Data indicate that the majority of district students are meeting the new, higher standards; 80% of seniors in school year 1998-99 had previously completed the algebra requirement. (MLH)

This interview with staff-development expert, Bruce Joyce, discusses the effect of staff development on student achievement, focusing on the importance of teachers and administrators continuously studying what they are implementing, research on how staff development affects student achievement, assessment as part of the process of instruction, the…

Summarizes ongoing economic impact assessment activities at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) for its Measurement and Standards Laboratory Program. Explores designing economic impact studies for integration into assessments of broader programmatic objectives. (SLD)

Examines the literature regarding ranking of undergraduate and graduate athletic training education programs, providing insights about ranking systems. Describes program rankings used in other disciplines for determining quality and measuring accountability, notes strengths and weaknesses of subjective and objective ranking systems, discusses…

In a data-driven school culture, there is an institutionalized willingness to use numbers systematically to reveal important patterns and answer focused questions about policy, methods, and outcomes. A central data team relies on input from teachers, ultimately responsible for student success. Massachusetts applications and examples are described.…

Describes the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) and reviews and assesses research on its impact. Recommends policy reforms and randomized experiments to evaluate the program and any changes made to it. Weaknesses in research to date make the real impacts of WIC unclear. (Contains 79 references.) (SLD)

Evaluates whether women participating in a career group designed to increase career-related self-efficacy would make gains on career decision-making self-efficacy and vocational exploration and commitment compared with women in a control group. Results indicate that women in the treatment group improved on career decision-making self-efficacy and…

Describes the use of geographic information systems (GIS) by a "local learning team" to map socioeconomic patterns in Jackson County, Kentucky, and to evaluate the distribution of local funding and the geographic equity of representation related to the Empowerment Zone/Enterprise Community program. Discusses advantages and disadvantages…

Responds to a negative evaluation of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) by the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) and asserts that a review of the evidence for the NAEP performance standards indicates that there is support for the current approach to NAEP standard setting. Considers the scholarship of the NAS evaluation…

Takes issue with support of the standard setting process of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) advanced by critics of the evaluation of the standard setting process by the National Academy of Sciences and asserts that the achievement level descriptions developed for the NAEP no longer adhere to policy statements defining the…