In 2015, the University of Southern California (USC) began a longitudinal, mixed-methods evaluation of the Thompson Scholars Learning Communities (TSLC), a comprehensive college transition program that provides students with multiple, integrated types of support. The evaluation as a whole examined whether, how, and why TSLC, as implemented at the…

Teacher evaluation is at the center of current education policy reform. Most evaluation systems rely at least in part on principals' assessments of teachers, and their discretionary judgments carry substantial weight. However, we know relatively little about what they value when determining evaluations and high stakes personnel decisions. The…

This field memo is the third in a series of updates from the Deputy Commissioner of the Office of Elementary, Middle, Secondary and Continuing Education to all teachers and administrators of public and nonpublic schools on standards and assessments in New York. This document explains how the New York State Education Department determines if test…

This book is designed to help K-12 teachers and administrators understand the nature of standardized tests and, in particular, the scores that result from them. This useful manual helps teachers develop the skills necessary to incorporate these test scores into various types of instructional decision making--a process known as "data-driven…

Activities in three of eight school districts that linked testing and evaluation data with instructional decision-making matched the seven components of management information systems. Each district had a unique system that focused, respectively, on student achievement, school improvement, and staff capacity building. (MLF)

In Austin, Texas, an urban district where more than half the students come from low-income families, the annual dropout rate has gone down, and the scores on statewide standardized tests have gone up. A key element in the turnaround is state-mandated, site-based management, a system that decentralizes decision making and involves strong leadership…

A program which emphasizes "moving toward excellence" is described here, as developed and practiced at the L. D. Bell High School in Hurst, Texas. The program is based on the perception that the measure of an effective principal as the instructional leader of the school can be found in the perception and implementation of curriculum…