The Center on Standards, Alignment, Instruction, and Learning (C-SAIL), examines how college- and career-readiness (CCR) standards are implemented, if they improve student learning, and what instructional tools measure and support their implementation. This brief presents findings from C-SAIL's Implementation Study, which uses interview and survey…

The federal government, states, school districts, and private foundations are investing hundreds of millions of dollars in educational data management systems. The hope for these investments is that providing better information to teachers and administrators, particularly student performance data, will support school-wide planning, inform…

The federal government, states, school districts, and private foundations are investing hundreds of millions of dollars in educational data management systems. The hope for these investments is that providing better information to teachers and administrators, particularly student performance data, will support school-wide planning, inform…

Hurricane Katrina set the stage for a transformation of public education in New Orleans, replacing the city's existing school system with a decentralized choice-based system of both charter and district-run schools. Using principal, teacher, and parent surveys administered three years after Katrina, this study examined schools' governance and…

Principalship need not be a futile attempt to satisfy the demands of many different parties. Rather, a climate of cooperation can be established through mutual teacher/administrator support. (DCS)

Proposes guidelines for principals attempting to evaluate teachers' grading policies. Principals should understand teachers' perspectives, ask for copies of their grading policies, be wary of traits (like "effort") not measuring achievement, consider grading information quality, think about homework's role, expect teachers to use numbers and…

Teachers' conceptions of assessment can be understood in terms of their agreement or disagreement with four purposes to which assessment may be put, specifically, (a) improvement of teaching and learning, (b) school accountability, (c) student accountability, or (d) treating assessment as irrelevant. A 50-item Teachers' Conceptions of Assessment…

This study was conducted to develop a set of concepts regarding teachers' perspectives on accountability, to present exemplars and discussion of each concept, and to analyze implications of the concept for classroom practice. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 18 experienced elementary and high school teachers. Two pilot…

A conceptual framework is developed to consider two dimensions of evaluation systems likely to lead performers to internalize the evaluation process. The theory of evaluation and authority developed by Dornbusch and Scott provides the basis for a review of six studies in support of two propositions: (1) the more frequently performers are…

Collaboration as a cornerstone of effective school inclusion is an idea that has high theoretical currency among many scholars in the areas of special education and educational leadership. The challenge for educational practitioners is to find ways to implement high-quality special education programs collaboratively amid the public call for school…

The current accountability process at Red Rocks Community College (RRCC) is based on a computer-managed instruction (CMI) system, containing student outcomes components, test items, student testing and evaluation information, student information, and reports for students, faculty, and administrators. The system was developed following extensive…

This book presents the results of a study that examined major changes in academic work in recent years and how staff in universities have experienced these changes, along with a discussion of how to increase learning at universities. Data were obtained from an international survey of 161 academic staff in Australia and the United Kingdom. Results…

Briefly outlines five ways to ensure accountability: scrutinize student achievement, conduct surveys of teacher and community attitudes toward district performance, carefully review how funds are spent, ask administrators to look closely at programs, and evaluate administrators and teachers regularly. (Author/JM)

This review surveys major currents of thought and practice in teacher evaluation. Citing recent state-mandated teacher evaluation policies and procedures, several compelling questions of accuracy, fairness, and utility are raised. In response to these questions, the document first focuses on the distinction between formative and summative…

The Catalyst project at Indiana University sought to increase awareness of research ethics questions among the faculty, graduate students, and undergraduates, and to develop and disseminate instructional materials. The participating departments were biology, history, and psychology, representing, respectively, the natural sciences, the humanities,…