In order to enhance Extension evaluation efforts it is important to understand current practices. The study reported here researched the evaluation behaviors of county-based Extension professionals. Extension professionals from eight states (n = 1,173) responded to a survey regarding their evaluation data collection, analysis, and reporting…

Problems associated with recruiting, supporting and retaining quality teachers in the STEM areas have been well documented in the literature. Specifically, findings suggest STEM teachers have indicated a need for pedagogy and increased content knowledge. These needs may be attributed to the fact that more STEM teachers have been alternatively…

In an effort to support college conversations regarding strengthening the role of part-time faculty, this brief document presents the job description for a Valencia College part-time/adjunct professor (revised as of July 19, 2013). The description includes essential functions, qualifications, and knowledge, skills, and abilities. This is followed…

Despite assessment-based accountability movements throughout educational systems in the United States, teacher assessment literacy continues to be an identified area of concern. Contributing to this concern is a dearth of research on preservice assessment education including both its curricular and pedagogical approaches. The purpose of this study…

Single Stop U.S.A.'s Community College Initiative was designed to improve the well-being of low-income communities by connecting individuals to public benefits and other institutional and community resources to address nonacademic barriers to college completion. Through offices located on community college campuses, Single Stop provides students…

With more than 80% of institutions offering online learning options and even more using web technologies to enhance traditional classroom instruction, the learning management system (LMS) is increasingly an indispensable, enterprise-level technology for today's colleges and universities. Naturally, each institution has a unique set of…

Access to college has increased substantially over the last 50 years, but student success--defined as the combination of academic success and degree or certificate completion--has not kept pace. Student success, moreover, generally correlates with students' financial resources: Students from high-income families attend and complete college at…

Concerns about the misuse of assessment results in accountability related efforts led our biology faculty to take the initiative to develop our own assessment tool for one of our introductory biology courses. Our goal was to evaluate student achievement in the course and detect methods for improving our course. We developed a pre/posttest, which…

The Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) Model has been used to make many high-stakes decisions concerning schools, though it does not provide a complete assessment of student academic achievement and school effectiveness. To provide a clearer perspective, many states have implemented various Growth and Value Added Models, in addition to AYP. The…

The author's community, which includes parents of the 62,000 students who attend schools in Volusia County, Florida, has been baffled over the conflicting nature of Florida's school grading system of A, B, C, D, F based on the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test, and the federal system of pass or fail. While many of the 80 schools in her…

The Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) is working to respond to increased interest in the use of growth models for school accountability. Growth models are based on tracking change in individual student achievement scores over multiple years. While growth models have been used for decades in academic research and program evaluation, a…

This article examines a school district's Advancement via Individual Determination (AVID) program using perceived self-efficacy in academic achievement and self-regulated learning, GPA and attendance as indicators of program effectiveness. Results suggest that AVID participation was positively and significantly correlated with attendance in the…

Community college students face a number of life and academic challenges. It is unknown what counseling models are currently employed by community colleges to meet their students' many needs. Representatives of Florida's 28 community colleges completed a survey detailing their counseling model, student populations, rationale behind the model…

The Pittsburgh Promise is a scholarship program that provides $5,000 per year toward college tuition for public high school graduates in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania who earned a 2.5 GPA and a 90% attendance record. This study used a difference-in-difference design to assess whether the introduction of the Promise scholarship program directly…

During the late 1990s and 2000s, the State of Florida enacted a set of education reforms spearheaded by Governor Jeb Bush. These policies, which emphasize test-based accountability, competition, and choice, have since become known as the "Florida Formula for education success," or, simply, the "Florida Formula." In recent…