This issue of "Assessment Update" presents the following articles: (1) Using National Benchmarking Data to Improve Student Learning in Chemistry at Lebanon Valley College (Marc A. Harris); (2) Mutually Dependent Outcomes: Using Assessment to Improve First-Year Retention and Student Learning (Alan Bearman and Elaine Lewis); (3) Emergent…

This report is intended to help governors, legislators, department secretaries, and advocates find information on ways to strengthen the structure and function of their existing cabinets, or create a new cabinet. The survey in this report is the nation's only survey of state child and youth policy coordinating bodies. The biennial survey assesses…

In this article, we review translation, adaptation policies, and practices in providing test accommodation for English language learners (ELLs) in the United States. We collected documents and conducted interviews with officials in the 12 states that provide translation accommodations to ELLs on content assessments. We then summarized challenges…

Research examining child-care providers' beliefs and behaviour has produced contradictory evidence perhaps because analyses commonly examine providers as a homogenous group. Among providers in the Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development, we used cluster analysis to identify groups based on profiles of beliefs. We found evidence for five…

Federal legislation requires that all students participate in state accountability systems. Most students with disabilities participate in the regular assessment, with or without accommodations. Students with more significant cognitive disabilities participate in the Alternate Assessment based on Alternate Achievement Standards (AA-AAS). A few…

With soaring uncertainty surrounding the financing of public higher education, institutions are faced with developing strategies that will enable them to effectively compete for state funding. One component to cultivating resources and relationships for colleges and universities are through government relations organizations. Utilized for…

The author tests several ways in which income can be added to property wealth to improve the measurement of school-district fiscal capacity. His first chapter discusses the economic and legal reasons for this improvement, notes that seven states already combine income and property, and distinguishes adding income and property together from…

This is a collection of reports on innovative practices in student teaching programs. The label "innovative" is justified on the basis of the investigation's scope. Identification of innovative student teaching practices was accomplished by contacting chief state school officers, chairmen and members of state commissions on teacher…