A significant movement is underway across the nation to design K-12 assessment systems that better equip stakeholders to provide an equitable and excellent education to each child. While some of these innovations emerged before the pandemic, the massive disruption to instruction fueled a new urgency to rethink the potential of assessments to drive…

The turn toward public accountability for educator preparation programs (EPPs) has been met with both optimism that public scrutiny will improve the quality of teacher education and concern over a perceived disconnect between public accountability tools and effective teacher preparation. This study examines the impact of the accountability metrics…

The turn toward public accountability for educator preparation programs (EPPs) has been met with both optimism that public scrutiny will improve the quality of teacher education and concern over a perceived disconnect between public accountability tools and effective teacher preparation. This study examines the impact of the accountability metrics…

The turn toward public accountability for educator preparation programs (EPPs) has been met with both optimism that public scrutiny will improve the quality of teacher education and concern over a perceived disconnect between public accountability tools and effective teacher preparation. This study examines the impact of the accountability metrics…

School leaders, specifically principals, play a pivotal role in shaping student learning outcomes. The benefits of strong leaders extend beyond academic achievement, such as reductions in absenteeism and exclusionary discipline. While quality principals are critical for creating and sustaining quality schools, the staffing pipeline is facing…

Few states have implemented an evaluation system to measure teacher efficiency through the use of student growth measures within physical education. Evaluation procedures can be extensive and have the potential for reduced active student learning time in addition to reduced teacher discernment. Therefore, the purpose of this research was to…

We investigated environmental supports, an understudied aspect of Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT), with rural Appalachian youth, an understudied population. We developed a new measure of proximal influences that bolster the pursuit of postsecondary education, the Assessment of Postsecondary Supports (APSS). Across 3 studies, we develop and…

Evaluation studies can provide feedback on implementation, support continuous improvement, and increase understanding of evaluation systems' impact on teaching and learning. Despite the importance of educator evaluation studies, states often need support to prioritize and fund them. Successful studies require expertise, time, and a shared…

A state law, which helped Tennessee win Race to the Top money, pushed schools to implement a system that had limited pilot-testing. Education officials in Tennessee are taking flak from teachers and unions for rushing the implementation of the new teacher-evaluation system that will eventually undergird tenure decisions--a move, some worry, that…

Assessment training, inclusive of design, methodology, and effective reporting, has become a topic of increased interest in student affairs, most recently articulated by calls for competency (Bresciani and Todd, 2010) reemphasizing existing curricular standards (Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education [CAS], 2002). Providing…

Generalizability and decision studies provide a mathematical framework for quantifying the stability of a given number of measurements. This approach is especially relevant to the task of obtaining a representative measure of communicative behavior in young children and supports an alternative to the debate regarding which type of assessment…

States are pushing ahead with efforts to make sweeping changes to education policy through the Race to the Top program, despite some of them having seen individual schools and districts back out of the process because of concerns over the time and money required to make those plans a reality. The Obama administration has envisioned Race to the…

Cognitive control enables flexible interaction with a dynamic environment. In 2 experiments, the authors investigated control adjustments in the stop-signal paradigm, a procedure that requires balancing speed (going) and caution (stopping) in a dual-task environment. Focusing on the slowing of go reaction times after stop signals, the authors…

The purpose of the study was to evaluate the continuous improvement process of the Tennessee Center for Performance Excellence (TNCP). Results of surveys conducted annually by the TNCPE from postapplicants provided data from the state award applicants. Their responses offered indicators of satisfaction among different industry sectors (education,…

Quality Rating and Improvement Systems (QRIS)--a strategy to improve families' access to high-quality child care--assess the quality of child care programs, offer incentives and assistance to programs to improve their ratings, and give information to parents about the quality of child care. These systems are operating in a growing number of…