Purpose: Our purpose was to gather and evaluate accurate, up-to-date information on physical education (PE) policy implementation across multiple U.S. states and regions. Methods: A U.S. Physical Education and Physical Activity Policy questionnaire was developed and completed by 4,845 public-school PE teachers from 25 U.S. states. The U.S.…

The increasing prevalence of diagnoses for autism spectrum disorder (ASD), now one in 68 children according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), presents a number of policy implications. In particular, many of these children become eligible for special education services under the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Given…

National failure rates seen in undergraduate introductory CS courses are quite high. In this paper, we develop a predictive model for student in-class performance in an introductory CS course. The model can serve as an early warning system, flagging struggling students who might benefit from additional support. We use a variety of features from…

This study examined the links between classroom skill compositions and preschoolers' early learning and development in the nationally representative Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey 2014 (FACES, n = 1,711 children/207 classrooms) and public pre-K programs in a county in Virginia (n = 1,467 children/123 classrooms). Results from a…

Library tutorials offer on demand and as-needed instruction, a necessity as higher education continues to extend the reach of online learning. Our institution has increased its online course offerings alongside a university-wide shift in pedagogical and student-centered philosophy. To align our library tutorials webpage with these advances, we…

Using information from precision farmer surveys conducted in the southern United States in 2005 and 2013, we evaluated changes in the use of precision farming information sources among cotton producers. Although Extension remains an important source for producers interested in precision farming information, the percentage of cotton producers using…

When done reliably and efficiently, measuring school climate can help improve schools' vital signs and help state boards of education realize their goals and objectives for the system as a whole. Moreover, because it is as consequential to schools as checking heart rates and blood pressure are to humans, schools should always use climate measures…

Self-report surveys are widely used to measure adolescent risk behavior and academic adjustment, with results having an impact on national policy, assessment of school quality, and evaluation of school interventions. However, data obtained from self-reports can be distorted when adolescents intentionally provide inaccurate or careless responses.…

The data landscape study at Virginia Tech addresses the changing modes of faculty scholarship and supports the development of a user-centric data infrastructure, management, and curation system. The study investigates faculty researchers' current practices in organizing, describing, and preserving data and the emerging needs for services and…

This technical supplement to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Employment and Training (E&T) evaluation final reports presents details of the technical approach used for creating analysis variables and estimating impacts of treatment group services on outcomes, including employment, earnings, and SNAP participation. It also…

Best friend expected emotion socialization responses were examined as a potential explanation for the link between social anxiety and youths' friendship quality and dysfunctional emotion regulation (ER). A community sample of 202 young adolescents ([X-bar][subscript age] = 12.66; 52.5% girls, 75.7% White) within 101 same-sex, reciprocated best…

The Virginia High School League is a private, non-profit organization whose member schools include public high schools and one private school in the Commonwealth of Virginia (Virginia High School League Organization, 2015). This organization manages and supervises athletics and other extracurricular activities such as forensics, debate, drama and…

Attendees at mid-Atlantic grower meetings were surveyed in 2012 and 2014 regarding their knowledge of the invasive brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB) and its impact. Responses to individual questions were paired and analyzed for independence between survey years. Despite a large-scale effort by Extension to inform growers and others about BMSB,…

This case study was conducted to gain more knowledge from citizens in the four city area of Virginia which included Chesapeake, Norfolk, Portsmouth, and Virginia Beach concerning the emergence of proprietary colleges in these areas. It was a qualitative study designed to gain more insight into the feelings and regard that citizens in these areas…

Empirical research has suggested that professional learning communities (PLCs) and employee engagement have a positive impact on the school community, school culture, and academic achievement. Further research has postulated that school leadership is one of the most important ingredients in the success of schools. But do school leaders have any…