Each year, Austin Independent School District Department of Research and Evaluation (DRE) staff develop a plan of work to describe the scope of work for the coming year. The plans that make up this document identify programs to be evaluated and services to be provided by DRE staff and provide the blueprints for evaluation that staff will follow…

In this paper the author evaluates the Peer Assistance and Review (PAR) program in the Rochester City School District, Rochester, NY. The author evaluates the system's strengths and weaknesses and discusses the program's alignment with New York State requirements. The paper addresses the benefits to teachers and the school district that…

This report summarizes results from a survey of newly hired teachers who attended Austin Independent School District's (AISD) orientation week in August 2010. Most new teachers reported that district and campus orientations were useful. [For the supplemental report, see ED628452.]

This report summarizes 2012-2013 AISD REACH peer observation scores, the stability of scores overtime, teachers' perceptions of peer observation, the relationship between peer observation and other measures of teaching, and the program cost.

This report describes the results of analyses comparing novice (teachers with 1-3 years of teaching experience) alternatively certified teachers with novice teachers who were traditionally certified, examining trends in student state test performance.

There is a teacher retention crisis in the United States. The purpose of this paper is to answer the following questions: What contributes to teachers leaving the field? How has "No Child Left Behind" affected teacher retention? What can be done to retain good teachers? What impact do school administrators have on teacher retention?…

New teachers are faced with many challenges during the first few years of teaching. They have to adjust to a new work environment, interact with parents, resolve a variety of conflicts, and design stimulating lessons for their students--often with few resources at hand. The large and varied workload that teachers carry during their first few years…

(Purpose) Sufficient research shows that most pre-service teachers do not receive adequate training on teaching or preparing lessons on block schedule. This paper provides a framework for those pre-service teachers that may not be familiar with the tenets of block schedule. (Methodology) This paper is organized in the following manner as it…

This summative evaluation examines a pilot program supporting beginning science and mathematics teachers through mentoring. It includes mentors' and mentees' expectations of the outcomes of participation in the program and their perceptions of the success of their mentoring relationships across the latter part of the 2008 school year. As well,…

The teaching profession has difficulties in recruiting high-quality science teachers in many countries and many beginning science teachers would leave after their first year of teaching. As Taiwan has recently been able to recruit many graduate-level science students into teachers' training programs, it is important to investigate if these…

The transition from preservice science teacher education programs to the first years of full-time teaching is arguably one of the most critical stages in the professional development of science teachers. This report documents a longitudinal study aimed at enhancing the research base for understanding this critical stage. The research is framed as…

During the 2009-2010 school year, 479 new teachers in the Austin Independent School District were mentored by 419 experienced teachers during more than 12,000 sessions. Planning was the most common type of mentoring activity.

The purpose of the study was to establish the relationship between leadership training of head teachers and school performance in secondary schools in Mubende district, Uganda. Descriptive-correlational research design was used. Six schools out of 32 were selected and the sample size of head teachers, teachers and students leaders was 287 out of…

A first-year teacher thrust mid-term into a mixed-grade geometry class in a tough high school struggles to sort out what works and does not work to engage the 120 students in meaningful learning. The students are largely from low-income urban families and demonstrate a broad range of abilities and motivation. The purpose of this study is to…

School administrators frequently find themselves working with personnel unprepared for the dynamics of the schools today. Thus, approaches to meeting the needs of newly hired (in-service or novice) teachers have manifested itself since the 1980s. As many researchers have indicated, formal evaluation of performance is essential to one's growth…