Recent research in the area of Curriculum-Based Measures (CBM) in writing has shown that traditionally used metrics, such as total words written and total words correct, may not be the best tools for measuring writing performance, for both secondary and elementary aged children (e.g., Gansle, Noell, VanDerHeyden, Naquin, & Slider, 2002; Tindal…

With the implementation of RTI, educators are attempting to find models that are the best fit for their schools. The problem solving and standard protocol models are the two most common. This study of 65 students examines a new model, the dynamic skills protocol implemented in an elementary school starting in their fourth quarter of kindergarten…

No Child Left Behind (NCLB, 2001) included a broad spectrum of changes to the federal role in public education, including accountability provisions that mandated states to test all students. In an atmosphere of educational reform and federally mandated high-stakes testing, demands have increased for progress monitoring strategies that reliably…

For generations--and certainly for the last 30 years--proponents of traditional and progressive philosophies have argued over how best to educate our children. Although this debate is often carried out in the political and academic spheres, the difficulties created by not being able to resolve the differences between the two belief systems become…

In recent years, state and national policy created the need for higher accountability standards for student academic performance. This increased accountability creates an imperative to have a formative assessment system reflecting validity in inferences about the effectiveness of instruction and performance on statewide large-scale assessments.…

This primary purpose of the study was to expand the work of Garet, Porter, Desimone, Birman, and Yoon (2001) by creating and psychometrically testing an instrument designed to measure teachers' perceptions of characteristics of professional development. Elementary teachers (n = 406) from five school districts in Washington State participating in a…

The purpose of this study was to better predict how a first semester college freshman becomes prepared for college. The theoretical framework guiding this study is Vrooms' expectancy theory, motivation plays a key role in success. This study used a hierarchical multiple regression model. The independent variables of interest included high school…

This dissertation follows an oral language assessment tool from initial design and implementation to validity analysis. The specialized variables of this study are the population: international teaching assistants and the purpose: spoken assessment as a hiring prerequisite. However, the process can easily be applied to other populations and…

The infusion of online education has brought about significant changes within the traditional, brick-and-mortar schoolhouse. With an increasing number of students enrolling in online courses, administrators must identify more quality online educators to meet the needs of the students in their care. Hence, the focus of this study is to answer the…

In this study, a dynamic assessment was used to measure the morphological analysis skills of participating sixth graders. The primary aim of this research was to examine the utility of this dynamic assessment and specifically to identify whether this measure can differentiate among students based on reading proficiency. Twenty-seven…

We designed and implemented curriculum intended to be used by students in an algebra-based introductory physics laboratory course. Our curricular goal was to foster, through observations in the lab, a coherent framework in students' understanding of general principles presented in the introductory mechanics course, while addressing known student…

The purpose of this study is to determine the predictive validity of early literacy curriculum-based measurement on high-stakes reading tests administered in grades 3, 4 and 5. This study will examine curriculum-based measurement subtests kindergarten Dynamic Indicators of Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) Letter-Naming Fluency (LNF) and 1st grade…

The No Child Left Behind Act is a mandate from the federal government for education to increase student performance and school accountability. As a result of this mandate, many states have issued the use of high-stakes standardized tests as a means of monitoring schools' accountability. New York State administers the English Language Arts (ELA)…

Leadership is critically important because it affects the health of the organization. Research has found that leadership is one of the most significant contributors to organizational performance. Expanding and replicating previous research, and focusing on the specific telecommunications sector, this study used multiple correlation and regression…

The purpose of this study was to determine if the strength of teachers' epistemological beliefs predicted variance in teachers' sense of efficacy. Specifically, the study sought to determine the extent to which beliefs in Certain Knowledge and Omniscient Authority accounted for variability in general teaching efficacy, over and above that…