While multiple valid measures exist for assessing outcomes of environmental education (EE) programs, the field lacks a comprehensive and logistically feasible common instrument that can apply across diverse programs. We describe a participatory effort for identifying and developing crosscutting outcomes for Environmental Education in the…

The paper presents a model for addressing the critical question of opportunity to learn for students with disabilities. The model was tested through a two-year study with schools and teachers in three states. Opportunity to learn analysis is critical in this educational era of push toward access and inclusion. The study results indicate that…

Value-added approaches for attributing student growth to teachers often use weighted estimates of building-level factors based on "typical" schools to represent a range of community, school, and other variables related to teacher and student work that are not easily measured directly. This study examines whether such estimates are likely…

Scientifically based research used to inform evidence based school reform efforts has been required by the federal government in order to receive grant funding since the reenactment of No Child Left Behind (2002). Educational evaluators are thus faced with the challenge to use rigorous research designs to establish causal relationships. However,…

This research study examined the impact of the Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) program on students' self-efficacy and academic achievement outcome measures at the middle and high school level. AVID is a college readiness system designed to prepare at-risk students in the fourth through 12th grade for college. The main focus of this…

The local Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEARUP) partnership serves 11 K-8 schools with the lowest achievement scores and the highest poverty rates in a large Midwestern urban district. Recently, GEARUP launched a specially designed teaching program, Mathematics Enhancement Group (MEG), for underachievers in…

Children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) exhibit significant academic impairments, as evidenced by poor academic achievement, grade retention, and school dropout. Deficits in organization skills may contribute to these academic impairments, as children with ADHD frequently lose assignments, misplace their completed work, and…

Application of the Achievement Formula to three school districts in northeastern Ohio is described. The formula--developed in association with the Effective Schools/Teacher Effectiveness Research Program--is a paradigm for district self-study, whereby elementary and secondary schools analyze student achievement data. Data are displayed on a…