The following resource is an impact story of how NCSI built the capacity of Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) to design a state system of support to begin addressing the special education teacher shortage. The resource provides context for the intensive technical assistance focusing on improvement science, provides qualitative and…

This report describes a 15-month collaboration between three Every Learner Everywhere partner organizations (Achieving the Dream, the American Association of Public and Land-grant Universities [APLU], and Digital Promise) and five colleges, all engaged in a research-practice partnership (RPP) around enhancing equity and digital learning in gateway…

This is the third paper on the topic of outcomes-based funding written by Dennis Jones for Complete College America. The first paper, "Performance Funding: From Idea to Action" (ED535356), proposed a set of design and implementation principles to help states develop and implement their own outcomes-based funding models. The second paper,…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the efficacy of foreign immersion programs in terms of increasing cross-cultural awareness among university students in business, accounting, human resources and agriculture. The authors extrapolate from their population to the practice of developing business professionals on international…

In 2013, the University Council for Educational Administration (UCEA) in its inaugural "Exemplary Educational Leadership Preparation" (EELP) program competition recognized University of Illinois at Chicago's (UIC) Doctorate in Urban Education Leadership as one of two EELP programs in the United States. This article provides information…

The Behavioral Interventions to Advance Self-Sufficiency (BIAS) project is the first major opportunity to use a behavioral economics lens to look at programs that serve poor and vulnerable people in the United States. Sponsored by the Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation of the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) within the U.S.…

Teaching entrepreneurship--how to create, grow and run a business or organization--is one potential means to increase college and career readiness skills. Learning how to start a business can improve critical thinking, communication and collaboration (Gallagher, Stepien, & Rosenthal, 1992; Hmelo, 1998), which are key qualities for academic as…

One faces several challenges when designing an education abroad program. These include engaging non-traditional majors in study abroad experiences; facilitating learning activities that directly align with the learning goals of the courses; assessing specific learning outcomes; and finding ways to close the circle after the study abroad programs…

The 20 institutions in Illinois recognized by the NCATE (National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education) were surveyed to determine what programs for teacher induction are presently in place. Thirteen institutions responded with some description of their Teacher Induction Program. These descriptions vary in scope and content. The other…

A survey of volunteer programs in English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) literacy instruction in Illinois is reported. The report begins with a review of literature concerning ESL literacy volunteerism, most of which is descriptive and program-specific. The statewide survey results are then summarized, giving an overview of ESL volunteer programming.…

A comprehensive assessment of Right to Read programs in Illinois is provided in this final report. The chapter headed "Purposes of the Report" includes a description of the development of evaluation rationale and design, presentation of findings and products, and format for provision of conclusions, implications, and recommendations.…

This final report discusses the outcomes of a 2-year project designed to provide an innovative tool process and a state-of-the-art instructional environment for children from 3 through 8 years of age with a wide range of disabilities across ages, classrooms, and locations as they constructed their own communities and participated in building a…

This report provides information on design and evaluation of workplace literacy programs (WLPs) to improve work force readiness and an overview of concepts about the nature, uses, and abuses of standardized tests in program evaluation and accountability. Chapter 1 takes a sociohistorical and sociopolitical perspective in discussing the knowledge…

This final report concludes a three-year project to identify the program impact on 125 youths and adults who took vocational education in eight locations in Illinois. The longitudinal case study began in 1978-79 when the subjects were still enrolled in their vocational programs. Many of the students who became case subjects for the study were…

The Programmatic Approach to Guidance Excellence (PAGE 2) Project produced staff development materials for the career guidance components of program planning, curriculum-based guidance, and job placement. These materials make up the PAGE 2 Instructional Resource Package, intended to be used as a planning program for a comprehensive career guidance…