The 2020 General Assembly directed the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) to develop a plan for implementing a statewide survey of institutional expenditures by program and academic discipline at Virginia's public higher education institutions, and submit a report and recommendations to the Governor and the Chairs of the House…

This study evaluated the longitudinal psychometric properties of the Authoritative School Climate Survey (ASCS) using a statewide sample of middle and high schools across 8 years. Multilevel confirmatory factor analyses were conducted to test the longitudinal measurement invariance of three scales on the ASCS: disciplinary structure, teacher…

Threat assessment has been proposed as a method for schools to respond to student threats of violence that does not rely on exclusionary discipline practices (e.g., suspension, transfer, expulsion, arrest). The present study compared disciplinary consequences for 657 students in 260 schools using the Comprehensive Student Threat Assessment…

The rate at which data is produced and accumulated today is greater than at any point in history with little prospect of slowing. As organizations attempt to collect and analyze this data, there is a tremendous unmet demand for appropriately skilled knowledge workers. In response, universities are developing degree programs in data science and…

The overuse of school suspensions has been linked to a host of negative outcomes, including racial disparities in discipline. School climate initiatives have shown promise in reducing these disparities. The present study used the Authoritative School Climate Survey--which measures disciplinary structure and student support as key measures of…

Threat assessment has been widely endorsed as a school safety practice, but there is little research on its implementation. In 2013, Virginia became the first state to mandate student threat assessment in its public schools. The purpose of this study was to examine the statewide implementation of threat assessment and to identify how threat…

Mental health practitioners working within school or community settings may at any time find themselves working with youth presenting with suicidal thoughts or behaviors. Although always well intended, practitioners are making significant clinical decisions that have high potential for influencing a range of outcomes, including very negative…

The number of online learners in the United States at the K-12 level almost doubled in the two-year period from 2006 to 2008. However, research in this area is emergent at best. With the passage of legislation in 2010 requiring all school districts in Virginia to have a plan to provide online learning options for K-12 students, the need for…

In December 2010, the California Postsecondary Education Commission (CPEC) staff surveyed public universities in other states to learn how they have dealt with cuts in state funding. All of the institutions CPEC surveyed have increased tuition and or fees at least once in the last two fiscal years, and many project additional increases. All have…

Since the early 1990s, Congress has supplemented the Department of Education's (Education) Impact Aid program by providing funds for the Department of Defense's (DOD) Impact Aid program to compensate school districts with a high number of military dependent students. The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010 required GAO to…

To fulfill their religious and educational missions, PS-12 Christian schools should properly equip teachers to design and deliver instruction of the highest quality that incorporates sound pedagogical approaches. Research indicates that a key element for making this happen in classrooms is to offer professional development opportunities that…

This study, The Privatization of Special Education, addresses a shift in the provision of special education and related services to students with disabilities in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Students with disabilities are being publicly placed in private day and residential schools at public expense. In Virginia, 125 private schools are licensed…

Many schools employ coaches to support mathematics instruction and student learning. This research study investigated the roles of coaches from five school districts in Virginia. Participants included 125 elementary mathematics coaches and 59 principals. Results from cross-sectional surveys revealed that most coaches did not have a degree in…

This report describes the use of Lead Turnaround Partners (LTPs) in the current School Improvement Grant (SIG) program and provides the results of document review, surveys, and interviews with eight State Education Agencies and seven Lead Turnaround Partner organizations. The study focuses on the implementation of the transformation and turnaround…

This document analyzes a study done by the Center for the Study of Community Colleges (CSCC), which examined transfer rates in the VCCS. The document provides definitions for transfer rate, academic performance, and completion rate as they are used in the study. The study answers the following questions: (1) which pool of students were used in the…