Value-added metrics or models (VAMs) are an important component of the teacher evaluation process that evaluators use to determine the value teachers add to their students' academic achievement. VAMs are used to arrive at a score that is derived from the number of the teachers' students who pass and/or fail a standardized assessment. While prior…

Indiana K-12 teacher evaluations were lawfully mandated by Public Law (PL) 90 in 2012. PL 90 required all public-school teachers to be rated annually by their administrators using a state approved teacher evaluation rubric. Teachers were evaluated as highly effective, effective, needs improvement, and ineffective. Student achievement and growth on…

This qualitative multiple case study was based on in-depth interviews with participants from three different schools. Each school used a different High-Stakes Accountability Model for teacher evaluation: RISE Evaluation and Development (RISE), Teacher Advancement Program (TAP), and Peer Assistance and Review (PAR). The purpose of this study was to…

Data-driven decision-making (DDDM) refers to the process of using data to inform educational decisions. Due to DDDM's positive effects on student achievement and the pressure for educational accountability, DDDM has become a recent focus of numerous educational policies. However, few teachers fully utilize DDDM. While, broadly, DDDM may use…

Today's schools emphasize the use of student data to make instructional decisions. Standardized tests determine funding and teacher advancement (Datnow, Park, & Wholstetter, 2007; Gullo, 2013; Marchant & Paulson, 2009; Schraw, 2010). To evaluate learning before these tests, teachers must utilize their own assessments and data. Formative…

With more than two decades of on-the-ground experience impacting 300,000 educators and 3 million students, NIET's success is grounded in research. The success of NIET's work is evident in the positive findings from evaluations of impact. In NIET's 2022-23 Research Summary, we summarize findings from five new studies and highlight selected findings…

The quality of preK-12 education is an international issue of central importance in discussions currently being held by educators, administrators, legislators, and educational policymakers. Concerns addressed in these discussions include funding, high-stakes assessments, the role of technology in the classroom, national and state curriculum…

This article explores a two-year professional development initiative with four state geographic alliances. Professional development planners, whether planning for a large- or small-scale initiative or one with unlimited or limited funding, will benefit from learning about this successful professional development activity and how the impact in the…

The purpose of this study was to identify if a relationship existed between the implementation of professional evaluation processes and the use of research-based teaching practices, factoring in both perceptions of principals and practicing teachers. The variables of professional development on the evaluation model and the principal's years of…

This case study focuses on our efforts to engage students in one asynchronous, online undergraduate legal "pipeline" course, and the substantive revisions made to the course over 3 years to increase student engagement, self-reflection, self-regulation, and metacognition. A pipeline program is designed to identify, support, and guide…

Relatively little research has been conducted on the professional satisfaction of principals with recently hired beginning teachers. This study surveyed principals to learn their perspectives on these new teachers in relation to National Board Standards. Data were gathered using an online survey of 423 principals throughout the state of Indiana…

Students from the Purdue University landscape architecture program undergo a year-long managed cooperative internship between their junior and senior years of enrollment. During this paid internship students experience the realities of a professional design office outside of the protection of the academic classroom. Through surveys of faculty…

This study evaluated the efficacy of the Preschool First Step (PFS) to Success early intervention for children at risk for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). PFS is a targeted intervention for children 3-5 years old with externalizing behavior problems and addresses secondary prevention goals and objectives. As part of a larger…

This study evaluated the efficacy of the Preschool First Step (PFS) to Success early intervention for children at risk for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). PFS is a targeted intervention for children 3-5 years old with externalizing behavior problems and addresses secondary prevention goals and objectives. As part of a larger…

Extended institutional experience with ePortfolios grounded and framed this qualitative case study guided by the research question: Why, how, and with what success is reflection, as a teaching/learning process, employed among ePortfolio projects at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI)? Thirty-two representatives of 16 varied…