In this article, we report on a mixed method study conducted through a previously validated bilingual instrument. The purpose was to understand elementary bilingual and dual language (BDL) teachers' perspectives of science and engineering (S&E) teaching in Massachusetts and Puerto Rico with the goal of developing situated professional…

This mixed methods study examines perspectives on failure in the classroom by elementary teachers new to teaching engineering. The study participants included 254 teachers in third, fourth, and fifth grade who responded to survey questions about failure, as well as a subset of 38 of those teachers who participated in interviews about failure. The…

Background: Expressed emotion (EE) is a measure of family emotional climate found to be predictive of symptom levels in a range of psychiatric, medical, and developmental disorders, including autism. Method: Employing data from 104 mothers of children with autism, this study examines the Autism-Specific Five Minute Speech Sample (AFMSS), a…

The Assessment of Afterschool Program Practices Tool ("APT"), developed by the National Institute of Out-of-School Time (NIOST), is an observational instrument designed to measure the aspects of afterschool program quality that research suggests contribute to the 21st century skills, attitudes, and behaviors youth need to be successful…

In this article, we explain how overly prescriptive, rigid state statutory and regulatory policy frameworks regarding teacher evaluation, tenure and employment decisions outstrip the statistical reliability and validity of proposed measures of teaching effectiveness. We begin with a discussion of the emergence of highly prescriptive state…

This is the first of four volumes reporting phase 2 of a two-phase project to examine the competency-based vocational teacher education movement and analyze the current state of the art (phase 1), and to assess the implications for preservice, inservice, and leadership level professional development programs in career and occupational education in…

This manual documents the technical aspects of the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS). In May 1999, Massachusetts public school students in grades 4, 8, and 10 participated in the second annual administration of the MCAS tests in English Language Arts, Mathematics, and Science & Technology. This report provides information…

This is the second of four volumes reporting phase 2 of a two-phase project to examine the competency-based vocational teacher education movement and analyze the current state of the art (phase 1), and to assess the implications for preservice, inservice, and leadership level professional development programs in career and occupational education…