The study established the validity and reliability of a weighted individual performance-based assessment tool within the utility scope of middle school orchestral strings. The following research questions guided this study: 1. What specific string-playing behaviors and corresponding criteria validate a weighted individual performance-based…

A perceived inability to assess creative attributes of students' work has often precluded creativity instruction in the classroom. The Consensual Assessment Technique (CAT) has shown promise in a variety of domains for its potential as a valid and reliable means of creativity assessment. Relying upon an operational definition of creativity and a…

This study examined differences in participants' perceptions of their Character Development, Leadership, and Environmental Service prior to and immediately following participation in a North Carolina Outward Bound School (NCOBS) course using the NCOBS Course Impression Survey (NCOBCIS). The three-fold purpose of this study was to confirm the…

This report contains reliability and validity evidence for the North Carolina Kindergarten Entry Assessment system (KEA) using a statewide sample of kindergarten children. The KEA was designed as a formative, developmental, authentic, and criterion referenced classroom resource for teachers. As a formative assessment, the KEA focuses on the…

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…

The North Carolina Occupational Course of Study (NCOCS) program is an alternative diploma track with a vocational focus toward post school employment to assist students who would not otherwise graduate with a standard course of study. The purpose of this qualitative single case study was to explore the local causes of low post-school employment…

Research has long been clear that teachers matter more to student learning than any other in-school factor. Improving the quality of teaching is critical to student success. Yet only recently have many states and districts begun to take seriously the importance of evaluating teacher performance and providing teachers with the feedback they need to…

The purpose of this study was to examine how teacher delivery and student progress influenced preservice teachers' perceptions of overall teaching effectiveness. Experienced teachers ("n" = 6) were videotaped teaching mini applied lessons under four conditions: (a) high teacher delivery and more student progress, (b) high teacher…

Differential response (DR), also referred to as alternative response (AR), family assessment response (FAR), or multiple track response, was developed to incorporate family-centered, strengths-based practices into child protective services (CPS), primarily by diverting lower risk families into an assessment track rather than requiring the…

The purpose of the study was to examine the reliability and validity of the employment interview system for Principals (ICIS-Principal). This instrument attempts to predict the effectiveness of principal applicants as building leaders, determined through a set of employment interview questions aligned with the primary themes found within the…

This report summarizes research findings and implementation practices for teacher and principal value-added models (VAMs), as a first step in the Team Pennsylvania Foundation's (Team PA) pilot project to inform the development of a full, statewide model evaluation system. We have selected 21 studies that represent key issues and findings in the…

"VIEW: An Assessment of Problem Solving Style" (Selby, Treffinger, & Isaksen, 2002) is a new instrument for assessing problem-solving style, for use with individuals from ages 12 through adult. It measures three dimensions of style relating to creative problem solving and change management. In this article, we discuss the…