Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research Commons^™

Law And Order: Lawsuit, Regulations And Implementation Of S.T.E.M. O.P.T. At The University Of Arkansas, Alexandra M. Wallace

Capstone Collection

In 2015, Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) reported that over 1,054,000 international students were studying in the United States in F-1 student status (SEVP, 2015). F-1 status comes with many regulations and benefits, such as Optional Practical Training (OPT), which allows students with F-1 status to work after they complete a degree from an American higher education institution. Students in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields are allowed an additional 24-months of OPT, called STEM OPT. While this is a benefit in many senses, it is accompanied by a lot of responsibility for the student, the university …

A Preliminary Investigation Of Maine Virtual Charter School Costs Relative To The Essential Programs And Services Funding Model, Amy F. Johnson Phd, Fleur Hopper, James E. Sloan

School Funding - Essential Programs and Services (EPS)

In 2015, the Maine State Legislature’s Joint Standing Committee on Education and Cultural Affairs commissioned the Maine Education Policy Research Institute (MEPRI) to study the state’s Essential Program and Services (EPS) K-­‐12 education funding model in relationship to the funding for Maine’s two virtual charter schools. The study was initiated with a review of available literature and reports on virtual school funding in other states. Because the structure of Maine’s virtual schools differs from typical models in other states, most notably because core academic subject teachers are required to teach from one central physical location, further cost analysis was conducted …

Outstanding Educational Performance Awards: Highlighting High Achieving Arkansas Schools, 2015, Charlene A. Reid, Gary W. Ritter

Arkansas Education Reports

As promised, with the release of the PARCC results at the school and district level, the spring edition of the OEP Awards will highlight high-performing schools in Arkansas based on their performance in the Math and Literacy exams at the Elementary, Middle, Junior High and High School level.

The Current State Of Access To Basic Education For Syrian Refugee Children Living In The Za’Atari Camp, Theresa L. Frey

Capstone Collection

Using Rodman’s (2006) International Education Analytical Inquiry Matrix as a theoretical framework, the purpose of this study is to examine the current state of access to basic primary education for Syrian Refugee Children Living in the Za’atari camp. Within the scope of this study, access is examined in three parts, including:

(1) Who is accessing education within Za’atari and who is not?

(2) How are certain groups accessing education?

(3) What is the learning environment of Za’atari?

In addition to addressing existing issues of access to basic education in Za’atari, this study examines efforts made towards increasing access. By examining …

2015 Northwest Arkansas Report Card, Sarah Mckenzie, Gary Ritter

Education Report Card

This report card presents a regional overview of districts in Benton and Washington counties as well as key performance indicators for each district.

Five Challenges In Australian School Education, Geoff N. Masters Ao

Policy Insights

There is no shortage of challenges in school education. Some of the biggest challenges we face can appear frustratingly intractable. Despite reform efforts, regular government reviews and ongoing calls for change, progress in addressing our most significant challenges is often slow and solutions continue to elude us. In this paper Professor Geoff Masters discusses five significant challenges facing school education.

1. Equipping students for the 21st Century, including by increasing reading, mathematical and scientific literacy levels;
2. Reducing disparities between Australia's schools, particularly along socioeconomic lines, by ensuring that every student has access to an excellent school and excellent teaching;
3. Reducing the …

Character Assessment: Three Essays, Collin E. Hitt

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

I propose a new approach to measuring character skills. In the following three essays, my co-‎authors and I measure the effort that adolescent students appear to put forward on surveys ‎and tests. First, I examine the extent to which students simply skip questions or plead ‎ignorance on surveys. Second, I develop new methods for detecting careless answers, those ‎instances in which students appear to be "just filling in the bubbles." I show, using ‎longitudinal datasets, that both measures are predictive of educational degree attainment, ‎independent of measured cognitive ability and other demographic factors. Finally, I ‎demonstrate that international differences in …

Perceived Relevance Of Special Education Performance Indicators: Teacher Excellence And Support System, Tiffany Kristin Mrla

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A study was conducted to investigate the perceived relevance of using a teacher evaluation rubric with performance indicators specific to special education services in place of the standard rubric for teachers used in the State of Arkansas Teacher Excellence Support System (TESS). Through a multi-method approach, the perceptions of special education teachers and administrators regarding implementation of the current model, the significance of perceived differences in pedagogical factors, and potential barriers to effective implementation were identified. This was achieved through survey, interviews, and observations.

Special education teachers and administrators in a given school district were sent a brief survey to …

Advanced Placement In Arkansas: Increasing Equity, Sarah C. Mckenzie, Gary W. Ritter

Policy Briefs

Each spring, secondary students across Arkansas sit for Advanced Placement (AP) Exams. Arkansas has one of the most aggressive policies promoting AP in the nation. Despite this, Arkansas students are still struggling with inequitable and inadequate access to AP courses. This brief examines the effects of Arkansas’ AP legislation on equity, adequacy, and productivity in AP policy, particularly for the state’s low-income and minority students.

2015 Arkansas Report Card, Sarah Mckenzie, Gary Ritter

Education Report Card

The Office for Education Policy is pleased to bring you its 2015 Arkansas Report Card for highlighting our students’ characteristics and educational performance through the 2014-2015 academic year. his year marked the first significant change in student assessment in more than a decade, the implementation of a letter grade system for grading schools, and new national data from the NAEP. As we head into a new assessment system this spring, we hope the data presented within continue the conversation that surrounds our education system. The following data are intended to provide a snapshot of K-12 education in our state. Although …

Recommendations And Resources For Evaluating Community School Programs, Janet C. Fairman Ph.D., Amy F. Johnson Phd

School Improvement

The legislative definition of “community schools” is intentionally broad and anticipates the possibility that community schools might vary significantly in their locally-developed goals and intervention programs. The needs of students and their families may vary by community, as does the array of existing resources available in the surrounding area. This leads to a broad set of possible strategies that may imply different expected outcomes and evaluation processes.

The grant program requires pilot schools to meet certain application criteria. Applications require schools to submit an audit or needs assessment, a community resources assessment, an outline of plans and goals based on …

The Nature Of Teacher Learning In Collaborative Data Teams, Robert Michaud

The Qualitative Report

As data teams have grown in popularity in recent years, they have been increasingly looked to by educational researchers because of the tantalizing prospect of combining teachers’ on the job professional development with increased and effective data use to drive instruction. Data teams have been increasingly implemented within schools by educational leaders attempting to take advantage of what teachers learn from each other in the context of a data team. Many conceptual models of data team function have been proposed, but few empirical studies have examined how teachers learn from collaborating with each other in a data team. This paper …

Proficiency-Based High School Diploma Systems In Maine: Local Implementation Of State Standards-Based Policy Phase Iv Policy Report, Erika K. Stump, Bernadette Doykos Phd, Catherine Fallona Phd

Proficiency-Based Education

In this current year, Phase IV, researchers collected new data from qualitative interviews and document analysis in six case study school districts in Maine, representing a range of demographics, geographic regions and implementation stages. Three of these districts had been involved in at least one year of Phase I-III of this study, allowing for exploration of ongoing implementation practices and comparing perceived challenges and benefits from initial implementation to later stages. Findings suggested that Maine's proficiency-based high school diploma mandate had mobilized PK-12 collaborative professional work, but there was an evident need for even greater professional time for full systemic …

Using Evidence-Based Criteria For Block Grant Funding Of Collaborative Time For Educator Professional Development, Janet C. Fairman Phd, A. James Artesani Edd

School Funding - Essential Programs and Services (EPS)

This report was prepared by the Maine Education Policy Research Institute (MEPRI) at the request of the Maine State Legislature to provide recommendations for the development of a block grant program of supplemental funding to school districts to support evidence-based professional development for educators and/ or leaders or instructional coaching support in schools and classrooms. The report provides guidance to inform decisions on pending legislation, LD 1394, “An Act to Implement the Recommendations of the Commission to Strengthen the Adequacy and Equity of Certain Cost Components of the School Funding Formula”.

The report builds on an earlier MEPRI report which …

Quality Counts 2016, Sarah C. Mckenzie, Gary W. Ritter

Policy Briefs

Last week, Education Week released their 20th annual Quality Counts report. This year’s report discusses school accountability and examines state and federal accountability policies. It also grades the nation and each state on academic performance and outcomes. Overall, Arkansas received a C– and was ranked 41st among the 50 states. This policy brief examines Arkansas’ rank in each category of the report as well as the quality of the report itself.

An Examination Of Using Social Impact Bonds To Fund Education In Maine, Erika K. Stump Phd, Amy F. Johnson Phd

School Funding - Essential Programs and Services (EPS)

As resolved in H.P. 285 - L.D. 418 (Chapter 52) and requested by the Maine Legislature's Joint Standing Committee on Education and Cultural Affairs, the Maine Education Policy Research Institute (MEPRI) has conducted a study with the purpose of examining current policies and investigating the feasibility of using Social Impact Bonds as a funding mechanism for public education programs in Maine.

Universalizing Primary Education In Sierra Leone: Promises And Pitfalls On The Path To Equity, Grace Pai

Publications and Research

What barriers remain in the progress towards achieving Universal Primary Education (UPE), and how does the UPE agenda affect out-of-school children? Through a mixture of historical, quantitative and qualitative methods of analysis, this study examines these questions using the developing context of Sierra Leone as a case study.

Findings from over 100 interviews show that first of all, the most salient barrier that prevents children from participating in primary school is the fact that school is not free de facto in spite of the national abolishment of primary school fees in 2004. Rather than commonly cited constraints such as a …

Why The American Superpower Has Mediocre Educational Rankings, Madeline R. Hays

UROP Posters

Although education holds implications for economic growth, scientific progress, and political participation, the United States remains on the lower end of educational quality compared to other industrial and first-world nations. Despite substantial efforts by the American government to mend this issue, reforms have yielded minimal improvement in results. Identifying the reasons for the declining nature of US education is essential in understanding how to improve the current academic state. Why has there been a decline in education quality in America compared to other first-world countries since World War II? In order to distinguish the characteristics correlating with low-achievement in the …

Examining The Relationship Between School Climate And Peer Victimization Among Students In Military-Connected Public Schools, Kris T. De Pedro, Ron Avi Astor, Tamika D. Gilreath, Rami Benbenishty, Ruth Berkowitz

Education Faculty Articles and Research

In the Iraq and Afghanistan war context, studies have found that military-connected youth—youth with parents and/or siblings serving in the military—have higher rates of school victimization than their nonmilitary-connected peers. A positive school climate—where students perceive high levels of school connectedness, caring relationships and high expectations from adults, and meaningful participation—is associated with lower rates of victimization in secondary public schools. Based on a survey of 7th, 9th, and 11th grade students (n=14,493) enrolled in six military-connected school districts (districts that have a significant proportion of military-connected students), this study explores victimization rates and the role of school climate, deployment, …

The Impact Of Classroom Observations And Collaborative Feedback On Evaluation Of Teacher Performance, Based On The Danielson Framework For Teaching, Christine L. Hofer

Wayne State University Dissertations

ABSTRACT

THE IMPACT OF CLASSROOM OBSERVATIONS AND COLLABORATIVE FEEDBACK ON EVALUATION OF TEACHER PERFORMANCE, BASED ON THE DANIELSON FRAMEWORK FOR TEACHING

by

CHRISTINE L. HOFER

December 2016

Advisor: Dr. Thomas Edwards

Major: Education

Degree: Doctor of Philosophy

Teacher evaluation systems in Michigan are undergoing major reforms driven by recent legislation at both the federal and state levels. Multiple teacher observations, as well as student achievement data, are now required to be a major indicator of teacher effectiveness for evaluative purposes. The reformed system is high-stakes, as employment decisions such as layoffs and termination rest squarely on evaluation results. Implementation has …

Oie Peer-Indexed Benchmarks Demonstration Spring 2016, Uno Office Of Institutional Effectiveness

Student Learning

Internal program reviews are conducted by the Academic Planning Council (APC) and are an integral part of UNO’s assessment and planning processes for the unit, college, and University. The review process is designed to monitor the quality and assist in the ongoing development of UNO's academic programs and units.

Every academic program offered at UNO will be reviewed at least once within a seven-year cycle. The reviews are conducted routinely and are coordinated with the review reports prepared for the Coordinating Commission for Postsecondary Education (CCPE).

For programs with external accreditation the UNO review process may be coordinated to minimize …

The Impact Of Bantuan Operasional Sekolah (Bos) Program: School Operational Assistance To The Household Expenditures In Education: A Case Study Of Indonesia, Anton Abdul Fatah

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

The Bantuan Operasional Sekolah (BOS) Program was launched in 2005 as a grant directly from the government to each school’s bank account based on the number of the students. The main goal of BOS is to cover school tuition in the public schools, lighten operational expenses in the private schools, and to provide free education for poor students, both in public and private schools. Since the BOS Program has been implemented nationally and the funding is granted based on the number of students, this study hypothesizes that the BOS Program will have an impact on the household expenditure in education. …

A Study Of The Effects Of County Characteristics On College Enrollment, Patrick La Mar

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

For the past 100 years, policy analysts studied college enrollment at the individual level. Yet little research has been performed on whether the surrounding community characteristics contribute to enrollment rates. This is in part due to seeing college attendance as an individual choice whereas K-12 enrollment is typically predetermined by place of residence. However, this ignores the potential impact economic and social characteristics a community has on students while growing up. This paper attempts to add to the literature by testing county level variables with a panel regression with high school fixed effects.

The results show higher averages of KEES …

Determinants Of Student Engagement In Undergraduate Research At The University Of Kentucky, Tricia Coakley

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

No executive summary.

Construction And Validation Of A Holistic Education School Evaluation Tool Using Montessori Erdkinder Principles, Anthony Philip Setari

Theses and Dissertations--Education Sciences

The purpose of this study was to construct a holistic education school evaluation tool using Montessori Erdkinder principles, and begin the validation process of examining the proposed tool. This study addresses a vital need in the holistic education community for a school evaluation tool. The tool construction process included using Erdkinder literature to justify the development of each item through the use of an item matrix, ultimately leading to the development of the 23 item formative Montessori Erdkinder School Evaluation Survey. The validation process included a series of three Rasch Rating Scale Model analyses with data from a sample school. …

Student, Teacher, School, And District Determinants Of Elementary School Accountability Classification In The Detroit Metropolitan Region, Embekka Nakia Thompson

Wayne State University Dissertations

Legislators have implemented an accountability system in an effort to increase school quality for all students. Policymakers assume that rewards and sanctions, based on results from high-stakes testing, can improve student achievement. The accountability system does not consider environmental factors that impact student outcomes. This study examines student, teacher, school and district determinants and their impact on student achievement, school designation, and school ranking. Data was collected from 333 elementary (K-5) schools in 56 public school districts and 18 charter schools in three counties: Macomb, Oakland, and Wayne. Two research questions were developed for this study.The first research question examined …

A Phenomenological Exploration Of The Experiences Of High School Students Enrolled In School-Wide College Readiness Programs, Sherlina Thomas

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In the early 1980s, the United States experienced a high school dropout epidemic, leading school systems to adopt reform efforts. College readiness programs (CRPs) became a tool to address educational disparities in secondary and postsecondary education for over three decades. While decreases occurred in the overall high school dropout rate across racial and ethnic groups, they have been minimal. This study addressed a research gap on the lack of student input and perceptions about their experiences in CRP programs. This phenomenological study used in-depth, semi-structured interviews with criterion-selected former high school students from 3 schools within the ABC County School …

Historical Trends And Emerging Issues In Teacher Education Programs In The United States, Karl M. Lorenz

Education Faculty Publications

US national and state educational polices are advocating for more teacher accountability with respect to student performance, and accrediting agencies are requiring more evidence of teachers’ mastery of subject area knowledge and professional skills. This paper examines some of the significant educational and social issues currently facing basic education and teacher preparation programs in the United States. It addresses numerous topics and focuses on five general issues that confront K-12 education and either directly or indirectly Teacher Preparation Programs.

Las políticas educativas nacionales y estatales de Estados Unidos están abogando por una mayor responsabilidad de los maestros con respecto al …

Evaluative Feedback: How K-12 Teachers Respond, Deetta Lorick Andersen

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This sequential mixed methods study addressed the need for research that both described and explained how teachers of varying experience respond to administrative evaluative feedback. Formative evaluation theory of Scriven and professional growth models of Steffy and Fessler served as theoretical models for data analysis. An online survey asking teachers how they changed their practices and what accounted for their response was received from 270 teachers in 1 Midwestern state. Of these, 9 teachers of varying experience were interviewed. The quantitative data showed that most teachers do not change practices on the 8 state teaching standards in response to feedback. …

Fresh Fruits And Vegetables In A Rural Elementary School: A Mixed-Methods Program Evaluation, Patricia Marie Moore

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The Fresh Fruits and Vegetables Program is a federally funded program intended to increase public school students' fruit and vegetable consumption. The purpose of this mixed-method study was to evaluate the implementation of this program at a rural southwestern Title 1 elementary school to determine teacher perceptions of the program and whether the program met federal goals. Social ecological model and social cognitive theory grounded the investigation. The mixed method design included semi-structured interviews with 11 teachers accompanied by an anonymous web-based open response questionnaire and document reviews. Descriptive statistics were reported for Likert scale survey items and invoice documents …