Even though digital technologies are ubiquitous in education, assessment methods continue to employ traditional assessments even though they are inadequate to provide information about a student's reasoning and conceptual understanding. Digital-based assessment models allow students to demonstrate higher-order skills while integrating digital…

This guide was developed for PreK-12 leaders interested in exploring innovative approaches to evaluating student learning. Specifically, the authors sought to identify promising practices in evaluating critically important learning outcomes that infrequently get evaluated, such as career readiness skills, social and emotional competencies, and…

The purpose of the District Capacity Assessment (DCA) Technical Manual is to provide background information on the technical adequacy of the DCA (Ward et al., 2015). This current version draws upon a rich history and background of previous work assessing district capacity. Notably, the current version includes significant modifications from…

As shown by MetLife's 2010 "Survey of the American Teacher," America's educators strongly believe that all students should graduate from high school ready for college and a career (85 percent). Additionally, according to MetLife's 2009 survey, 86 percent of teachers believe that setting high expectations for students will…

Innovation Configurations (IC) represent the operational patterns of the innovation that results from implementation by different individuals in different contexts. This manual is intended as a practical tool for assessing IC, to promote understanding and facilitating of the charge process. Various issues, questions, and tasks that must be…

Ten ways to evaluate new software product ideas are presented, such as talking with computer user groups and advertising the product before development to determine consumer interest. Ten methods for generating new product ideas are also offered, including reading material on the fringe of one's work and soliciting opinions of potential clients.…

This monograph provides teachers and teacher trainees with practical assistance in evaluating and documenting school-level innovations. Authentic and concrete illustrations culled from reports of evaluations of innovative projects funded by the Australian Schools Commission are featured. Examples are used to illustrate seven major aspects which…

The primary assumption behind the development of this guide is that program managers, faced with the responsibility of designing and planning an educational program, or modifying an existing resource system, might profit from a better understanding of the nature of needs assessment. The first section of this guide presents an overview of needs…

Discusses how to develop an effective assessment process for learning communities, including initial considerations, the value of student involvement, questions guiding the study, data management, and considerations for future studies. (EV)

This booklet details a methodology for infusing almost any subject into a school district's ongoing curriculum. The process involved three interrelated parts: infusion, community, and stewardship. The infusion component makes it possible to upgrade teacher's skills, improve classroom management, strengthen community-school cooperation, and diffuse…

Guidelines for evaluating responses to requests for proposals (RFPs) for state-level educational assessment programs are presented. The guidelines articulate key choice points, options, and considerations by state (and district) testing directors as they solicit services for large-scale assessment from commercial testing companies. Focus is on…

Presents a checklist of characteristics useful for planning an evaluation study intended to demonstrate the range of options available to client and decision maker. A series of questions is proposed focusing on the scheduling of evaluations, and recommendations are made for their design. (Author/JEG)

Clear and comprehensive criteria for developing and evaluating gifted programs are needed. These criteria would define selection of program students and program characteristics. Programs should involve all potentially able students and should be innovative, intellectually stimulating, comprehensive, enthusiastic, and divergent. (MSE)

When implementing an innovation, a multitude of components interact to change not only the users, but the innovation as well. This guide explains the concept of innovation configurations, or adaptations made in innovations during implementation. After presenting and discussing past research on innovation changes, the report outlines a five step…

This notebook is designed to help educators who are currently learning to design and present inservice programs, educators who are already inservice providers but who might benefit from an overview of inservice theory, and educators who are hiring, supervising, or evaluating inservice providers. It is divided into three parts: (1) Introduction and…