Just over ten years ago, John Schuh and Ann Gansemer-Topf authored NILOA Occasional Paper #7, "The Role of Student Affairs in Student Learning Assessment" (2010). The authors identified contributions and challenges for student affairs assessment and called on student affairs professionals not only to develop meaningful programs and…

Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) is an integrated system of high quality, standards-based instruction and interventions that are matched to students' academic, social-emotional, and behavioral needs. The framework relies on strong core instruction and layered tiers of supports for all needs of the whole child, with a focus on equity and…

Neoliberal theories--whether the new public management, principal-agent theory, or performance management--have provided the rationale for sweeping reforms in the governance and operation of higher education. This paper expands our understanding of neoliberal theory and practice by examining a leading neoliberal reform: performance-based funding…

The traditional model of undergraduate research is less effective for engaging students who have little or no previous exposure to research, are unfamiliar with available research opportunities, or face financial or time constraints that prevent them from engaging in co- or extracurricular activities. Given today's changing student demographics,…

Effective teaching practice focused on encouraging deep engagement helps all students learn and succeed. Considerable work by researchers and change agents, encouraged by national organizations such as the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Research Council, has promoted greater use of evidence-based educational practices, such as…

CCSSO [Council of Chief State School Officers] recently convened a wide range of stakeholders through the Certification and Licensure Collective (CLC) to support states to improve certification and licensure systems, including initial licensure, renewal, and reciprocity or teacher mobility. Educator micro-credentials are a critical part of this…

The disappointing results of the 2019 National Assessment of Educational Progress--a dip in trajectory of reading proficiency for all students except those at the highest level of ability--are prompting states to consider new reading-related policies and actions. In "State Policy Levers for Improving Literacy," Barbara Foorman describes…

COVID-19 prompted unprecedented disruptions to schools with challenges particularly severe for high-poverty remote rural schools. This case study recounts the story of a rural school that had participated in a research-practice partnership (RPP) multi-year improvement effort prior to the pandemic and documents the ways the RPP and the school-based…

African American children and youth are disproportionately represented in special education, school suspensions, expulsion, and the school-to-prison pipeline. Research indicates that increasing the engagement of African American parents in their child's education is an indicator of academic success for African American students. This article…

Teacher candidates in North Carolina must earn a passing score on the edTPA assessment to get certified. The middle grades education program at Western Carolina University integrates aspects of the edTPA assessment throughout pre-student teaching coursework and field experiences to prepare candidates for this high-stakes assessment. Some of the…

During the spring of 2020, two months into the global COVID-19 pandemic, four leading CBOs in Boston--the YMCA of Greater Boston, Latinos For Education (LFE), Inquilinos Boricuas en Acción (IBA), and The BASE--came together to discuss what they can do to help underserved children in the city experiencing education disruption. In response to the…

The Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), as reauthorized in 2015, includes a provision to help protect students from sexual abuse and misconduct. ESEA Section 8546 requires states to adopt laws or policies that prohibit K-12 employers from assisting or aiding and abetting school employees, contractors, or agents in obtaining a…

"Becoming Great Universities" highlights ten core challenges that all colleges and universities face and offers practical steps that everyone on campus--from presidents to first-year undergraduates--can take to enhance student life and learning. This incisive book, written in a friendly and engaging style, draws on conversations with…

Singapore is a centralized--decentralized education system which recognizes that learning needs to integrate content--disciplinary understandings with twenty-first-century orientations and outcomes. Schools are given autonomy for innovations. One such initiative is FutureSchools. FutureSchools are exemplar schools with successes in…

This project brief maps out how the Oregon Department of Education, with support from Region 16, conceived, developed, and implemented the six Student Success Plans, co-developed in collaboration with the communities surrounding six student focal groups: (1) Black/African American students; (2) American Indian/Alaska Native students; (3)…