The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of the continuous improvement of the leadership program on the outcome of graduate students. The study compared the SLLA Praxis scores obtained prior to the redesign of the 31 leadership competencies of the leadership program to the data retrieved after the program design. The practices of the…

Automated scoring models were trained and evaluated for the essay task in the "Praxis I"® writing test. Prompt-specific and generic "e-rater"® scoring models were built, and evaluation statistics, such as quadratic weighted kappa, Pearson correlation, and standardized differences in mean scores, were examined to evaluate the…

Elementary education teacher candidates who studied under two delivery methods--online and face to face--were compared to determine if there was a significant difference in professional knowledge and skills using Praxis II test scores. The participants included 60 teaching assistant program (TAP) online candidates and 564 face-to-face candidates.…

The Praxis Series, developed by Educational Testing Services (ETS), has been the long standing assessment for teacher licensure. It is comprised of three separate skills examinations: (1) Praxis Core Academic Skills for Educators (Core) (attempts to measure academic skills in reading, writing, and mathematics; content knowledge of candidates…

Teacher preparatory programs need to evaluate their programs to determine if they are producing highly effective teachers. This study utilized the professional development school (PDS) program versus the traditional program to determine if there was a difference in the promise and effectiveness of pre-service teachers. The study analyzed the…

The objective of this study was to compare the relationships between the subtests of the Interactive Computer Interview System and the ETS "Praxis II" Principles of Learning and Teaching examination. In particular, this study compares scores on the ICIS instrument subtests to those gathered from the same classroom teachers on the…

New initiatives in preservice teacher formal student teaching experiences seek to prepare high-quality educators commensurate with current demands of the profession. Professional development schools (PDS) provide more hours of clinical preparation for student teaching, with a qualified mentor teacher. This research study investigated the…

Test providers are increasingly moving toward exclusively administering assessments by computer. Computerized testing is becoming more desirable for test takers because of increased opportunities to test, faster turnaround of individual scores, or perhaps other factors, offering potential benefits for those who may be struggling to pass licensure…

The highly qualified provision of the 2001 No Child Left Behind Act promoted licensure exams on a national level. The present study is an effort to explore the most commonly used Praxis licensure exams and their passing scores. Hypothesized was that passing scores are set at such a minimal level that they are ineffectual in identifying highly…

In order to meet the federal mandate specified by the No Child Left Behind Act to demonstrate content competency for teaching certification, students must pass a written examination. Missouri and 37 other states chose the Praxis II to satisfy requirements. Presently, schools of education advertise the passing rate of the Praxis II as 100%, since…

The emergence of the Down syndrome (DS) behavioural phenotype during early development may be of great importance for early intervention. The main goal of this study was to investigate the good-imitator-poor-talker developmental profile in DS at preschool age. Twenty children with Down syndrome (DS; mean nonverbal mental age NMA 1 y10 m) and 15…

To meet the demands of living and working in the 21st century, it is critical that every P-12 student in every classroom have an effective teacher. Yet, each year, thousands of new teachers enter the field unprepared to meet the challenges of today's classroom. Recent federal policies such as No Child Left Behind and Race to the Top have made…

This study compares knowledge as measured by grade point averages and Praxis II scores between first-year special education teachers who completed one university's alternative teacher preparation program (ATTP) and those who completed the university's traditional teacher preparation program (TTPP). A total of 33 teachers, 15 from the ATTP and 18…

Teach For America (TFA) and the Teaching Fellows programs are an important and growing source of teachers of hard-to-staff subjects in high-poverty schools, but comprehensive evidence of their effectiveness has been limited. This report presents findings from the first large-scale random assignment study of secondary math teachers from these…

Teach For America (TFA) and the Teaching Fellows programs are an important and growing source of teachers of hard-to-staff subjects in high-poverty schools, but comprehensive evidence of their effectiveness has been limited. This report presents findings from the first large-scale random assignment study of secondary math teachers from these…