This paper compares and contrasts two required building level school violence measures under NCLB, arrests and incidents of well-defined school misconduct acts, across 20 years of Pennsylvania's approximately 3,000 public school buildings. Generally, both arrests for school violence and incidents of school violence are rare events. Over 20 years,…

Debate is occurring about which result interpretation aides focused on examining the experimental effect should be used in single-subject experimental research. In this study, we examined seven nonoverlap methods and compared results using each method to judgments of two visual analysts. The data sources for the present study were 36 studies…

The U.S. Department of Education released regulations governing the development of alternate assessments for students with persistent learning problems who are eligible for Modified Academic Achievement Standards (MAAS) in 2007. To date, state regular assessments or alternate assessments based on Alternate Academic Achievement Standards have not…

In a 2012 paper for the Center for American Progress, "The State of Evaluation Reform," Patrick McGuinn (Drew University) identified the opportunities and challenges facing education agencies in Race to the Top (RTTT) grant-winning states as they prepared for the implementation of new teacher evaluation systems. The 2012 study undertook…

During the last ten years, the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) has ensured that educators at every level focus on accountability, use scientifically-based research, be data driven, and use standardized tests in an effort to improve student learning. Love it or hate it, NCLB has been the catalyst for huge changes in the world of education…

Since the inception of the No Child Left Behind Act, school accountability has increased dramatically. The federal government has taken a much more active role in public education than it did prior to NCLB becoming law. Schools across the United States are working diligently to meet increased accountability standards. As schools and districts meet…

This study describes a procedure one school district used to increase students' reading abilities through reviewing data and adjusting the instruction to give students intensive services, as needed. This school worked in a problem-solving team approach to develop a comprehensive team that followed the progression of student achievement.…

The purpose of this study was to determine ways "Digital Biographies," a Project Based Learning Unit, developed 21st century skills while simultaneously supporting NCLB accountability standards. The main goal of this study was to inform professional practice by exploring ways to address two separate, seemingly opposing, demands of…

This study explores No Child Left Behind's required timetable for English language learners (ELLs) to reach English language proficiency within five years, as outlined in the Annual Measurable Achievement Outcomes (AMAOs), despite the lack of research evidence to support this as a reasonable expectation. Analysis was conducted on the archived data…

The purpose of this research was to determine whether transient or mobile students attain lower levels of academic achievement than non-transient students and to identify the characteristics distinguishing transient from non-transient students. The study analyzed the assessment results, student characteristics, and school factors for approximately…

At the K-12 level one assumes that mathematically gifted students identified by out-of-level testing are also creative in their work. In professional mathematics, "creative" mathematicians constitute a very small subset within the field. At this level, mathematical giftedness does not necessarily imply mathematical creativity but the…

This study examines the appropriateness of a large-scale state standards-based English-Language Arts (ELA) assessment for students who are deaf or hard of hearing by comparing the internal test structures for these students to students without disabilities. The Grade 4 and 8 ELA assessments were analyzed via a series of parcel-level exploratory…

Many students who are deaf or hard-of-hearing are eligible for a signing accommodation for state and other standardized tests. The signing accommodation, however, presents several challenges for testing programs that attempt to administer tests under standardized conditions. One potential solution for many of these challenges is the use of…

This research is a follow up to a similar study published by the Center for Rural Pennsylvania in 2003 in which researchers examined alternative education policies and practices among Pennsylvania school districts. The current study extended the previous research to include information on the perceptions of administrators and teachers on the…

The No Child Left Behind Act has brought great attention to the high school graduation rate as one of the mandatory accountability measures for public school systems. However, there is no consensus on how to calculate the high school graduation rate given the lack of longitudinal databases that track individual students. This study reviews…