This study examines the validity of a statewide teacher evaluation system in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Three hundred and thirty-eight teachers from 16 at-risk schools located in eight school districts participated in an evaluation system pilot during the 2011-2012 academic year. Teachers received ratings on six teacher effectiveness process…

The purpose of this study was to analyze a prominent alternative education practice in the Commonwealth of Virginia through an analysis of the Virginia Department of Education's Individual Student Alternative Education Plan (ISAEP) program and the alternative education environment it provides. This was a descriptive study using non-experimental…

Since the passage of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (2002), there has been increased interest in using student achievement data (through standardized tests) to evaluate teacher effectiveness. Two U.S. Department of Education secretaries, Secretary Spellings and Secretary Duncan, have expressed interest in growth models and the need to…

This paper presents an overall approach, statistical techniques, and a public-use database that can be used for understanding state welfare policies and measuring their relationship with key outcomes of interest, all while learning helpful statistical techniques. We use descriptive statistics and correlations to describe state policies. We find…

A stepwise regression technique was used to analyze assessment data while taking differences in nonschool variables across districts into account. The primary purpose of this investigation was to determine whether the inclusion of quadratic and/or interaction terms in a regression model would improve the prediction of school district average…

Student achievement data from 92 school districts in South Carolina were analyzed to determine which input variables were most likely to affect educational quality. Fourth and seventh grade samples were scrutinized to determine the effects on achievement when the shared variation between achievement and the context variables was removed. The data…

The increased use of criterion-referenced statewide testing programs is an outgrowth of the need for more diagnostic information for planning and decision making than is provided by norm-referenced programs. There remains, however, a need for state agencies to compare the results of local districts to a variety of comparison groups for the purpose…

Student achievement data from 92 school districts in South Carolina were analyzed to determine which variables were most likely to affect educational quality. Fourth and seventh grade samples were examined to determine the effects on achievement when the shared variation between achievement and the context variables was removed. The data included…

Goal IX of the Educational Quality Assessment (EQA) deals with appreciating human accomplishments. The assessment instruments concentrate on attitudes that measure the degree of value students place on areas of human accomplishment and the willingness of students to explore environments where firsthand experiences are available. The purpose of…