Describes some of the ways in which the federal government has decentralized responsibility for national evaluations of federally-funded early childhood programs. Details the methods used in local evaluation studies, and the strengths and weaknesses of centralized and decentralized national evaluations. (Author/KB)

This paper brings task-based language teaching (TBLT) curriculum development principles into the blended learning context, presenting processes and outcomes from a project to develop a task-based thematic unit--asking and giving directions--in a hybrid web-based university-level class focused on listening and speaking skills in Mandarin Chinese.…

This worksheet from the National Dropout Prevention Center for Students with Disabilities (NDPC-SD) is an optional tool to help schools organize multiple years of student and program data for the purpose of identifying school-completion needs that can be addressed through the implementation of research-based interventions. It is designed for use…

How can the average educator who teaches online, without experience in evaluating emerging technologies, build on what is successful and modify what is not? Written for educators who feel ill-prepared when required to evaluate e-learning initiatives, "Evaluating e-Learning" offers step-by-step guidance for conducting an evaluation plan of…

The purpose of this study is to explore the accuracy of the TeacherInsight online perceiver tool (Gallup University, 2007) in determining the effectiveness of high rated (n =14) and low rated (n =36) math and science new hire teachers summative appraisal ratings, completed graduate coursework, and retention status following one year and three…

Teaching-learning process is incomplete without effective and meaningful assessment of students learning outcomes. This applies to both conventional modes of education as well as to open and distance learning modes. So far, conduct of examinations at the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN), has been cumbersome and be-decked with "hydra…

Discussion forums have been used to support organizational communication and they have become a candidate for study of organizational behaviors. However, online behaviors of NGOs have been insufficiently studied compared to those studies conducted in education and industries. Our empirical study examined how social workers in one NGO used an…

Research in commercial organizations has provided a multitude of examples on how leadership development can effectively foster employees' performance and work-related attitudes such as commitment or satisfaction. In contrast, to date systematic leadership development is largely lacking for employees in higher education. However, we suggest that…

This brief discusses aspects of healthy diets for children in elementary and middle school. It summarizes the current guidelines and recommendations for child nutrition and provides information for schools and out-of-school time programs about how to measure child nutrition. (Contains 27 endnotes.)

In this study, I developed three methods for the assessment of high-school students' environmental decision-making skills. The three methods were developed based on perspectives of decision-making expertise in psychology and are named "Satisfying Results," "Coherence," and "Process Decomposition." Satisfying Results looked directly at the choices…

Administrators at post-secondary institutions have found that national or regional accreditation is necessary to remain competitive in the higher education market with evidence of assessment considered a positive measure for accreditation. This quantitative study examined the correlation between the ranked levels of knowledge management within…

This research study was designed to inform the development of a new teacher assessment model. The goal of the Teacher Success Model (TSM) initiative is to develop a systematic, evidence-informed statewide model for teacher assessment. While the initiative included all teachers, support professionals, and evaluators, this study focused on induction…

In this article, the author argues that educational policymaking, teaching, and assessment are most effective and ethical when they are carried out with attention to local contexts. He explores this concept through a consideration of Nebraska's unique School-based, Teacher-led Assessment and Reporting System (STARS), which created a statewide…

This article provides an overview of the empirical effects of students' academic choices on academic performance (e.g., amount, quality, and rate of work). Twenty-nine separate experiments within 26 publications were included in the review. The choices involved performance goals and standards, the nature of assignments, instructional support…

This article focuses on ethical issues faced in evaluation practice from the viewpoint of third generation of activity theory, which gives a constructive perspective on how contradictions can be a driving force behind interorganizational learning and development in multiactor networks. The problem field is firstly addressed through an illustration…