This article summarizes how an organization designed and implemented a quality improvement infrastructure and an effective outcomes-based management system. Stages included: assessing the organization's current status and planning for buy-in, initiating data collection, ensuring data integrity, utilizing data in clinical assessment and…

The study assesses the effects of a hypertext learning aid and GPA on performance in advanced financial accounting. Results indicate that the type of learning aid and GPA significantly affect performance. High GPA students performed better than did the low GPA students. In the study, two versions of the hypertext learning aid were utilized by two…

The Veterans Health Administration (VA) provides a case study for linking performance measurement, information technology, and aligned research efforts to facilitate quality improvement in a large, complex health system. Dialogue between clinical researchers and VA leaders occurs through structured activities (e.g., the Quality Enhancement…

A large number of American elementary school students are now studying science using the hands-on inquiry curricula developed in the 1990s: Insights; Full Option Science System (FOSS); and Science and Technology for Children (STC). A goal of these programs, echoed in the "National Science Education Standards," is that children should…

A conceptual model was developed in an urban undergraduate education institution in the US to assess teaching performance and intellectual development levels of teacher candidates. Danielson's framework of teaching performance and Perry's pattern of intellectual and ethical development were used for developing a conceptual model. A pilot study was…

In September 1998, the California State Legislature passed SB 2042, legislation that authorized the reform of teacher recruitment, certification, and licensing in the state. Its provisions are unique in that they represent the first time in California's history that almost all of the standards dealing with teacher preparation and induction were…

The Department of Education has undertaken an ambitious effort to develop statewide skill standards for all content areas in career and technical education. The standards in this document are for photography programs and are designed to clearly state what the student should know and be able to do upon completion of an advanced high-school program.…

This article presents how Developmental Approaches in Science, Health and Technology (DASH) summer institute sparks the author to try and succeed in using inquiry with her young students. It is a program created by the Curriculum Research and Development Group, University of Hawaii, and funded in part by the National Science Foundation. DASH is an…

This study describes an innovative alternative assessment program used in an undergraduate educational psychology course. Subjects were 60 undergraduate students enrolled in a teacher preparation program at a midwestern liberal arts college. Each student was required to demonstrate mastery of course objectives through a course portfolio. The study…

This action research project evaluated a program of activities to increase the engagement of high school students in their learning. The targeted population consisted of freshman, sophomore, and senior students in a middle class community in central Illinois. The lack of student engagement that posed a problem in academic progress was documented…

An assessment was made of the staff structures of Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) programs, recommended staff backgrounds, current staff backgrounds, and staff development measures. Recommendations were made on how staff development could be improved. Data for the study were gathered through a survey of all state JTPA directors and a random…

The study investigated the effectiveness of and attitudes toward two delivery systems (an enrichment pull-out program and a self-contained classroom) for gifted/talented instruction in Southwest Allen County, Indiana. The effects on fifth-grade students (N=38) enrolled in the program and sixth-grade students (N=45) who had experienced the program…

The Supplemental Instruction (SI) program of the University of Missouri-Kansas City addresses attrition by providing academic support in courses that are high risk for students. The program contains a number of innovative features, for example: high risk courses are identified instead of high risk students, and everyone in those courses is offered…

Although prescribed standards for science education are the basis for educational reform in virtually all states in the United States, these standards are often problematic. Indeed, an emphasis on prescribed standards often (1) frustrates and inhibits good teachers, (2) marginalizes many at-risk students, (3) produces curricula that ignore…

A study examined the views of business and industry on the Florida vocational and technical education system. Representatives from 284 Florida firms and 44 supervisors completed interviews based on two project-developed questionnaires. Sought in the questionnaires were employer perceptions concerning the following areas: awareness of vocational…