Disparities in gifted representation across demographic subgroups represents a large and persistent challenge in U.S. public schools. In this paper, we measure the impacts of a school-wide curricular intervention designed to address such disparities. We implemented Nurturing for a Bright Tomorrow (NBT) as a cluster randomized trial across…

Superintendents and school boards must balance state and federal mandates, requirements of new legislation, and policy changes as they search for best practices in education that will result in increased student achievement. Pressure has increased, with an emphasis on high stakes testing and accountability since the implementation of the No Child…

A theory-driven approach to evaluation (TDE) emphasizes the development and empirical testing of conceptual models to understand the processes and mechanisms through which programs achieve their intended goals. However, most reported applications of TDE are limited to large-scale experimental/quasi-experimental program evaluation designs. Very few…

A history is presented of the External Assessment Pilot Project of California's Commission on Teacher Preparation and Licensing. Carried out from 1974 to 1979, the project assessed teacher education programs at California higher education institutions. After giving the background of the project, including the creation of the commission, the…

This paper discusses the results of a randomly selected standing poll panel implemented at Saint Mary's College at Notre Dame, Indiana, called PRISM (Prompt Response to Improve Saint Mary's). PRISM is designed to quickly ascertain the attitudes and opinions of a panel of 120 college students. Sample topics of PRISM surveys have included campus…

Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) is often presented as a promising learning method. However, it is also facing some new challenges. Apart from answering the question of whether or not working with CSCL generates satisfying learning outcomes, it is important to determine whether or not all participants profit from collaboration,…

This document describes a two-year elementary teacher education program conducted jointly by the Madison Metropolitan School District and the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The program focused on developing more effective strategies for school-university collaboration in preparing students to teach effectively a racially, ethnically, and…