Purpose: Although the number of higher education institutions adopting sustainability-focused faculty learning communities (FLCs) has grown, very few of these programs have published evaluation research. This paper aims to report findings from an evaluation of the University of Vermont's (UVM's) sustainability faculty fellows (SFF) program. It…

In 2012 Michigan implemented Great Start to Quality, a voluntary quality rating and improvement system (QRIS) that uses a multidimensional assessment system to rate the quality of early childhood education programs. Regional Educational Laboratory Midwest examined how changes to Great Start to Quality's rating calculation approach that were…

Swimming is considered by many to be a significant form of physical activity with many health benefits. Few opportunities exist for African American youth to participate in programs focused on providing developmentally appropriate swim instruction, due in part to a lack of aquatic facilities and programs in urban schools and communities. In an…

Teaching has long been considered an isolated profession with little opportunity for collaboration. A major task for school leaders is to create improvement from within the school. Teachers are a valuable resource and each one possesses expertise in strategies and methodologies that can be a benefit to others. This action research explored the…

The AISD Afterschool Centers on Education (ACE Austin) program provided academic assistance, enrichment, college and career readiness, and family engagement activities at six elementary and four middle school campuses through Cycle 9 funding through the Texas Education Agency. ACE Austin was found to have a positive impact on students' academic…

The Afterschool Centers on Education of the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Austin Area (ACE BGCA) provided academic assistance, enrichment, college and career readiness, and family engagement activities at four elementary, three middle, and two high schools through Cycle 10 funding through the Texas Education Agency. ACE BGCA was found to have a…

Charter schools affiliated with the Knowledge is Power Program (KIPP) are emblematic of the No Excuses approach to public education. These schools feature a long school day, an extended school year, selective teacher hiring, strict behavior norms and a focus on traditional reading and math skills. We use applicant lotteries to evaluate the impact…

This document is a report on the research which was designed to evaluate the affirmative action policy for ethnic minorities in Georgia. The mixed research methods were utilized in the study. Specifically, the following research methods were used: (1) Survey of 12th graders in non-Georgian schools; (2) Survey of the students in the One-Year…

In 2004, Lumina Foundation for Education launched "Achieving the Dream: Community Colleges Count," a national initiative aimed at improving success among community college students, particularly low-income students and students of color. Now encompassing more than 130 institutions in 24 states and the District of Columbia, Achieving the…

The Partnership for Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) and the National Governor's Association formed a coalition to present common standards for all grade levels across all states (PARCC, 2012). Louisiana was one of the initial state participants who agreed to create a specific timeline for implementation. The purpose of this study was to…

The Texas Educator Excellence Grant (TEEG) program was state-funded and provided annual grants to schools to design and implement performance pay plans during the 2006-07 to 2009-10 school year. TEEG was implemented each year (i.e., Cycle) in approximately 1,000 high poverty, high performing Texas public schools. Performance pay for teachers…

In Chicago, over a quarter of students fail at least one semester of algebra in their ninth grade year, and only 13% of students who fail both semesters of Algebra I in ninth grade graduate in 4 years. Offering credit recovery options is one strategy to deal with high failure rates. The primary goal of credit recovery programs is to give students…

The purpose of this study was to determine if the National Board Teacher Certification (NBTC) process was an effective form of professional development for teachers that would result in changing teachers' instructional practice resulting in improved student learning. The study also examined how a cohort of NBTC candidates impacted the non-NBTC…

A school improvement program that provided support to poor-performing schools on the basis of needs identified in a school improvement plan was implemented in 72 government schools in Jamaica, from 1998 to 2005. In this independent evaluation of the program, we use propensity score matching to create, post hoc, a control group of schools that were…

Increasing demands for accountability in educational programming have resulted in increasing calls for program evaluation in educational organizations. Many organizations include conducting program evaluations as part of the job responsibilities of program staff. Cooperative Extension is a complex organization offering non-formal educational…