To what extent school improvement processes can be initiated and sustained from the outside has been a relevant question for policy-makers seeking to increase quality in education. Since 2008, the Chilean Government is strongly promoting the use of external technical support (ETS) services to support school improvement processes, as part of the…

This article examines Extension professionals building community capacity in 10 counties across five Appalachian states in response to the talent crisis in the United States information technology (IT) workforce. The goal has been to transfer IT knowledge and create a supportive environment to foster interest in IT careers among underserved girls…

The first step in the Validity and Reliability Study summarizes the history and purpose of California's quality rating and improvement system (QRIS), reviews findings from other QRIS evaluation studies, and describes the approach to validating the system in California. The majority of this report focuses on providing context for the California…

The purpose of this study evaluates the work completed in the "Jefferson County Public Schools" (JCPS) project, "Making Time for What Matters Most", aiming to improve student achievement, narrow achievement gaps, strengthen students' college readiness skills, and increase the percentages of students who graduate and go on to…

This report summarizes highlights from the Austin Independent School District Dual Language Program rubric classroom observations conducted in October 2015. Observers rated several aspects of program implementation according to the rubric and provided comments about classroom practices observed.

In 2017-2018, the Houston Independent School District (HISD) launched Achieve 180, a program centered upon a comprehensive action plan to increase student achievement at 45 schools, including the 27 schools that received the Texas Education Agency Campus Accountability rating of "Improvement Required" (IR) in 2016-2017 and 18 former IR…

Assessing program impact can provide useful program evaluation data. It also provides a basis for program development, marketing, and justification. This article discusses recent impact evaluation efforts and findings of a long-time Extension program; referred to as Business Retention and Expansion (BR&E). How such information can be…

This is an evaluative research study of a NSF-funded, DRK-12 cyber-enabled teacher professional development program in elementary engineering education. The finding shows the significant impact of the program on students' science and engineering knowledge in the second year of the program's implementation. However, student learning gain…

The Truancy Court Diversion Program (TCDP) is a voluntary program for at risk students and their parents. It combines involvement of a Family Court judge in group and individual sessions with service provision. During the 2011-12 school year, a pilot TCDP was implemented at Kramer Middle School (M.S.) and at Johnson M.S. The program attempts to…

Peer-based youth services provided by small non-profit community organisations have grown in number over the past two decades in response to an increasing need for informal, youth-friendly, accessible and confidential early intervention services. However, gaps in the evidence base and a general lack of evaluation capacity of service providers…

The Swedish International Training Programme in Education for Sustainable Development, which has been run annually for the past 10 years, is a five-phase program that supports participants to develop and implement a change project in their work places. It requires a team of students from an institution and provides extensive follow up. The course…

"We wish we had that option in our area." "Wish we lived closer." "I wish I would have known." These statements, made by parents of children who are deaf and hard of hearing, illustrate a frustrating reality for many families--a lack of access to qualified professionals and specialized services to help children with…

The Office of Shared Accountability evaluated the "Universal Design for Learning" (UDL) projects during spring 2013. UDL is an instructional framework that seeks to give all students equal opportunities to learn, by providing multiple means of representation, of action and expression, and of engagement. To inform future implementation…

By some estimates, students lose an average of 2.6 months of learning during summer break, roughly one quarter of the time spent in school. To combat this problem, the school under study implemented a summer math program that was thematically linked to the Boston Red Sox baseball team. Hundreds of students have participated in the program, but the…

There is a need to implement a comprehensive training program to build employees' knowledge, skills, and attitudes in order to improve quality service at ABC Restaurant because of a surge in customer complaints. The purpose of this study was to develop a training program that included an employee handbook as a training tool, a handbook designed…