Locally conceived and initiated development projects are more successful than those imposed externally, but outside intervention is sometimes necessary. The implementation of the Little Sioux watershed project illustrates strategies used to overcome potential negative effects on externally initiated programs. (JOW)

Discusses the relationship between human performance technology (HPT) and instructional systems design (ISD). Addresses the balance between the benefits of diversity versus focus in the field; key differences between HPT and ISD; and clarifying the distinction between scope of analysis and diagnosis versus the types of intervention to design and…

Uses data from an evaluation of an alternative teacher certification program to illustrate the value and use of multilevel models to examine site-to-site outcome differences data from multisite evaluations, showing how a traditional analysis approach can overlook effective interventions and miss important links between program implementation and…

Reducing violence in schools is a major concern of educators, parents, and legislators. Violence manifests itself in numerous ways, and there is growing evidence that low-level or underlying forms of violence have a profound effect on the learning environment of the school. Bullying is the most prevalent form of low-level violence in schools today…

This 2-year qualitative case study examined factors influencing implementation and sustainability of collaborative problem-solving programs. One selected elementary school served as the focus site. Using a participant-observer field-based approach, data were collected via observations, interviews, mute evidence, and field notes. During Year 1 of…

Each year, Austin Independent School District Department of Research and Evaluation (DRE) staff develop a plan of work to describe the scope of work for the coming year. The plans that make up this document identify programs to be evaluated and services to be provided by DRE staff and provide the blueprints for evaluation that staff will follow…

The Louisiana Striving Readers evaluation assessed the implementation and effectiveness of the Voyager "Passport Reading Journeys" (PRJ), a widely used supplemental literacy intervention for struggling adolescent readers that reflects the research-based practices recommended by the National Reading Panel (2000) and other more recent…

This research brief examines the challenges and opportunities presented in evaluating whether an intervention achieves defined goals of increasing students' educational attainment, employment, and earnings after high school. The report concludes that evaluations should: (1) Distinguish between gross outcomes (such as how many young people attend…

The Center's policy and practice analyses have shone a light on how school improvement efforts deal with the various factors interfering with students having an equal opportunity to succeed at school. Unfortunately, the picture that has emerged is rather bleak. Given the continuing difficulties related to reducing dropout rates and closing the…

Campus students are most likely to confide with other students (Brownson, 2007). Thus, the student peer program's rationale is that it is a vital component of our campus suicide prevention project's purpose to early identify at-risk students, engage at-risk students, and utilize appropriate helping interventions (may include referral to the…

"Part C Updates" is a compilation of information on various aspects of the Early Intervention Program for Infants and Toddlers with Disabilities (Part C) of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). This is the eleventh volume in a series of compilations, which included two editions of Part H Updates, the former name of the…

The "No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB)" is designed to achieve an ambitious goal: All children will be proficient in reading and mathematics by the 2013-14 school year. A key strategy for achieving this goal is accountability. Based on findings from two federally funded studies--the Study of State Implementation of Accountability…

"Reading Mastery," one of several curriculum components that constitute the "Direct Instruction" curriculum from SRA/McGraw-Hill, is designed to provide systematic instruction in reading to students in grades K-6. "Reading Mastery," which can be used as an intervention program for struggling readers, as a supplement…

While the basic tenets of the RtI model are well-established in the literature, few studies have been conducted to describe its implementation in rural schools. We conducted a qualitative study in three rural schools that had been designated as pilot sites by our state department of education. A cross-case analysis of the data collected through…

The new IDEIA (2004) mandates regarding the implementation of Response-to-Intervention (RtI) present challenges for general education teachers. The law dictates the implementation of Response-to-Intervention, which requires the application of a pyramid of interventions for students failing to make adequate yearly progress in response to general…