Purpose: The purpose of this study was to understand how schools and districts plan professional learning that provides the ongoing feedback and support needed to improve teacher performance under the new Colorado Educator Effectiveness Law. The study focused on the professional learning that follows a teacher's rating on the new educator…

As governors respond to the need to significantly improve the quality of public education, they should consider incorporating stronger actions to improve mathematics instruction as part of their overall reform agenda. Governors can take the following actions to promote high-quality mathematics instruction for young children: (1) Become a champion…

Schools, districts and inspectorates routinely use non-specialists to observe lessons for accountability and professional development purposes. However, there is little empirical research on how well non-specialists observe lessons. We describe two pilot studies in which education professionals made judgements about mathematics lesson observation…

The popularity of alternative educational options has created more transient students, and the challenge for educators is to communicate and support the needs of all children. The purpose of this study was to gather the perceptions of principals of traditional high schools about alternative education options and investigate the relationships and…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to discuss the use of mixed methods research in a major three year project and focuses on the contribution of quantitative and qualitative approaches to study school improvement. It discusses the procedures and multiple data sources used in studying improvement using the example of a recent study of the role…

The purpose of this paper is to present a theoretical model to address design and assessment of accounting practice sets that will enhance learning and provide clearer learning outcomes for first year accounting students. The paper explores extant literature in developing an action plan that can be followed to maximise learning outcomes for first…

Through the Liberal Education and America's Promise (LEAP) initiative, the Association of American Colleges and Universities seeks to engage employers with the value, goals, and best practices of a twenty-first-century liberal education; to publicize employers' support for liberal education; and to encourage employer-educator partnerships that…

Given increasing emphasis on assessment and accountability across the globe in higher education, it is clear that individual institutions must take action and provide evidence in response to these concerns. This article provides an example of how one university has developed a central office for assessment, facilitated the development of an…

Peter Farrell provides some interesting insight into the importance of teacher research and gives examples of his own research from his personal classroom experiences. The importance of disseminating findings from the classroom as professional development is discussed.

The modern student information systems (SIS) is a powerful administrative tool with robust functionality. As such, it is essential that school and district administrators consider the top trends in modern student information systems before going forward with system upgrades or new purchases. These trends, described herein, are: (1) Support for…

Not every teacher should serve as a mentor teacher (MT), and there are certainly those who are considered excellent teachers who did not find success in that role, often struggling to turn over aspects of classroom instruction to their mentees. With the current testing and accountability regime, some teachers are reluctant to leave their test…

When school populations grow to the point where districts must consider new construction, many district administrators face a fork in the road: renovate or opt for new construction? The importance of this decision should not be taken lightly; it can have serious ramifications for years to come. Each situation is unique. Just as no two students are…

This article presents a guide to the development of formative assessments for school librarians participating in professional learning communities (PLC). It describes librarians' reading of assigned books, meeting with their PLCs, and incorporation of learned strategies in their daily instruction. Central library service readers' regular visits to…

Every day, teachers and administrators come to work and do the best job they know how. In the book "School Systems That Learn" (Ash & D'Auria, 2013), the authors argue that most school systems, as they are currently designed, have reached or nearly reached the limits of their capacity and that systemic change is necessary to…

A meta-synthesis study was conducted of 60 research studies on educational data mining (EDM) and their impacts on and outcomes for improving learning outcomes. After an overview, an examination of these outcomes is provided (Romero, Ventura, Espejo, & Hervas, 2008; Romero, "et al.", 2011). Then, a review of other EDM-related research…