The primary purpose of the study was to identify successful electronic and manufacturing engineering programs at two-year colleges that Northeast Community College (a pseudonym) programs can be benched marked against. The project examined two-year college programs for increased enrollment and the number of graduates for the academic years 2000 to…

This report examines the availability and quality of predictive validity data for a selection of benchmark assessments identified by state and district personnel as in use within Mid-Atlantic Region jurisdictions. Based on a review of practices within the school districts in the region, this report details the benchmark assessments being used, in…

Benchmarks and standards have become an important part of the teachers' instructional focus since the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. As educators they all recognize the importance of having high expectations of their students. Standards help schools articulate these expectations clearly to students, their parents, and the community. Yet, there…

This article presents the development process of a consumer-oriented, illustrative benchmarking tool enabling consumers to use the results of environmental life cycle assessment (LCA) to make informed decisions. LCA provides a wealth of information on the environmental impacts of products, but its results are very difficult to present concisely…

The term "culture" has been in common use for a long time. However there is no universally accepted definition and hence it is important to define clearly what culture means in a particular research context. The research reported here is part of a project undertaken at a large Australian university in late 2005. The overall aim of the…

The political philosophy (from the U.S. Declaration of Independence) that "all men are created equal" succinctly captures the "raison d'etre" and phenomenal successes of American higher education. Today, the deepest commitment to this idea of fair play is affordable access to a higher education that offers the opportunity to cultivate knowledge,…

If it takes a village to raise a child, it takes a strong network of committed colleagues to launch an initiative like "SENSE." From its conception in fall 2006 to the first national administration in fall 2009, the Survey of Entering Student Engagement ("SENSE") has been supported by key individuals and groups, without whom there would have been…

Volume 3 contains supporting appendixes of a three-volume study designed to evaluate the need for new labor market information. The study also sought to improve methods for making better use of currently collected statistical and administrative data. The appendixes support Volume 1's chapter 2 "A Flexible Data Retrieval System" and chapter 3 "Data…

This four-year study investigated factors associated with stage of concern and change in stage of concern of teachers and principals when implementing a benchmark testing program in a large school district. Findings are presented and discussed. (Author/MT)

The Minneapolis Public Schools are at a critical juncture and its leadership needs to make an important choice about which way the district intends to go. It could slide into further decline or it could take charge of its own future and make sure that it does not suffer the same fate as other urban public school systems across the country that are…

An effective social studies program provides coordinated, systematic study, drawing upon such disciplines as economics, geography, history, law, philosophy, political science, psychology, religion, and sociology. It prepares students to be personally and socially aware, promotes multiple perspectives, encourages intellectual curiosity, promotes…

The National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) annually collects information about key aspects of the undergraduate experience that college and universities can use to improve student learning. The NSSE asks students questions about their campus experiences, focusing on five clusters of activities shown by research to be linked to desired…

This report outlines the major themes of the 1999 annual conference of the Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing (CRESST), which focused on creating benchmarks for accountability in education. Opening the conference, a panel of experts focused on recent work regarding standards, quality, and fairness in the assessment…

This report is the result of a survey conducted in late 2005 of higher education institution chief financial officers throughout the U.S. Midwest region concerning their plans to manage what was expected to be a substantial increase in the price of energy in advance of the 2005-06 heating season. Although the winter turned out to be one of the…

In fall 2003 New Jersey Governor James E. McGreevey and Commissioner of Education William L. Librera asked Achieve to review the new academic standards the state had developed in social studies to learn how New Jersey's new standards compared with those of other states. This summary report outlines the main findings from Achieve's review of the…