This article describes San Diego's capital planning process. As part of its capital planning process, the San Diego Unified School District has developed a systematic analysis of functional quality at each of its school sites. The advantage of this approach is that it seeks to develop and apply quantifiable metrics and standards for the more…

The author develops the basic idea of evaluation policy, describes a practical model for development and revision of evaluation policies (including a taxonomy, structure, and set of principles), and suggests critical challenges and opportunities for the future of evaluation policy. An evaluation policy is any rule or principle that a group or…

After a month of celebrating the largest boost in federal spending on scientific research that most of them have ever seen, university presidents are increasingly tuned to the possibility of a downside. The new money--primarily from a $21.5-billion jump in research-and-development spending in the economic-stimulus law--is certainly welcome,…

The academic success of students is a priority for all universities. This study identifies factors associated with first year academic success (performance and retention) that can be used to improve the quality of the student learning experience. A retrospective cohort study was conducted with a census of all 381 full time students enrolled in the…

In education, it is possible to find dozens of examples of "forced" reading incentive programs that categorize student reading levels, provide limited reading lists coordinated with those reading levels, assess student reading through computer-based tests, and award tangible prizes when they pass the test. Those who perform best get the most…

This report comes from a three-year program of research, "Securing Their Future: Older Workers and the Role of VET." Previous work from the program looked at how well workers were matched to their jobs, based on their literacy and numeracy skills and the use of these skills in the workplace. In a continuation of that work, the research…

Reverse transferring, or moving from a four-year institution to a community college, has been depicted in recent research as one of the major forms of student mobility. Since reverse transferring is associated with extremely low rates of degree completion, it is critical to better understand the predictors of reverse transferring and what happens…

Education in Nigeria is an instrument par excellence for affecting national development. In spite of the global efforts to broaden opportunities in many schools all over Nigeria, many are not responding adequately to the needs of their students. A large majority of the learners do not acquire even minimal levels of learning due to such factors as…

There is widespread acknowledgement that the production of effective teaching and teachers is perhaps the critical component of education reform and innovation for improvement of student learning. This aim requires a serious investment of time, rigor, and evaluation to produce professional-development programs that actually work. This report…

The attached descriptions of higher education systems in the Tempus partner countries provide a tool for those who are either planning or already carrying out projects within Tempus. This document forms part of a series of four publications which have been produced for each of the regions covered by Tempus. The descriptions have been drafted by…

The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) has had a monumental impact over the past decade on how educational reform is viewed in the United States. As a result of how the law is structured, schools for students who are deaf or hard of hearing have been the focus of attention for educational reform under NCLB. While there have been some shifts…

This study examined data from the Special Education Elementary Longitudinal Study (SEELS, 2003) to compare the social skills of children in the U.S. with comorbid learning disabilities and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (LD+AD/HD) to their peers with LD-only and AD/HD-only, and to assess how specific demographic factors moderate the…

Teacher knowledge involves a complex network of inter-related domains, including cognition; differences in learning strengths for primary and secondary school students; social and emotional development across the life course; motivation; language acquisition and socialization; curriculum design and assessment; and classroom management. In…

Ontario Roman Catholic communities have established and maintained their own schools for over 200 years. Yet, their struggle for survival has not come without many challenges, setbacks, and criticisms. With the achievement of open-access at the secondary level and equal funding across the system, many question the legitimacy and worthiness of…

This paper explores some aspects of effective professional mentoring practice for early career mathematics and science teachers, and discusses the Early Support Program (ESP), a research project conducted in 2009 and 2010 at a large Australian metropolitan university. It is argued that better outcomes may result from a more strategic…