Composite indicators have been increasingly recognized as a useful tool for performance monitoring, benchmarking comparisons and public communication in a wide range of fields. The usefulness of a composite indicator depends heavily on the underlying data aggregation scheme where multiple criteria decision analysis (MCDA) is commonly used. A…

The University of Florida (UF) established a Strategic Communications Planning Committee in May 2009 to coordinate a campuswide effort to promote strategic communications planning, strengthen the university's brand, unify key themes and messages, maximize use of available research and resources, and identify and propagate best practices and…

The recent compilation of pedometer-determined physical activity studies of youth by Tudor-Locke and colleagues (Tudor-Locke, McClain, Hart, Sisson, & Washington, 2009) is a valuable addition to the growing field of physical activity assessment via pedometry. In this study, Tudor-Locke and colleagues presented an "expected" habitual daily…

A consortium of 10 Canadian research-intensive universities launched a data exchange program in 1999 to share information that could be used to identify and evaluate the best practices of each institution and to help each institution position itself strategically to achieve its mission. One part of the program was devoted to collecting…

No Child left Behind, The ESEA Flexibility Program, and the Race to the Top contest have spurred a multitude of School Improvement programs, businesses, initiatives and more. The current emphasis on standardized testing, data gathering and analysis, and measuring effective schooling has caused many education agencies, state and local, to seek…

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) and its reports are a key measure in informing the nation on how well the goal of scientific literacy for all students is being met. The "Science Framework for the 2015 National Assessment of Educational Progress" sets forth the design of the NAEP Science Assessment. This document is…

Council for American Private Education (CAPE) is a coalition of national associations serving private schools K-12. "Outlook" is published monthly by CAPE. This issue contains the following items: (1) Study Finds Significant Differences in Ninth-Grade Achievement; (2) Jobs Bill Includes Private School Renovation Funds; (3) Private School Scores…

In this paper, the author asks what education policy might look like in the United States if it was based on the experience of its most successful competitors. He relies on research conducted by a team assembled by the National Center on Education and the Economy, at the request of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD),…

Governments and development agencies met at Jomtien in 1990 and Dakar in 2000 and committed themselves to achieve "Education for All" (EFA). Most aid to education is now the umbrella of EFA and its associated goals, targets and indicators. This paper selects some of the indicators used for EFA and analyses their strengths and weaknesses. Gross and…

Plans by the National Council on Teacher Quality to rate all teacher preparation programs in the country and publish the results in "U.S. News & World Report" have been met with concern and skepticism, but also gained some converts. Proponents say the effort can only help teachers' colleges improve, while detractors say the methods and research…

The function of English as a lingua franca for communication needs rethinking in the teaching of English as a foreign language classroom as a consequence of globalisation. The present contribution is an empirical study carried out in an Italian university environment which aims to show how teachers should take on board awareness raising activities…

This article reports on mainstream teachers who took part in a federally funded master's in teaching English to speakers of other languages (TESOL) program and through a series of collaborative efforts have become experts in their own school systems and leaders in English as a second language (ESL) teacher preparation throughout their region.…

The results of formative assessments are regularly used to inform important instructional decisions (e.g., targeted intervention) within a response to intervention (RTI) system of teaching and learning. The validity of such instructional decision-making depends, in part, on the alignment between formative measures and the academic content…

Low-income students are at particular risk of not persisting to earn a certificate or degree, often because of competing priorities, financial pressures, and inadequate preparation for college. One form of financial assistance designed explicitly to reward students' academic success is a performance-based scholarship, paid contingent on attaining…

Response to Intervention (RtI) is a data-driven process that supports the academic needs of students through targeted interventions to address specific identified areas of weakness. When implemented effectively, RtI aids students at the onset of learning concerns and can remediate learning problems which have, in the past, led to students being…