The idea of transformative and troublesome "threshold concepts" has been popular and influential in higher education. This article reports how teachers with different disciplinary affiliations responded to the "concept of thresholds" in the course of a cross-disciplinary research project. It describes how the idea was territorialised and enacted…

The read-aloud accommodation is one of the most frequently used accommodations. Many educators need training to more confidently select, implement, and evaluate the use of the read-aloud accommodation. Planning by special education leaders can help ensure that test day goes smoothly for students who need the read-aloud accommodation.

This sequential mixed methods study analyzed how program evaluation was used to assess educational administration and examined thematic trends in educational evaluation published over 10 years (2001-2010). First, qualitative content analysis examined the articles in eight peer-reviewed evaluation journals. This analysis revealed that numerous…

The concept of learning outcomes is at the heart of many research programmes and policy responses. International surveys (from the International Adult Literacy Survey, back in the mid-nineties, to the forthcoming Assessment of Higher Education Learning Outcomes two OECD surveys), National Qualifications Frameworks or the European Qualifications…

In this study, the Canadian English and French versions of the Problem-Solving Measure of the Programme for International Student Assessment 2003 were examined to investigate their degree of measurement comparability at the item- and test-levels. Three methods of differential item functioning (DIF) were compared: parametric and nonparametric item…

This article builds on previous research which has emphasised the role of comparisons of educational performance in creating visibility and borderlessness, and moves the argument a point further. The article claims that apart from increased visibility, what the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) has brought to education systems…

Data have long been considered a key factor in organizational decision-making (Simon, 1955; Lindblom & Cohen, 1979). Data offer perspective, guidance, and insights that inform policy and practice (Newell & Simon, 1972; Kennedy, 1984). Recently, education policymakers have invested in the use of data for organizational improvement in states…

Technology and engineering education continues to evolve as it becomes more apparent that students need this information to become more successful in college and careers. The International Technology and Engineering Educators Association (ITEEA ) has tracked the status of technology education in the United States in three separate studies over the…

This article presents the author's critique on a new report titled "A Crucible Moment: College Learning and Democracy's Future", and focuses on civic education and civic engagement. The Obama administration's new report confronts a genuine problem in American education. The decline of civic education and knowledge in America is one of the few…

Purpose: Graduate attributes are about to be policed by the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA) in Australia. All universities proclaim them on their public web sites. The aim of this paper is to determine whether distinct patterns or clusters are apparent in the declared graduate attributes declared by Australian universities…

Assessment practices and requirements are very broad and vary widely among academic programs and from one institution to the other. Consequently, we noticed, in the recent years, increased volumes of research and interest geared into the assessment process and procedures in various disciplines in higher education. In this paper, we present and…

This paper describes two models of assessment of undergraduate business learning in two similar universities located on the East Coast of the United States. Both models stem from seeking continued accreditation by the AACSB and are focused on a group of student skills identified by the faculty as essential to undergraduate business education. The…

In this paper the author draws on his years of experience as a superintendent and special education consultant to offer a litany of field-tested practices for taming out-of-control special education spending while serving students better. He sketches ways for districts to do far better in four key areas. He explains how to squeeze costs and boost…

Guam Department of Education (GDOE) is a single unified school district consisting of grades Kindergarten through 12. Its 27 Elementary Schools, 8 Middle Schools, 5 High Schools, and an alternative school serve over 31,000 students, and is managed by the 11-member Guam Education Board (GEB). Despite the operational and financial challenges the…

Moody's Investors Service provides credit ratings for hundreds of private and public colleges and universities--ratings that can strongly influence the interest rates higher-education institutions can obtain when they want to borrow money. How colleges are governed and managed are key determinants of those credit ratings, especially in an…