The primary purpose of this paper is an exploration of issues related to the provision of second level (central office) services available to schools within the Yorkton Tribal Council (YTC), a First Nations educational authority located in southeastern Saskatchewan. Research results supported the role of second level services in improving student…

Using a "Principles of Marketing" course, the authors demonstrate how compliance with AACSB standards and assessment of learning has been undertaken at Robert Morris University over a two-year period. Learning goals and objectives are tied to a specific assessment instrument to provide an illustration of how broad conceptual ideas are…

The Saint Paul Public Schools' Project Early Kindergarten program aims to improve the school readiness of Saint Paul children. The program began in 10 Saint Paul schools in fall 2005, and expanded to community child care settings a year later. Project Early Kindergarten (PEK) has since become the model for pre-kindergarten programs district-wide…

For several years, there have been varying and often conflicting viewpoints and definitions of what formative assessment is--is it a product, is it a process, is it something that can be bought? One source of confusion about this issue has come from products and services sold by curriculum and assessment vendors, touted as "formative assessment."…

This article reports the main findings from a Review commissioned by the Wellcome Trust into science in primary schools. On the basis of those findings, it is argued that the current approach to primary science and the drive to raise standards in literacy and numeracy are turning pupils off science in primary schools, the fallout of which can be…

Attention has recently focused on sectoral concern with assessment and feedback as a result of the National Student Survey. Government, the higher education agencies and the NUS have called for urgent action to address this concern. Existing data from institutional student feedback surveys, using the Student Satisfaction Approach, some dating back…

Accountability, which is closely related to evaluation of efficiency, effectiveness, and performance, requires proving that higher education has achieved planned results and performance in an effective manner. Highlighting efficiency and effectiveness and emphasizing results and outcomes are the basic characteristics of accountability in higher…

This is the story of a research journey that follows the trail of a novel evaluand--"place." I examine place as mentioned by rising juniors in timed exams. Using a hybridized methodology--the qualitative approach of a hermeneutic dialectic process as described by Guba and Lincoln (1989), and the quantitative evidence of place mention--I query…

There is growing interest in the integration of technology into the classroom. A range of initiatives have been launched to develop in-service teacher training processes that will strengthen this integration. In the present paper, we systematize the findings of a large selection of studies on this topic, focusing on domains and competencies linked…

As writing-program administrators and faculty are being called upon more frequently to help design and facilitate large-scale assessments, it becomes increasingly important for us to see assessment as integral to our work as academics. This article provides a framework, based on current historical, theoretical, and rhetorical knowledge, to help…

In this article, the authors present findings from a case study of alignment that occurred between a Pre-K program and the larger K-12 system in which it was housed, to consider what this change process means for early childhood education. Specifically, they discuss and analyze the work of a collection of Pre-K stakeholders who proactively…

This article challenges a number of assumptions underlying marking of student work in British universities. It argues that, in developing rigorous moderation procedures, we have created a huge burden for markers which adds little to accuracy and reliability but creates additional work for staff, constrains assessment choices and slows down…

The management of change in English and Welsh schools has been an authoritarian affair seeking to impose rather than win consent for new ways of working. While no practitioner should challenge the fact of constant change in natural and social life, school staff have had little choice in the nature and direction of changes that have significantly…

The "Condition of College & Career Readiness 2014" is ACT's annual report on the progress of the graduating class relative to college readiness. This report provides a national snapshot of academic performance among African American students in the high school graduating class who took the ACT® college readiness assessment and…

This paper provides a history of ETS's role in developing assessment instruments and psychometric procedures for measuring change in large-scale national assessments funded by the Longitudinal Studies branch of the National Center for Education Statistics. It documents the innovations developed during more than 30 years of working with…