"New" school inspections are essential parts of "evidence-based governance" concepts and have been implemented by many European countries as a major strategy to assure and improve the effectiveness and quality of their education systems. However, national inspection systems vary in their composition and in their contextual…

This article presents and discusses the results of a national survey of social work PhD students, faculty, and administrators (n = 416), conducted by the Group for the Advancement of Doctoral Education in Social Work (GADE), in December 2012. The survey was undertaken to inform the updating of GADE's 2003 "Guidelines for Quality in Social…

This article explores Kettle Moraine High School's experience of participating in the PISA-based test, known in the U.S. as the OECD Test for Schools. The high school is located on the western edge of Milwaukee. Starting with a trial run in 2012 that involved more than 100 U.S. schools, the OECD Test for Schools has been offered to individual…

Performance-based scholarships have two main goals: (1) to give students more money for college; and (2) to provide incentives for academic progress. MDRC launched the Performance-Based Scholarship (PBS) Demonstration in 2008 to evaluate the effectiveness of these scholarships in a diverse set of states, institutions, and low-income student…

This quantitative study reviews the impact on student achievement following professional development on the principles of formative assessment. The study compared mathematics and reading performance data from student populations with teachers who received training in formative assessment to performance data from student populations with teachers…

This report provides an update of Cedefop's statistical overview of vocational education and training (VET) and lifelong learning in European countries. It illustrates progress on 33 indicators selected for their policy relevance and contribution to Europe 2020 objectives. These also provide a review of progress in key areas of education and…

Higher education today is a complex, demanding, and competitive reality. Its constituents--students, administrators, faculty, and public--are drawn from diverse sectors of society. Its 'arena' comprises institutions that receive decreased funding, are hounded with increased demands for accountability, and experience declining public support,…

Using extant data, the purpose of this study is to examine methods for determining response to intervention (RTI) in a sample of kindergarten English Learners (ELs). Three commonly used methods for determining RTI--(a) benchmark criteria, (b) slope discrepancy, and (c) dual discrepancy--are investigated. Participants included 117 ELs. Students…

Benchmarks: WICHE Region 2012 presents information on the West's progress in improving access to, success in, and financing of higher education. The information is updated annually to monitor change over time and encourage its use as a tool for informed discussion in policy and education communities. To establish a general context for the…

The nested data structure inherent in education (i.e. students nested in schools nested in districts) makes intact school matching an appealing approach in observational studies of educational interventions and policies for both theoretical and practical purposes. This paper provides guidance to applied education researchers who are employing…

Little information exists on the basic elements of diversity recruiting on college campuses. A set of questions was developed for the Collegiate Employment Research Institute's (CERI's) annual college hiring survey that attempted to capture the current practices and benchmarks being employed by organizations in their diversity recruiting programs.…

Purpose: The American University of Beruit has generated a model for student success that builds on Kuh's five benchmarks of academic practice. The purpose of this study is to investigate the psychometric properties of the measures used to assess effectiveness of the benchmarks. Design/methodology/approach: Using a database of student responses to…

This dissertation project represents a 2.5-year ethnographic study in a second-grade bilingual classroom and the homes of seven emergent bilingual children of Mexican-origin. This study examines how educational assessment policies shape the ways in which emergent bilingual children are socialized to express social and academic identities during…

The division of college, career and technical education (CCTE) of the Tennessee Department of Education established the office of postsecondary coordination and alignment in 2012 for the purpose of expanding and promoting early postsecondary opportunities (EPSOs) for all high school students across the state. The office is also charged with…

Primary school enrolment in low-income countries has increased in recent years. The quality of education is, however, still a cause for concern. Better measurement of early reading progress has been suggested as a means of improving education quality. Benchmarks based on the number of 'words per minute' (WPM) students are able to read correctly…