This study develops a set of empirically and theoretically sound citation-based bibliometric indicators of scientific research performance and applies them in an exploratory comparative study of the University of Tennessee-Knoxville's (UTK's) Nutrition Department with three of its peer programs at the University of Florida, the University of…

School system leaders are discovering the power of data for promoting school improvement. This guide provides practitioners, parents, and community with insights and tools for cultivating a districtwide culture of data-driven inquiry. Chapter 1 points out that data provide quantifiable proof, taking the emotion and rancor out of the…

From its founding, The After-School Corporation (TASC) has worked to advance two interrelated goals: (1) Increase the availability of after-school opportunities by providing resources and approaches for establishing new projects and expanding existing projects; and (2) Enhance the quality of after-school services by incorporating research-based…

How do more experienced school administrators think about and attend to problems in school administration? This paper presents findings of a study that compared how principals and aspiring principals cognitively processed and solved a problem scenario. A total of 30 practicing principals and 24 aspiring principals (referred to as the "novice…

A study examined 20 years of research represented in the National Reading Conference (NRC) Yearbooks with the purpose of creating an NRC Yearbook database. The study analyzed overall trends in research topics and paradigms used by individuals whose work was reported in the NRC Yearbook between 1975-1995. The analysis was guided by the following…

This study evaluated the instructional benefits and barriers related to the use of online formative and summative assessment tools. Data were collected from samples of undergraduate students in different semesters to allow for differential use of summative assessment (paper versus online delivery). Formative assessment was manipulated by providing…

With accurate information, educators are better able to make effective decisions. Besides being used to assess student performance, a complete program of data collection and use can also show educators how management skills, individual learning styles, and other elements affect student achievement. This digest in Spanish provides an overview of…

This paper discusses the notion of community as an outcome of working within an online environment. In particular, the paper explores the concept of users' development of a sense of community as an outcome of working within an online environment designed to support the professional and personal development of its users. The paper discusses…

Using data from the National Education Longitudinal Study 1988 (NELS:88), a nationally representative sample of eighth graders in 1988, who were studies again in 1994 as was analyzed for three voting patterns: registered to vote (68.1%), voted in 1992 presidential election (45.5%), and voted last year in local or state election (30.6%) and…

This paper presents a model for analyzing and drawing inferences from pre- and post-assessment data that are not as clean as might be desired. The model was applied to comparison of freshman and senior scores on the Academic Profile and Short Form at Cardinal Stritch University (Wisconsin). As of 1997-98, 891 pre-tests had been administered to new…

This study explored how adult students define success in college and their perceptions of factors that either support or hinder achievement of this success. Thirteen returning adult students at two institutions were interviewed using a grounded theory approach. Data were analyzed inductively and iteratively to identify persistent themes. Students…

The Common Core of Data (CCD) program of the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) consists of five separate surveys. An evaluation was conducted of the nonfiscal surveys from the CCD for 1996-97. It focused primarily on the agency and school universe surveys, but it also included the state nonfiscal survey. The evaluation explored such…

This is a checklist of key items to get right when conducting a randomized controlled trial to evaluate an educational program or practice ("intervention"). It is intended as a practical resource for researchers and sponsors of research, describing items that are often critical to the success of a randomized controlled trial. A significant…

This study examined (1) the extent to which, since 2000, states have enacted and proposed statutes and regulations to govern commercial activities in schools; (2) the extent to which districts have developed policies implementing amended provisions of the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA) in the No Child Left Behind Act on the use of…

Evidence-centered assessment design (ECD) is an approach to constructing educational assessments in terms of evidentiary arguments. This paper provides an introduction to the basic ideas of ECD, including some of the terminology and models that have been developed to implement the approach. In particular, it presents the high-level models of …