In 1999 Northumbria University published a strategy document entitled "Towards the web-enabled University". This prefaced an assessment of need and of available platforms for developing online teaching and learning which, in turn, led in 2001 to the roll out and institution-wide adoption of the Blackboard Virtual Learning Environment…

Today's institutions of higher education are facing an increased number of significant challenges taking place in the political, economic, social and technological environment. Accordingly, the issues of performance, accountability, and marketing strategies have become ever more important. It has been suggested that universities that are more…

This report is the result of a year-long effort by the National Council on Disability (NCD) to identify valid federal data and to describe the status of the U.S. population of Americans with disabilities. During the past 30 years, advocates, policymakers, and a variety of public and private organizations have undertaken significant efforts to…

International governments are increasingly comparing their educational outcomes to the best in the world, not just to see how they rank, but to identify and learn from top performers and rapid improvers. This process, known as "international benchmarking," has become an important tool for governments striving to create world-class…

The purpose of this report is to examine results in mathematics for the ACT Educational Planning and Assessment System (EPAS) in schools nationwide. EPAS consists of three programs: EXPLORE[R] (for students in grade 8 or 9), PLAN[R] (for students in grade 10), and the ACT[R] test (for students in grade 11 or 12). The following questions are…

Purpose: The major purpose of this study was to provide information about expected spoken language skills of preschool-age children who are deaf and who use a cochlear implant. A goal was to provide "benchmarks" against which those skills could be compared, for a given age at implantation. We also examined whether parent-completed…

This year, the Center for Community College Student Engagement focuses its national report on college completion--and the teaching and learning that must be the foundation for high-quality certificates and degrees. Effective teaching and meaningful learning: They are the heart of student success. This report describes four key strategies to…

This report is one in a series of reference documents designed to assist those who are directly involved in the revision and improvement of content standards, as well as teachers who use standards and benchmarks to guide everyday instruction. Reports in the series provide information about how benchmarks might best appear in a sequence of…

This paper describes a practical method for identifying and communicating expectations of student performance in the classroom. The method has been used at McREL for clients who require a systematic approach to setting performance expectations and communicating these to their constituents. This document in organized in the following sections: (1)…

This publication provides a list of history standards and benchmarks embodying content that is highly valued nationally and in the Central Region states (Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming). It is intended to assist curriculum directors, social studies coordinators, and others who seek to identify…

This benchmarking tool is designed to help higher education institutions (HEIs) assess the contribution they are making to their region. It aims to encourage debate on a voluntary basis within and between individual HEIs, and to assess the contributions they are making to the economic and social development of their region and how those…

This Bulletin focuses on comparing and tracking funding levels for higher education and serves as a complement to the "Fact Book on Higher Education" published by the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB). When appropriations for higher education were adjusted for inflation, they decreased in 23 states between the 2000-2001 and…

The Institute for Higher Education Policy reviewed the research on quality and equality in Internet-based higher education and found a relative paucity of original research dedicated to explaining or predicting phenomena related to distance learning. The research that does exist has tended to emphasize student outcomes for individual courses,…

This study was designed to provide schools, districts, and states with a means for identifying the knowledge and skills that are most important for students to learn for the subject areas of geography and history. Five state standards documents were selected to represent the exemplary content in geography and history. These documents were selected…

Comparisons of the training practices of large companies confirm that the delivery and financing of training is changing rapidly. Companies in the American Society for Training and Development Benchmarking Forum are delivering less training with permanent staff and more with strategic use of technology, contract staff, and external providers,…