This report summarizes work conducted to date through the Senior Urban Education Research Fellowship (SUERF) awarded by the Council of the Great City Schools to the Value-Added Research Center (VARC) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison for work in the Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS). VARC has utilized its Fellowship award, entitled…

The primary purpose of this study was to design and validate a measure of teacher knowledge of Universal Design for Assessment (TK-UDA). Guided by a validity framework, a number of inferences, assumptions, and evidences supported this investigation. By addressing a series of research questions, evidence was garnered for the use of the measure to…

Purpose: The purpose of this research is to examine preservice teacher's knowledge bases and beliefs about literacy and the impact of their personal reading experiences on literacy instruction. Methodology: This study utilized mixed methodology. This included survey data and open coding. Data were collected using a survey, an annotated DRTA lesson…

This paper provides information about Minnesota's Graduation Required Assessments for Diploma (GRAD), comprehensive proficiency assessments of the skills and knowledge in mathematics, reading, and writing that are necessary for graduation. The Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments, Series II, into which the GRAD tests are embedded, measure…

For lower-achieving students with disabilities, effective and appropriate alternate assessment based on modified achievement standards (AA-MAS) can open the door to greater expectations and opportunities. State policymakers have the option of providing certain students who have disabilities with AA-MAS aligned with grade-level content--and now…

The 2001 renewal of the United States' Title I program instituted the Supplemental Educational Services (SES) program, in which schools in their third year of failing to make Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) are required to offer out-of-school-time tutoring in core subjects to low-income students. This study synthesized provider effects reported in…

"Debates in History Teaching" explores the major issues all history teachers encounter in their daily professional lives. It encourages critical reflection and aims to stimulate both novice and experienced teachers to think more deeply about their practice, and link research and evidence to what they have observed in schools. Written by a range of…

In this technical report, we provide the results of a series of studies on the technical adequacy of the early reading measures available on the easyCBM[R] assessment system. The results from the two-level hierarchical linear growth model analyses suggest that the reliability of the slope estimates for the easyCBM[R] reading measures are strong,…

U.S. Department of Education studies reveal that, by various measures, almost 75 percent of college students today are "non-traditional." While the "non-traditional" label used to refer mostly to students beyond the 18-to-22 age range (about 40 percent of college students are older than 22), the phrase now connotes students of all ages who are…

Teacher compensation schemes are often criticized for lacking a performance-based component. Proponents of merit pay argue that linking teacher salaries to student achievement will incentivize teachers to focus on raising student achievement and stimulate innovation across the school system as a whole. In this paper, we utilize a policy experiment…

"The Still Divided Academy" is a wonderful examination of the academic community that shows their inner workings by addressing a broad range of issues including: academic politics, tenure, perceived and real political imbalance, academic freedom, and diversity. Administrators, professors, and students have very different priorities, values, and…

Through the "Strengthening Statewide College/Career Readiness Initiative" (SSCRI), Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) has collaborated with states on state policy goals and actions needed to improve high school students' academic readiness for postsecondary study and reduce the need for remedial work. SREB created and implemented…

The conceptual categories that underlie the business analysis of intellectual capital are relevant to providing an explanation of school performance. By gathering data on student learning, this research provides empirical evidence for the use of school results as an accurate indicator of the effectiveness of the management of public education.…

During the past year, the state of Michigan has made noteworthy changes in the accountability system used for NCLB. Partly as a result of these changes, the number of schools identified for restructuring has changed since the previous year. In addition, the state has continued providing various types of assistance to schools in restructuring. This…

The BC Diploma, Associate Degree, and Certificate Student Outcomes (DACSO) Survey (formerly the BC College and Institute Student Outcomes Survey) collects and disseminates information about former students' post-secondary experiences and their subsequent labour market and further education experiences. The survey is administered annually to former…