ethanporcaro/eric-fulltext-meta huggingface dataset:
Lessons from the Field: The Role of Student Surveys in Teacher Evaluation and Development
Author: Schulz, Jeff
Date: 2014-05-00
Type: Reports - Descriptive
Subjects: Student Surveys,Student Evaluation of Teacher Performance,Data Collection,Teacher Improvement,Educational Benefits,Users (Information),User Needs (Information),Professional Development,Teacher Effectiveness,School Districts,Charter Schools

There is a growing belief that students can provide valuable feedback on a teacher&apos;s performance in the classroom. Student perception surveys are increasingly seen as a low-cost and reliable tool for gathering data and feedback on the quality of teaching in individual classrooms. However, incorporating student surveys into formal, high-stakes teacher evaluation and development systems has its challenges. This paper highlights the experience of states, districts, charter management organizations, and teacher preparation programs that are &quot;early adopters&quot; of student perception surveys. Through their research, the authors find that while there is great interest and potential to use student surveys to collect information on and improve teacher practices, few examples exist of field surveys being used successfully to benefit teacher and student experiences. The paper also includes endnotes.
A New Frontier: Utilizing Charter Schooling to Strengthen Rural Education
Author: Smarick, Andy
Date: 2014-01-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Rural Education,Charter Schools,Educational Benefits,Public Policy,Educational Policy,Educational Change,Accountability,Institutional Autonomy,School Funds,Technological Advancement,Human Capital,School Law,Access to Education,Barriers,Teacher Certification,Student Transportation

This report, the first in the series, points out that, while urban families increasingly have access to a variety of school options--including charter schools--many rural families have just a single school option. There are numerous examples of rural charter schools that have done great things for students while also benefiting the larger community. There are many reasons to believe that if chartering is done smartly, it can help even more rural areas. This document describes how rural charter schools can succeed, with a particular focus on the public policies that serve to either inhibit or strengthen them. Policymakers at all levels of government should better understand the opportunities and challenges of rural charter schools. This report examines the policies and practices in five states--Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Idaho, and Ohio--to learn how rural charter schooling is working in a variety of contexts. The authors also identify four key policy recommendations for states with significant rural populations: (1) State leaders should design flexible policies that enable communities, districts, state officials, and school operators to jointly determine when and where charter schools might be a useful reform strategy. Too many states have put in place policies that explicitly or implicitly limit the growth of charter schools in rural areas; (2) Many rural areas struggle to recruit and retain highly effective educators. The accountability-autonomy bargain of charter schooling offers new opportunities to solve this problem. Policies should provide charter schools with additional flexibility related to teacher and administrator credentialing--either through school-wide waivers from certification requirements or flexible but rigorous alternative routes to certification; (3) Policymakers should ensure that rural charter schools have equitable access to funding, including funding for transportation and facilities. Policies should enable rural charter schools to access unutilized and underutilized public assets, including school buildings, municipal facilities, and land; and (4) Policies should allow rural charter schools to pilot innovative uses of technology, both to bridge the distance between students and their schools and to increase students' access to highly effective teachers.
A Look Back: A Retrospective Analysis of the Sequence of Life Course Events over 22 Years
Author: Andres, Lesley
Date: 2015-01-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Longitudinal Studies,Questionnaires,Surveys,Parent Background,Educational Attainment,Postsecondary Education,Employment,Unemployment,Labor Force,Education Work Relationship,Lifelong Learning,Skill Development,Experience,Time Perspective,Social Environment

At both the provincial and federal levels, a lively policy debate on the types of education, training, and skill acquisition required to meet the demands of the British Columbia and Canadian workforce is taking place. Despite acknowledgement of the need for lifelong learning and reskilling in light of frequent career changes over the life course, typically this debate finds its locus around the transition from school to work. Very little policy or research effort strives to examine, over the long term, the relationship between education and employment, let alone other life course activities such as unemployment and &quot;other&quot; activities. Also, it is rare to examine retrospectively the trajectories that led individuals to their current life space location. A gender lens is critical when asking and answering questions about education and work. The &quot;Paths on Life's Way&quot; data set (http://blogs.ubc.ca/paths/) allows for such a detailed retrospective examination of transitions and trajectories. The &quot;Paths on Life's Way&quot; project is the only longitudinal database of its kind in British Columbia and one of the few longitudinal studies of youth in Canada. Spanning over 22 years, this data set contains detailed education, work and life course related information collected at five points in time--1989, 1993, 1998, 2003, and 2010. In this report, information reported monthly (i.e., at 259 time points) on post-secondary education, employment, unemployment, and &quot;other&quot; activities are employed. In these analyses, the author employs responses to mail out survey questionnaires and use data from the 574 respondents who participated in all phases of data collection and present analyses of the entire 22 years between September 1988 and March 2010--this time in reverse order; that is, beginning in March 2010 and extending back to September 1988. The analyses employ 540 valid cases. The author has conducted analyses by highest post-secondary credential earned, parental educational background, and geographic location of origin for both men and women. In this report, the fourth in a series, the author uses the technique of sequence analysis to capture the complex types and nature of various trajectories of individuals over a 22 year period. Sequence analysis allows for the examination of all the elements in a sequence simultaneously and for the visual presentation that facilitates the detection of patterns. The main purpose of the analysis is to build on previous research by providing a more fine grained analysis of trajectories experienced by individuals across the course of their lives. The author concludes by offering policy implications for British Columbia and beyond.
Education Funding. A Brief to the Select Standing Committee on Finance and Government Services from the British Columbia Teacher's Federation
Author: British Columbia Teachers' Federation (BCTF) (Canada)
Date: 2014-10-00
Type: Reports - Descriptive
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Educational Finance,Financial Support,Elementary Secondary Education,Public Education,Special Needs Students,Educational Change,School Construction,Costs

The British Columbia Teachers' Federation and a number of its locals annually present to the Select Standing Committee. They do so because they think it is important to inform the committee and the public about the difference between the education funding decisions made by government and the reality of the needs in the schools. In reading through the report of the committee after the consultations last year, the British Columbia Teacher's Federation feels that there has been some understanding of the situation in the public schools. They commend the committee for that, but feel that, unfortunately, the committee recommendations did not get the necessary response from government. The conflict over the schools during the last months has been one of the symptoms of this gap between needs and the resources provided to meet the needs. Specifically, the British Columbia Teachers' Federation commends two of the recommendations and urge that they are repeated them in the report this year: (1) Provide sufficient funding for the K-12 system to enable BC students to become top performers nationally; and address cost increases for school districts (e.g., rising BC Hydro rates); and (2) Review the increasing demands on school district budgets and ensure that funding is appropriately directed to meet the growing support required for students with special needs. (pp. 27-28) This brief focuses on these recommendations and provides some details on what the British Columbia Teachers' Federation thinks they should mean. The following are appended: (1) Enrolment changes, students with special needs (without Gifted), 2001-02 to 2013-14 (table); and (2) Notes on cost estimates for improvements in salary, allowances, benefits, and preparation time in the six-year agreement.
Bureau of Indian Education 2011-2012 (Based on SY 2010-2011 Data) Revised 06/01/2013 Special Education Indicator Performance
Author: Bureau of Indian Education
Date: 2013-06-01
Type: Numerical/Quantitative Data
Subjects: Educational Indicators,American Indian Education,Tables (Data),Graduation Rate,Reading Tests,Benchmarking,Measurement Objectives,Mathematics Tests,Suspension,Expulsion,High Schools,Elementary Schools,Parent Participation,Transitional Programs,Outcomes of Education,Educational Benefits,Disabilities,Individualized Education Programs,Special Education,School Statistics,Student Participation,Dropout Rate,School Effectiveness

This report presents Special Education Indicator Performance data tables for 173 Bureau of Indian Education schools. Indicators include: (1) Graduation Rate; (2) Dropouts; (3) Assessment Targets; (4) Assessment Targets--Reading; (5) Assessment Targets--Mathematics; (6) Suspensions and Expulsions--High School; (7) Suspensions and Expulsions--Elementary School; (8) LRE Placement; (9) Parental Involvement; (10) Child Find; (11) Secondary Transition; and (12) Post-School Outcome. Data include target percentage, school results, and if the target was met (yes or no).
Bureau of Indian Education 2010-2011 (Based on SY 2009-2010 Data) Special Education Indicator Performance
Author: Bureau of Indian Education
Date: 2012-01-24
Type: Numerical/Quantitative Data
Subjects: Special Education,Educational Indicators,Tables (Data),American Indian Education,Graduation Rate,Dropout Rate,Benchmarking,Measurement Objectives,Reading Tests,Mathematics Tests,Suspension,Expulsion,High Schools,Elementary Schools,Student Placement,Individualized Education Programs,Parent Participation,School Statistics,School Effectiveness,Eligibility,Referral

This report presents Special Education Indicator Performance data tables for 174 Bureau of Indian Education schools. Indicators include: (1) Graduation Rate; (2) Dropouts; (3) Assessment Targets; (4) Assessment Targets--Reading; (5) Assessment Targets--Mathematics; (6) Suspensions and Expulsions--High School; (7) Suspensions and Expulsions--Elementary School; (8) LRE Placement; (9) Parental Involvement; and (10) Child Find. Data include target percentage, school results, and if the target was met (yes or no).
Bureau of Indian Education 2012-2013 (Based on SY 2011-2012 Data) Special Education Indicator Performance
Author: Bureau of Indian Education
Date: 2013-11-07
Type: Numerical/Quantitative Data
Subjects: Special Education,Educational Indicators,Tables (Data),American Indian Education,Graduation Rate,Dropout Rate,Benchmarking,Measurement Objectives,Reading Tests,Mathematics Tests,Suspension,Expulsion,High Schools,Elementary Schools,Student Placement,Individualized Education Programs,Parent Participation,Eligibility,Referral,Transitional Programs,Outcomes of Education

This report presents Special Education Indicator Performance data tables for 173 Bureau of Indian Education schools. Indicators include: (1) Graduation Rate; (2) Dropouts; (3) Assessment Targets; (4) Assessment Targets--Reading; (5) Assessment Targets--Mathematics; (6) Suspensions and Expulsions--High School; (7) Suspensions and Expulsions--Elementary School; (8) LRE Placement; (9) Parental Involvement; (10) Child Find; (11) Secondary Transition; and (12) Post-School Outcome. Data include target percentage, school results, and if the target was met (yes or no).
U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Indian Education State Performance Plan. SPP Template-Part B. Revised May 17, 2013
Author: Bureau of Indian Education
Date: 2013-05-17
Type: Reports - Descriptive
Subjects: American Indian Education,Federal Programs,Federal Aid,Tribally Controlled Education,Educational Planning,State Programs,State Policy,Strategic Planning,Program Descriptions,Administrative Organization,Graduation Rate,Enrichment Activities,Improvement Programs,Dropout Rate,Disabilities,Progress Monitoring,Measurement Objectives,Measurement Techniques,Student Participation,Individualized Education Programs,Reading Achievement,Mathematics Achievement,Language Arts,Scores,Language Proficiency,Benchmarking,Suspension,Expulsion,Parent Participation,Parent Attitudes,Transitional Programs,Statistical Data,Institutional Characteristics,Elementary Secondary Education

The Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) funds schools located on 63 reservations in 23 states across the nation. Of the 183 schools, 59 are Bureau operated and 124 are tribally controlled. One-hundred and sixteen schools provide instructional programs, 55 provide instructional as well as boarding services and 12 peripheral dormitories provide only boarding services (these students attend the local public schools). Seven schools are Off Reservation Boarding Schools (ORBS) that provide both instructional and boarding facilities to students from many different states. The BIE is not a school system organized into districts as are the majority of the states. The 184 Bureau funded schools are organized under 22 Education Line Offices. The smallest line office has two schools providing academic services and one boarding facility where the students receive their academic services in a public school. The largest line office serves 16 schools. In the BIE, schools are also meeting the reporting requirements of the LEA. This difference is greater than just terminology in that the Education Line Officers do not have the same line authority over the LEA/schools in their line office as do district superintendents in the public school system. The definition of Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) that all BIE funded schools will follow is that of the state in which the school is located (25 CFR 30.104). This has been an important factor in the development of the State Performance Plan (SPP) due to the fact that there are significant variances between states in expectations for many indicators such as graduation rates, achievement cut scores, attendance and others. With the need to align targets with ESEA reporting and the need to use common standards and measures wherever possible the SPP targets are often written in a format that allows adjustment for the expectations of the state in which the school is located. This 2012 revision of the State Performance Plan (SPP) aligns reporting with what is used to report under the ESEA.
Transfer: Some Solutions. A Special Report of the Transfer and Articulation Committee. Special Report
Author: British Columbia Council on Admissions and Transfer (BCCAT) (Canada)
Date: 2000-04-00
Type: Reports - Descriptive
Subjects: Articulation (Education),Research Committees,Intercollegiate Cooperation,College Credits,Transfer Policy,College Transfer Students,Postsecondary Education,Financial Support,Transfer Programs,Foreign Countries

In April 1999, The B.C. Council on Admissions and Transfer (BCCAT) published a Special Report titled &quot;Transfer: What's the Problem?&quot; (see ED444675). That report outlined findings of numerous BCCAT research and other projects, and reported on problems in the current transfer environment. As a follow up, this report now concentrates on actions taken by the Council to address some of those issues, in particular by looking at those aspects of the transfer system that have to do with articulation and inter-institutional academic agreements/relationships. A future newsletter will describe approaches that BCCAT is undertaking to improve other aspects of transfer, such as administrative processes and communication mechanisms. While &quot;Transfer: What's the Problem?&quot; dealt with problematic aspects of the transfer system, it also concluded that the B.C. post-secondary system of course-to-course transfer is working well. Many improvements are desirable in order to ensure smooth and equitable transfer for students, but the transfer system is not &quot;broken&quot; and does not need major change at this time. Rather, incremental improvement and some new approaches are needed. As a result, BCCAT has now embarked on a series of initiatives in the area of &quot;Transfer Innovations.&quot; These initiatives suggest new ways of looking at articulation, and new types of transfer agreements. They address issues identified as problematic either during the consultation process or through other research efforts of the Council.
Teacher Bargaining Structures. A Brief to the Ministry of Education from the British Columbia Teachers' Federation
Author: British Columbia Teachers' Federation (BCTF) (Canada)
Date: 2012-12-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Collective Bargaining,Public School Teachers,Legislation,Public Education,Elementary Secondary Education

Collective bargaining has evolved as a recognized way of creating a system of fairness and equity in the workplace. Full free collective bargaining is the fruition of the evolution of labour management relations. It is the mechanism that balances the power of the employer and prevents injustice and exploitation. The Supreme Court of Canada has stated that the &quot;...right to bargain collectively with an employer enhances the human dignity, liberty and autonomy of workers by giving them the opportunity to influence the establishment of workplace rules and thereby gain some control over a major aspect of their lives, namely their work ....&quot; While not perfect, collective bargaining has proved the best mechanism for resolving disputes between management and labour. It also establishes humane and dignified working conditions and adequate remuneration for workers. It has brought relative peace to labour relations previously subject to unpredictable disruptions, hostility, and even violence. To function well, collective bargaining must be based on a fair process acceptable to both parties. Effective collective bargaining occurs where the parties themselves sign the agreement. This may occur with or without assistance from third parties as a result of the leverage provided by the dispute-resolution mechanisms of strike/lockout. When both parties feel that the process is fair and equally weighted, they are motivated to reach an agreement and to abide by it. In this brief, the British Columbia Teachers' Federation (BTCF) proposes a new bargaining structure for teachers. They submit that the following points would ensure a workable system that meets the needs of both employers and teachers: (1) face-to-face negotiations between the actual parties; (2) the right to bargain all terms and conditions of employment; (3) the right to dispute-resolution mechanisms under the &quot;Labour Relations Code&quot;; (4) adequate government funding; and (5) no government interference in the collective bargaining process. Consistent with these conditions, BCTF proposes: (1) provincial bargaining between the BCTF and government regarding salary, benefits, paid leaves, class size, class composition, hours of work, and staffing levels for specialist teachers; (2) local bargaining of all other items; and (3) both local and provincial bargaining be conducted pursuant to the full rights and obligations of the &quot;Labour Relations Code.&quot;
Graduation Requirements Review. A Brief to the Ministry of Education from the British Columbia Teachers' Federation
Author: British Columbia Teachers' Federation (BCTF) (Canada)
Date: 2012-12-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Graduation Requirements,Public Education,Elementary Secondary Education

Public schools are places where all students are welcomed and supported in their learning. Making changes to the Graduation Program should reinforce and support students' opportunities to learn and grow. In reviewing the current graduation requirements for the province of British Columbia (BC), the British Columbia Teachers' Federation (BCTF) has provided the Ministry of Education with specific recommendations to enhance students' growth and help them realize their full potential.
Transfer Credit Assessment: A Survey of Institutional Practices
Author: British Columbia Council on Admissions and Transfer (BCCAT) (Canada)
Date: 2015-01-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Foreign Countries,College Transfer Students,College Credits,Transfer Policy,College Admission,Student Mobility,Colleges,Questionnaires,Evaluation,Enrollment,Time Perspective,Technology Uses in Education

Assessing credits that transfer students bring to an institution may require a significant amount of institutional resources. The increased mobility of students among post-secondary institutions in British Columbia (BC), and the need to ensure efficient admission processes for both the student and the institution, makes transfer credit assessment an important subject for the province's post-secondary system. The purpose of this project is to review institutional policies and practices of transfer credit assessment, and to identify issues and effectiveness of the assessment process. This study investigates policies and practices of transfer credit assessment at postsecondary institutions (PSI's) in BC and at key institutions across the country, specifically focusing on any issues and the timing of transfer credit assessment. Overall, BC colleges show a tendency to do the assessment once an applicant commits to the institution, and larger BC institutions tend to assess transfer credit during admissions, before an applicant becomes a registrant. Opinions expressed by BC admissions and registrarial professionals suggest that early transfer credit assessment is positively linked with applicant conversion, providing value to both the institution and the applicant. The following are appended: (1) Excerpts of Institutional Policies on the Timing of Transfer Credit Assessment; and (2) The Questionnaire. [This report was prepared for BCCAT by I. S. Educational Consulting Inc.]