ethanporcaro/eric-fulltext-meta huggingface dataset:
Teacher Hiring, Transfer and Evaluation in San Francisco Unified School District. Executive Summary
Author: New Teacher Project
Date: 2009-02-00
Type: Reports - Descriptive
Subjects: Urban Schools,Public School Teachers,Teacher Effectiveness,Teacher Selection,Teacher Transfer,Teacher Evaluation,Teacher Persistence,Teacher Placement,School Districts,Board of Education Policy,Surveys,Interviews,Principals,Teachers

In the winter and spring of 2008, The New Teacher Project (TNTP) partnered with San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) to investigate the impact of the school district's policies and practices on the ability of schools to build and maintain strong instructional teams. TNTP's analysis reveals that schools struggle to build and maintain strong instructional teams under current SFUSD policies and practices. The analysis points to four specific areas of significant concern: late teacher hiring, forced placements, ineffective evaluations, and retention difficulties. Collectively, these challenges result in a system in which the most important factor in student success--teacher quality--is taken for granted.
Teacher Hiring and Assignment in Milwaukee Public Schools. Executive Summary
Author: New Teacher Project
Date: 2007-09-00
Type: Reports - Descriptive
Subjects: Urban Schools,Public Schools,Public School Teachers,Teacher Selection,Teacher Transfer,Teacher Effectiveness,Disadvantaged Schools,Faculty Development,Teacher Attitudes,Principals,Administrator Attitudes,Teacher Placement,Personnel Management,Surveys

In the spring of 2006, The New Teacher Project (TNTP), a national non-profit organization, reviewed the teacher hiring and school staffing policies and practices in Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) with collaboration from the district and the Milwaukee Teachers Education Association. To learn more about the experiences of teachers and principals with Milwaukee's teacher transfer and new hire policies, as well as with the school interview team process, TNTP surveyed all MPS teachers and principals. More than 2,000 teacher responses and 100 principal responses were received. This document summarizes the primary findings and analysis.
Teacher Performance Management in Denver Public Schools. Executive Summary
Author: New Teacher Project
Date: 2010-02-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Urban Schools,Public Schools,Public School Teachers,Teacher Effectiveness,Teacher Evaluation,Standards,Faculty Development,Feedback (Response),Teacher Improvement,Teacher Dismissal

In the 2008-2009 school year, The New Teacher Project (TNTP) partnered with Denver Public Schools (DPS) and the Denver Classroom Teachers Association (DCTA) to assess the effectiveness of current teacher performance management policies and practices. DPS and the DCTA have been national leaders in their willingness to examine the difficult issues surrounding teacher performance management and to explore creative alternatives to the status quo. TNTP's analysis reveals that DPS' current performance management framework is a set of largely meaningless processes that fail to differentiate teacher performance, provide teachers with adequate feedback or effective support, or address poor performance. Furthermore, school administrators have a weak understanding of performance management processes and lack essential training in this area.
Human Capital Reform in Cincinnati Public Schools. Executive Summary
Author: New Teacher Project
Date: 2009-12-00
Type: Reports - Descriptive
Subjects: Urban Schools,Public Schools,Public School Teachers,Teacher Effectiveness,Teacher Selection,Teacher Placement,Teacher Evaluation,Compensation (Remuneration),Teacher Transfer,School Turnaround,Teacher Persistence,Faculty Development,Personnel Management,Personnel Policy

In late 2008, Cincinnati Public Schools (CPS) participated in The New Teacher Project's (TNTP's) research for a national study, &quot;The Widget Effect,&quot; published in June 2009. In summer 2009, CPS, the Cincinnati Federation of Teachers (CFT) and the Cincinnati Association of Administrators and Supervisors (CAAS) asked TNTP to explore a broader range of topics and identify policies and practices that prevent teachers from maximizing their impact on student learning. The areas TNTP examined included selection, hiring, placement, evaluation, professional development, compensation, retention, dismissal, leadership and working conditions.  Based on their findings, TNTP makes five recommendations: (1) Strengthen teacher effectiveness; (2) Retain and leverage most effective teachers; (3) Swiftly turn around chronically low-performing schools; (4) Improve or exit persistently less effective teachers; and (5) Optimize the new teacher supply.
Improving Human Capital Practices in Indianapolis Public Schools. Executive Summary
Author: New Teacher Project
Date: 2009-07-00
Type: Reports - Descriptive
Subjects: Urban Schools,Public Schools,Public School Teachers,Personnel Management,Personnel Policy,Job Layoff,Teacher Selection,Teacher Placement,Teacher Effectiveness,Teacher Evaluation

In the winter and spring of 2008-2009, The New Teacher Project (TNTP) partnered with the Indianapolis Public Schools (IPS) and the Indianapolis Education Association (IEA), at the request of The Mind Trust to analyze district human capital policies and practices and make recommendations to increase the concentration of high-quality teachers in IPS schools. TNTP's analysis reveals that IPS' current human capital policies fail to ensure that a teacher's impact on student learning is the primary factor in school staffing decisions. There are four primary findings: (1) IPS layoff policies are based exclusively on seniority, despite strong teacher preferences for other factors to be considered; (2) Forced-placement and late hiring practices hamper the creation of effective instructional teams and destabilize schools; (3) Inflated evaluations ignore teachers' professional development needs; and (4) Poor customer service frustrates teachers and principals in the staffing process. Recommendations are provided to address these challenges and ensure that every IPS classroom is lead by a highly-effective teacher.
LEAP Assessment Guide-Revised. Grade 4: English Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies
Author: Louisiana State Dept. of Education, Baton Rouge.
Date: 2012-08-00
Type: Guides - Classroom - Teacher
Subjects: Student Evaluation,Achievement Tests,Test Items,Grade 4,English,Language Arts,Mathematics,Sciences,Social Studies,Scoring,Academic Standards,State Standards,Benchmarking,Academic Achievement,Test Format,Test Content,Testing Accommodations

&quot;Louisiana Believes&quot; embraces the principle that all children can achieve at high levels, as evidenced in Louisiana's recent adoption of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). &quot;Louisiana Believes&quot; also promotes the idea that Louisiana educators should be empowered to make decisions to support the success of their students. In keeping with these values, the Department has created transitional assessment guides to help prepare teachers and students as they transition to the new CCSS over the next two years. These guides reflect the State's commitment to consistent and rigorous assessments and provide educators and families with clear information about expectations for student performance. In addition to providing teachers with a description of the overall design of the LEAP tests, this guide presents sample test items and suggested informational resources.Teachers should use this guide to: (1) become familiar with the LEAP test format; (2) include similar item formats in classroom instruction and assessments; (3) align instruction and assessment with the Louisiana Comprehensive Curriculum and Grade-Level Expectations (GLEs); and (4) provide appropriate test accommodations. Appended are: (1) Glossary; (2) LEAP Transitional Assessments: Frequently Asked Questions; (3) Testing Special Populations; and (4) Writer's Checklist and Mathematics Reference Sheet-Grade 4. (Contains 18 tables.)
Ready, Willing, and Unable: How Financial Barriers Obstruct Bachelor-Degree Attainment in Texas. A Report to the 80th Regular Session of the Texas Legislature. December 2006-Revised
Author: Webster, Jeff
Date: 2006-12-00
Type: Reports - Descriptive
Subjects: Barriers,Bachelors Degrees,Educational Attainment,Student Costs,Access to Education,Higher Education,Academic Aspiration,College Preparation,Enrollment,Family Income,Student Loan Programs,Student Financial Aid,Undergraduate Students,Social Mobility,Outcomes of Education,Information Sources,Access to Information,At Risk Students,Potential Dropouts,Federal Programs,State Programs,Grants,Educational Finance,Socioeconomic Status,Parent Attitudes,High School Graduates,Work Study Programs

The United States is losing high-paying jobs to countries that produce a more reliable supply of college graduates in math and science. Texas faces its own economic slowdown if it is unable to graduate more students with bachelor's degrees. The state has been addressing many of the obstacles students face in earning a four-year degree. Outreach efforts and public relations campaigns have encouraged students to consider going to college, while changes in curriculum have produced a much larger pool of college-ready high school graduates. TEXAS Grants have made college more affordable, but due to projected funding shortfalls, the program's reach is limited and net prices remain high, undermining many of these well-intentioned college promotion efforts. This paper looks at the barriers preventing college-qualified Texas students from completing college and the extent to which this failure is due to financial barriers. As college affordability has two components--the cost of education and the financial resources available to pay the bills--this paper provides an overview of both components. The paper may also serve as an introduction to the federal and state financial aid programs that serve students. The paper concludes with an attempt to identify characteristics of policies that might prove successful in putting a higher education degree within the grasp of all qualified Texans. An appendix presents an overview of federal and Texas financial aid programs. A bibliography is also included. (Contains 7 figures, 14 tables, and 130 endnotes.)
Louisiana State Performance Plan--Part B. July 1, 2005-June 30, 2012. Under the Individuals with Disabilities Educational Improvement Act of 2004. Revised
Author: White, John
Date: 2013-02-15
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Disabilities,Graduation Rate,Dropout Rate,Suspension,Expulsion,Student Placement,Student Improvement,Individualized Education Programs,Family Involvement,Measurement,Preschool Children,Children,Special Education,Disproportionate Representation,Student Evaluation,Eligibility,Referral,Individualized Transition Plans,Adolescents,Enrollment,Higher Education,Employment,Supervision,Compliance (Legal),Technical Assistance,Conflict Resolution,Hearings,Civil Rights,Arbitration,Data,Accuracy,Federal Legislation,Educational Legislation

Bearing in mind the requirements of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) legislation, Louisiana's Steering Committee projected performance targets through the year 2014 for the important areas of: (1) Graduation with a Diploma; (2) Dropout Rate; (3) Placement, ages 6-21 and ages 3-5; (4) Achievement Performance Levels, and (5) Discipline. Annual gains were set in order to reach the ambitious 2014 goals. Further refinement of targets based upon the requirements and language of the State Performance Plan (SPP) monitoring priorities and indicator areas was planned for a regularly scheduled Steering Committee Meeting in September. Problem-solving strategies were used by work groups which carefully considered the data reporting components of the SPP and looked for evidence of weakness or problems in Louisiana's programs. Improvement strategies were proposed which were felt to most impact successful outcomes for children; evaluation of the effectiveness of improvement efforts will be integral to future reporting. Undoubtedly, data reported from the 2005-06 school year will show the effects of highly mobile groups of hurricane evacuees who have dispersed to regions all around the state and country. One in four school-aged children in Louisiana is displaced because of the hurricanes and is now attending a different school than at the start of the school year. In many indicator areas of the SPP, the targets for the next several years have been set at levels taking the educational impact of the hurricanes into consideration. It is expected that the strategies for improvement will take some time to become established and effective as the student population stabilizes; short-term gains may be delayed, but it is anticipated that the projected six-year gains will be achieved. The revision of the SPP submitted February 1, 2007, reflects the addition of baseline data and status data, targets and improvement activities for the new indicator areas 4B, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 14, and 18. In response to the change in the measurement requirement for Indicator 15, new baseline data for that Indicator have been included. For other SPP indicator areas, there are additions and changes to improvement activities in order to enhance the state's efforts to achieve its desired targets. (Contains 12 tables.)
Multivariate Analysis of Student Loan Defaulters at Texas A&amp;M University--Kingsville
Author: Barone, Sandra
Date: 2005-05-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Multivariate Analysis,Student Loan Programs,Loan Default,Undergraduate Students,Land Grant Universities,Student Characteristics,Grade Point Average,Counseling,Graduation,Racial Differences,Gender Differences,Age Differences,Parent Financial Contribution,Dependents,Class Rank,Family Characteristics,Family Income,Academic Persistence,Multiple Regression Analysis

This study examines the default behavior of 5,177 undergraduate student borrowers who attended Texas A&amp;M University--Kingsville (TAMUK) and entered repayment of their TG-guaranteed Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP) loans between October 1, 1998 and September 30, 2002 (fiscal years 1999-2002). Using the Department of Education's official cohort default rate formula, 569 borrowers, or 11 percent, were in default. The  study uses a statistical technique called multiple logistic regression to analyze the effects of individual student and family characteristics on the probability of default, while controlling for the effects of the other variables in the analysis. For students at TAMUK, persisting in college to graduation, performing well while at the university, and receiving exit counseling are all extremely important in decreasing a student's likelihood of default. These results suggest that expanding campus-wide efforts to increase retention rates and improve academic performance may be the most effective default aversion strategy for TAMUK. The study finds that a student's background characteristics, such as race, gender and family income also have significant relationships to a student's probability of default, even after accounting for the college success variables. Although these relationships are not as strong as the relationships between success in college and default, they still persist. This finding highlights the fact that many students attending TAMUK are first-generation college students and have little or no financial and family support. These students may require additional assistance in order to successfully transition to college life and remain in school when faced with many conflicting priorities. Appended are (1) Sample Definition and Variable Descriptions, and (2) Standard Errors and Confidence Intervals. (Contains 2 tables, 11 footnotes, and a bibliography.)
iLEAP Assessment Guide-Revised. Grade 3: English Language Arts, Math, Science, Social Studies
Author: Louisiana State Dept. of Education, Baton Rouge.
Date: 2012-08-00
Type: Guides - Classroom - Teacher
Subjects: Student Evaluation,Achievement Tests,Educational Assessment,Testing Accommodations,Grade 3,English,Language Arts,Mathematics,Sciences,Social Studies,Test Items,Test Content,Test Format,Scoring,Academic Standards,Benchmarking,State Standards

&quot;Louisiana Believes&quot; embraces the principle that all children can achieve at high levels, as evidenced in Louisiana's recent adoption of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). &quot;Louisiana Believes&quot; also promotes the idea that Louisiana's educators should be empowered to make decisions to support the success of their students. In keeping with these values, the Department has created transitional assessment guides to help prepare teachers and students as they transition to the new CCSS over the next two years. These guides reflect the State's commitment to consistent and rigorous assessments and provide educators and families with clear information about expectations for student performance. The iLEAP Assessment Guide provides an overview of Louisiana assessments administered through the integrated Louisiana Educational Assessment Program (iLEAP). In addition to providing teachers with a description of the overall design of the iLEAP tests, this guide presents sample test items and suggested informational resources. Teachers should use this guide to; (1) become familiar with the iLEAP test format; (2) include similar item formats in classroom instruction and assessments; (3) align instruction and assessment with the Louisiana Comprehensive Curriculum and Grade-Level Expectations (GLEs); and (4) provide appropriate test accommodations. Appended are: (1) Glossary; (2) iLEAP Transitional Assessments: Frequently Asked Questions; (3) Testing Special Populations; and (4) Writer's Checklist and Mathematics Reference Sheet-Grade 3. (Contains 16 tables.)
Procedural Safeguards. Louisiana's Educational Rights of Children with Disabilities
Author: Louisiana State Dept. of Education, Baton Rouge.
Date: 2012-12-00
Type: Guides - Non-Classroom
Subjects: Disabilities,Disability Identification,Federal Legislation,Educational Legislation,State Legislation,Childrens Rights,Hearings,Conflict Resolution,Individualized Education Programs,Confidentiality,Discipline Policy

This handbook was developed to support parents of children with disabilities in understanding the Federal and State requirements under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). It provides information that promotes working with the school district to help provide appropriate services to children, while informing parents of their child's rights. The handbook should serve as a tool that encourages partnerships to benefit all parties concerned in the education process. Appended are: (1) Request for Special Education Formal Complaint Investigation; (2) Request for Special Education Due Process Hearing; (3) Informal Early Resolution Intake Form; (4) Complaint Chronology; (5) Dispute Resolution Comparison Chart; (6) Parent's Acknowledgement/Agreement to Extend Informal Resolution; and (7) Notice of LDE of Formal ERP Status.
Combining Face-to-Face Learning with Online Learning in Virtual Worlds
Author: Berns, Anke
Date: 2012-00-00
Type: Speeches/Meeting Papers
Subjects: Blended Learning,Educational Technology,Online Courses,Virtual Classrooms,Video Games,Computer Simulation,Second Language Instruction,Teaching Methods,Foreign Countries,Learning Motivation,Computer Software,College Students,German,Student Attitudes

This paper focuses on the development of videogame-like applications in a 3D virtual environment as a complement to the face-to-face teaching and learning. With the changing role of teaching and learning and the increasing use of &quot;blended learning,&quot; instructors are increasingly expected to explore new ways to attend to the needs of their students. In recent years many educational institutions have started integrating into their teaching protocol the use of e-Learning platforms such as Moodle, WebCT, Blackboard or Virtual Worlds (VWs) such as Second Life (SL). The aim is not only to provide students with motivating and meaningful content and media, but also to provide them with attractive learning tools, able to enhance and guarantee a successful autonomous learning process. Nevertheless, based on our own teaching experience over the past years, we would argue that neither traditional e-Learning platforms such as Moodle, WebCT or Blackboard, nor VWs, completely meet the expectations and needs of (our) students with regard to autonomous learning. This is why the purpose of our analysis is to explore further possibilities by designing highly interactive and motivating online learning materials, including the use of videogame-like applications and a specific 3D virtual platform (OpenSim). We thus intend to provide students from the very first stage of their foreign language acquisition process with highly interactive learning environments, not only in the face-to-face learning, but also in autonomous online learning. The latter is considered to be complementary to, rather than different from the dynamics involved in face-to-face learning. Furthermore the paper includes an empirical evaluation of five language learning sessions during which several sets of students played the videogame-like application we had designed for the purposes of our research. (Contains 1 table.) [Support for this research was provided by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation.]
Designing for Online Interaction: Scaffolded and Collaborative Interventions in a Graduate-Level Blended Course
Author: Alvarez, Claudia
Date: 2012-00-00
Type: Speeches/Meeting Papers
Subjects: Interaction,Scaffolding (Teaching Technique),Blended Learning,Graduate Study,Educational Technology,Goal Orientation,Cooperation,Teaching Methods,Computer Uses in Education,Online Courses,English (Second Language),Second Language Instruction,Foreign Countries,Learning Activities,Course Content,Curriculum Development,Relevance (Education)

This article examines types of interaction from the perspective of intervening agents and interaction outcomes. We argue that the strategic combination of these types of interaction with certain core features (such as dosified input, attainable goal-setting, personalization and collaboration) contribute to creating a more effective relationship between instructional design, use and the interactional purposes of learning activities. The paper also offers instructors and course designers various considerations regarding the pedagogical nature of learning activities and the actions that both learners and instructors can carry out to optimize the online educational experience. Consideration for emergent trends in research on related areas are also presented. (Contains 1 table and 1 footnote.)