ethanporcaro/eric-fulltext-meta huggingface dataset:
Make Assessment Matter: Students and Educators Want Tests That Support Learning
Author: Northwest Evaluation Association
Date: 2014-04-08
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Testing Programs,Educational Testing,Student Surveys,Teacher Surveys,Achievement Gains,Achievement Rating,Familiarity,Teacher Collaboration,Computer Assisted Testing,Educational Trends,Time on Task,Student Empowerment,Relevance (Education),Accountability,Measurement Objectives,Feedback (Response),Evaluation Utilization,State Standards,Gender Differences,Educational Assessment,Educational Benefits,Educational Indicators,Preferences,Communities of Practice,Administrator Attitudes,Change Strategies,Knowledge Level

Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA) released the first comprehensive study of assessment perceptions in 2012 that surveyed parents, teachers, and district administrators. In the intervening years, the landscape has shifted dramatically; indeed, it continues to shift every day. With new standards, accountability assessments, and ways of evaluating the impact of teachers on student achievement, NWEA wanted to gauge student awareness of the changes, and understand what value--if any--they perceive in educational testing. In 2014, with the release of this second study, a special urgency was to to add the student voice to this dialogue. Students' candor and sophistication in parsing educational activities are among the most notable findings in the survey. NWEA learned that there is an urgency felt on the part of students, teachers, and district administrators to emphasize assessment for learning rather than for accountability. [NWEA acknowledges the cooperation of Grunwald Associates LLC in conducting the research for this report. For the 2012 report: &quot;For Every Child, Multiple Measures: What Parents and Educators Want from K-12 Assessments,&quot; see ED529277.]
Minnesota Linking Study: A Study of the Alignment of the NWEA RIT Scale with the Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments (MCA) Testing Program
Author: Northwest Evaluation Association
Date: 2014-04-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Alignment (Education),Testing Programs,State Programs,Mathematics Tests,Reading Tests,Performance Based Assessment,Achievement Rating,Rating Scales,Equated Scores,Grade Equivalent Scores,Cutting Scores,Probability,Scoring,Scoring Formulas,Standard Setting (Scoring),Predictive Measurement,Predictive Validity

Recently, Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA) completed a study to connect the scale of the Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments (MCA) Testing Program used for Minnesota's mathematics and reading assessments with NWEA's RIT (Rasch Unit) scale. Information from the state assessments was used in a study to establish performance-level scores on the RIT scale that would indicate a good chance of success on these tests. To perform the analysis, linked together were the state test and NWEA test results for a sample of 49,160 Minnesota students who completed both exams in the spring of 2013, the term in which the MCA is administered. For the spring season (labeled &quot;current season&quot;), an Equipercentile method was used to estimate the RIT score equivalent to each state performance level. Under this method, the authors determined the percentage of the population within the selected study group that performed at each level on the state test and found the equivalent percentile ranges within the NWEA dataset to estimate the cut scores. For example, if 40% of the study group population in grade 3 mathematics performed below the proficient level on the state test, the authors would find the RIT score that would be equivalent to the 40th percentile for the study population (this would not be the same as the 40th percentile in the NWEA norms). This RIT score would be the estimated point on the NWEA RIT scale that would be equivalent to the minimum score for proficiency on the state test. For the prior (fall) season, cut scores were estimated by identifying the RIT score associated with the same normative percentile ranking as the cut score from the same season. For example, if the cut score for Level 3 in third grade reading was found to fall at the 44th percentile on NWEA's status norms, the RIT score associated with the 44th percentile for third graders in the fall was assigned as the &quot;prior season&quot; cut score associated with that grade and performance level. Documentation about this method can be found on NWEA's website.
A Status Quo of Segregation: Racial and Economic Imbalance in New Jersey Schools, 1989-2010
Author: Flaxman, Greg
Date: 2013-10-00
Type: Numerical/Quantitative Data
Subjects: Racial Discrimination,Economic Impact,School Desegregation,Demography,Statistical Distributions,Statistical Data,School Statistics,Racial Composition,Educational History,Desegregation Effects,Desegregation Methods,Evidence,Trend Analysis,Metropolitan Areas,Elementary Secondary Education,Court Litigation,State Policy,Educational Assessment,Educational Indicators

New Jersey has a curious status regarding school desegregation. It has had the nation's most venerable and strongest state law prohibiting racially segregated schooling and requiring racial balance in the schools whenever feasible. Yet, it simultaneously has had one of the worst records of racially imbalanced schools. Against the legal and historical backdrop, this study explores demographic changes in New Jersey schools from 1989 to 2010, based on federal data from the National Center for Education Statistics. It utilizes measures such as the concentration of students of color, and the exposure of a student of one race to students of another, to examine the presence of segregation in schools throughout the state. First, this report begins with an examination of the history of school segregation in the state of New Jersey. It then progresses to a review of studies pertaining to school segregation and its effects on students. Following this is a presentation of findings based on available enrollment data for New Jersey schools at the state level, more specifically the major metropolitan areas encompassing North and Central Jersey and South Jersey, along with a discussion of these results. Finally, a policy recommendation section evaluates the actions available to community members, activists, and legislators at the local, state, and national levels. Appended to the report are: (1) Additional Data Tables; and (2) Data and Methodology. [This report was written with John Kucsera, Gary Orfield, Jennifer Ayscue, and Genevieve Siegel-Hawley. This is the fourth of thirteen in a series of special reports on public school segregation in Eastern states. These studies explore trends in enrollment and school segregation patterns from 1989 to 2010 at the state and regional levels, including various metro areas for each state.]
Green School--A Service Learning Instrument to Enhance School Society Relation
Author: Madhusoodanan, Harikrishnan
Date: 2014-11-00
Type: Reports - Descriptive
Subjects: Foreign Countries,School Buildings,Energy Conservation,Environmental Education,Service Learning,Sustainable Development,Natural Resources,Agricultural Education,Developing Nations

A Green school is energy efficient, higher performing school that can be environmentally beneficial. Importance of Green school lies in the environmental friendliness value it upholds. Service learning has emanated out of philosophies of progressiveness and pragmatism. Service learning enables students to grow and learn through active participation in community service activities that are clearly connected to their academic program. (Bringle R.G., 1996) The &quot;Haritha Vidyalayam&quot; Project in Kerala is resonant with the Greening of schools adopted in the western countries in 1990's. The &quot;Swach Bharat Abhiyan&quot; can be entangled to service learning activities and green school projects because it's based on Article 51A. The probable question that shoots out of research is how the green schools are related to the service learning? The critical answer for this is the distant aim that both green school and service learning projects &quot;the welfare of the community.&quot; The clubbing of society and the school can bring about a greater good for the environment through sustainable development. The Green school as an extended arm of service learning can cater to the needs of the school, society and each individual human being involved within. This paper elaborates upon the &quot;Haritha Vidyalayam&quot; project and steps to enhance green schooling as part of service learning.
What's the Use of a VLE?
Author: O'Rourke, Kevin C.
Date: 2015-06-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Educational Technology,Technology Uses in Education,Higher Education,Virtual Classrooms,Distance Education,Integrated Learning Systems,Foreign Countries,Teacher Surveys,Teaching Methods,Use Studies,Web Based Instruction

Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs) have become an integral part of the technological furniture of higher education over the past two decades. While some VLE adopters have argued that the enhancement of teaching and learning is a key driver underpinning their use, an increasing number have described typical VLE usage as a &quot;notes-bank approach&quot;. However, while it is widely accepted that they are used primarily as content repositories, the actual value that they add to the teaching and learning process, and ultimately to the student experience, has not been widely questioned. So, in an age of increasing budgetary constraints, combined with the prioritisation of investment in appropriate technologies for higher education, it seems appropriate to scrutinise how the VLE is used and what value it has added. In 2013, at the Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT), a study was initiated to find out how academic staff were using the VLE as part of their teaching practice. Additionally, given the proliferation of emerging eLearning tools outside of the VLE, the study sought to find out if academics were aware of such technologies and if, or how, they were using them. Finally in order to inform future practice and strategic planning, the study sought an insight into factors inhibiting or preventing staff from engaging with eLearning technologies. The results are not altogether surprising, indicating high levels of VLE usage among academics, albeit with limited pedagogical innovation underpinning this usage. Findings also demonstrated high levels of interest in, and awareness of, other technologies for teaching and learning: however only a small minority had actually used many of these as part of their academic practice, with high levels of reservation about time and effort involved in utilising such technologies to the full. This paper presents and discusses the key findings of this research and indicates possible ways forward for higher education in the digital age.
The District-Wide Effectiveness of the Achieve3000 Program: A Quasi-Experimental Study
Author: Borman, Geoffrey D.
Date: 2015-01-15
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Reading Programs,Program Effectiveness,Quasiexperimental Design,Elementary School Students,Grade 3,Grade 4,Grade 5,Grade 6,Grade 7,Grade 8,Comparative Analysis,Control Groups,Experimental Groups,Least Squares Statistics,Statistical Significance,Regression (Statistics),Models,Probability,Online Courses,Electronic Learning,Program Implementation,Measures (Individuals),Predictor Variables,Pretests Posttests,Effect Size,Correlation

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of Achieve3000, a differentiated online literacy curriculum, on students' scores on the California State Test (CST). In the 2011-12 school year, 1,957 students in Chula Vista began using Achieve3000's solutions in 3rd through 8th grade. Using a form of propensity score matching called Inverse Probability-of-Treatment Weighting (IPTW), the researchers assigned weights for the likelihood that students in the non-user comparison group (N = 7,598) could have been in the Achieve3000 treatment group. A Weighted Least Squares (WLS) regression model with IPTW weights estimated the average treatment effect. The researchers found that, overall, the students assigned to Achieve3000 performed statistically significantly higher on the CST, by 2.4 points, than students who were not using these solutions. This suggests the program is effective in improving student learning over conventional classroom activities in the first year of use, however more data is needed to determine the long term impact of usage. Five appendices contain supplemental tables and figures.
The Senior Year: Culminating Experiences and Transitions
Author: Hunter, Mary Stuart, Ed.
Date: 2012-00-00
Type: Books
Subjects: College Seniors,Student Experience,Transitional Programs,Academic Support Services,Student Personnel Services,Career Development,Reflection,Textbook Content,Book Reviews,Student Characteristics,Educational Opportunities,Employment Opportunities,Maturity (Individuals),Student Development,Influence of Technology,Technology Uses in Education,Communication Skills,Seminars,Curriculum,Career Readiness,Collegiality,Alumni,Educational Change,Program Implementation,Educational Practices,Ceremonies,Tables (Data)

Increasing pressures on colleges and universities to ensure degree completion and job placement as measures of success make it imperative that the path to graduation is clear and that seniors receive the support needed to earn a degree and make a successful transition to life beyond college. This new edited collection describes today's college seniors and offers strategies for supporting them to graduation through high-impact educational initiatives. Contributors also address issues related to career development; workplace transitions; and opportunities for integration, reflection, closure, and ongoing engagement as students leave college. Educators charged with improving the end-of-college experience will find this an invaluable resource. Following a list of tables and figures, a foreword, and an introduction, this book is organized into the following sections and chapters: Section I: Understanding College Seniors: (1) Pathways and Portraits of Today's College Seniors (Jennifer R. Keup); (2) The Kids Are Alright: Emerging Adulthood and the Transition Out of College (Tracy L. Skipper); and (3) The Impact of Technology on Learning, Development, and Communication (Reynol Junco and Jeanna Mastrodicasa.) Section II: Addressing the Needs of College Seniors: (4) Optimizing High-Impact Educational Practices and the Senior Year (Jillian Kinzie); and (5) Senior Seminars and Capstone Courses (Jean M. Henscheid). Section III: Facilitating the Transition Out of College: (6) Career Development in the Senior Year (Heather Maietta); (7) Transitioning Into the 21st Century Workplace: Will Seniors Be Ready? (Philip Gardner and April L. Perry); (8) Seniors, Symbolism, and Solidarity: Collegiate Transition Rituals (Peter M. Magolda and J. Michael Denton); (9) Cultivating Traditions of Engagement and Giving Among New Alumni (Meredith L. Fakas and Mary Ruffin W. Childs); and (10) Implementing Effective Educational Change (John N. Gardner and Mary Stuart Hunter). An index and a section about the contributors is included.
Graduation Policies for Students with Disabilities Who Participate in States' General Assessments. Synthesis Report 98
Author: Thurlow, Martha L.
Date: 2015-07-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Synthesis,Disabilities,Educational Policy,Graduation Requirements,Investigations,High School Graduates,Student Certification,Inclusion,Exit Examinations,State Standards,State Surveys,State Policy,Comparative Analysis,Correlation,Evaluation Criteria,Educational Resources,Course Descriptions,Statistical Data,Tables (Data),Testing Programs,Special Education

Graduation requirements and diploma options for students with disabilities who participate in the general assessment has been a topic of interest for many years. The recent push for all students, including those with disabilities, to leave school ready for college and career has heightened the importance of understanding what states are requiring of students with disabilities to earn a regular diploma. This investigation explored states' 2014-15 requirements for those students with disabilities who participate in the general assessment to earn a regular diploma, and compared the requirements held for them to the requirements held for their peers. The authors examined both the course requirements and, in those states that had them, the exit assessment requirements. Overall, they found that only 14 states held the same graduation requirements for their students with disabilities and their peers. Nine of these states had only course requirements for graduation with a regular diploma, and five of them had both course requirements and exit assessment requirements. When looking at course requirements only, 30 of the 51 states had requirements for their students with disabilities that were not the same as those for their peers. When looking at exit assessment requirements only, 19 of the 27 states held less rigorous requirements for their students with disabilities compared to their peers. Continued attention needs to be given to the graduation requirements for all students, but particularly those students with disabilities who participate in states' general assessments. This attention also must address meeting their instructional needs, and providing appropriate access and accommodations. Appended to the report are: (1) State Resources on Graduation Requirements; (2) Alabama Graduation Requirements for Students Earning a Regular Diploma; (3) State Course Requirements for Graduation with a Regular Diploma; and (4) State Exit Assessments Requirements for Graduation with a Regular Diploma.
Reverse Transfer: Paving the Pathway. ECS Education Policy Analysis
Author: Anderson, Lexi
Date: 2015-08-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Reverse Transfer Students,Educational Policy,Policy Analysis,Transfer Policy,Program Implementation,Associate Degrees,College Transfer Students,Educational Strategies,Educational Practices,Technology Uses in Education,Funding Formulas,Eligibility,Change Strategies

States are taking several distinct approaches to implement reverse transfer policies. Although contextualized by state-specific factors, approaches to policy implementation commonly include determination of a group or regulatory body responsible for policy oversight, technology, funding and identification of students eligible to participate in reverse transfer programs. This analysis is the second in a series of three briefs discussing reverse transfer policies, their implementation and outcomes data from the states. As defined in the first issue brief, reverse transfer is &quot;the process of retroactively granting associate degrees to students who have not completed the requirements of an associate degree before they transferred from a two- to a four-year institution. [See the first brief: &quot;Reverse Transfer: The Path Less Traveled. ECS Education Trends&quot; at ED556470.]
Learning Interdependence: A Case Study of the International/intercultural Education of First-Year College Students
Author: Bachner, David J.
Date: 2001-00-00
Type: Books
Subjects: College Freshmen,Skill Development,Case Studies,Multicultural Education,Administrator Attitudes,Economics,College Faculty,Teacher Attitudes,Language Teachers,Second Language Instruction,Student Attitudes,Program Evaluation,Foreign Countries,History Instruction,Course Descriptions,Cultural Awareness,Global Approach,Study Abroad,Social Influences,Personal Narratives,Program Development,Program Implementation

This volume argues that international/intercultural experiences are powerful vehicles for first-year college students to learn the perspectives and skills necessary to function interdependently in a rapidly changing, increasingly complicated world. The authors develop this thesis through an in-depth case study of efforts to provide such learning opportunities within a project called the &quot;First-Year Intercultural Experience at Hartwick College,&quot; a four-year liberal arts and sciences institution of 1,400 students in Oneonta, New York. Examined in detail are both the promise and problems of this approach, and, in the end, the authors conclude that, on balance, the effort to implement the First-Year Intercultural Experience was well worth the investment of resources. The book begins with acknowledgements, and an introduction. After the introduction, the book contains six chapters: (1) The Context of Undergraduate Intercultural Education in the 21st Century; (2) An Overview of Hartwick College; (3) An Administrator's Perspective: The Development of the First-Year Intercultural Experience (David Bachner); (4) An Economics Professor's Perspective: Educational and Personal Considerations (Laurence Malone); (5) A Foreign Language Professor's Perspective: Educational and Personal Considerations (Mary Snider); (6) Student Perspectives: Learning Interdependence in an International Setting; (7) Evaluations of the First-Year Intercultural Experience; and (8) Five Conclusions About Learning Interdependence Through the First-Year Intercultural Experience. The following are appended: Sample Syllabi from Luce Project Courses--(1) Germany/France 1997-1998; (2) Germany/Hungary 1999-2000; (3) Mexico; (4) Jamaica; (5) South Africa; and (6) Thailand. The book also contains a bibliography and a section about the authors.
PSAT/NMSQT[R] 2014-2015 College-Bound High School Sophomores. Summary Report. Florida
Author: College Board
Date: 2015-00-00
Type: Numerical/Quantitative Data
Subjects: College Entrance Examinations,High School Students,Critical Reading,Reading Achievement,Mathematics Achievement,Writing Achievement,Gender Differences,Majors (Students),College Readiness,Career Readiness,College Bound Students,Educational Assessment,Standardized Tests,Testing Programs,Grades (Scholastic),Ethnic Groups,Scores,Racial Differences,White Students,Hispanic American Students,African American Students,Asian American Students,Pacific Islanders,American Indian Students,Alaska Natives

In the fall of 2014, students took the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT) to help determine their level of readiness for college. The PSAT/NMSQT 2014 State Summary Reports summarize the characteristics, scores and educational plans of the Class of 2016 and Class of 2017.
PSAT/NMSQT[R] 2014-2015 College-Bound High School Sophomores. Summary Report. Maine
Author: College Board
Date: 2015-00-00
Type: Numerical/Quantitative Data
Subjects: College Entrance Examinations,High School Students,Critical Reading,Reading Achievement,Mathematics Achievement,Writing Achievement,Gender Differences,Majors (Students),College Readiness,Career Readiness,College Bound Students,Educational Assessment,Standardized Tests,Testing Programs,Grades (Scholastic),Ethnic Groups,Scores,Racial Differences,White Students,Hispanic American Students,African American Students,Asian American Students,Pacific Islanders,American Indian Students,Alaska Natives

In the fall of 2014, students took the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT) to help determine their level of readiness for college. The PSAT/NMSQT 2014 State Summary Reports summarize the characteristics, scores and educational plans of the Class of 2016 and Class of 2017.