ethanporcaro/eric-fulltext-meta huggingface dataset:
Review of "Charting New Territory"
Author: Trujillo, Tina
Date: 2011-09-13
Type: Opinion Papers
Subjects: Charter Schools,Educational Change,Educational Experiments,Dropouts,School Effectiveness,Low Achievement,Economically Disadvantaged,Public Schools,Educational Improvement,Partnerships in Education,High School Students,High Schools,Ethnic Groups

"Charting New Territory: Tapping Charter Schools to Turn Around the Nation's Dropout Factories" argues for a more prominent role for charter operators in turning around perennially low-performing high schools. However, the report's ultimate findings and conclusions are out of proportion to the strength of the research evidence on school turnarounds, charter schools, and charter management organizations, as well as to the data on which the analysis is based. As such, its recommendations are of little utility in guiding policy on charter management organizations as tools for turning around struggling schools. Further, the report fails to justify the general practice of converting chronically low-performing schools to charter status. Instead, the report reproduces familiar arguments for market-based school reforms that are grounded in little empirical evidence and that use our nation's neediest schools--those serving primarily poor children and children of color--as laboratories for educational experiments, notwithstanding existing evidence that the experiments will not succeed. In doing so, the report distracts policymakers and practitioners from more fundamental and worthwhile questions about the types of policies that can secure the necessary conditions for all students to succeed. (Contains 21 notes.) [This document presents a review of: Lazarin, Melissa. "Charting New Territory: Tapping Charter Schools to Turn Around the Nation's Dropout Factories." Center for American Progress and The Broad Foundation, June 2011.]
Plus 50: Comprehensive Implementation Results
Author: American Association of Community Colleges
Date: 2010-11-00
Type: Numerical/Quantitative Data
Subjects: Evaluation Methods,Courses,Sustainability,Student Personnel Services,Academic Support Services,Enrollment,Faculty Development,Surveys,Worksheets,Program Evaluation,Community Colleges,Program Effectiveness,Program Implementation,Older Adults,Adult Students,Adult Learning,Educational Development,Labor Force Development,Career Development,Pilot Projects,National Programs,Volunteers,Marketing

The Plus 50 Initiative is a three-year initiative of the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC), launched in June 2008 and funded by The Atlantic Philanthropies. It was created to support a pilot group of two-year institutions to develop or expand campus programs that engage plus 50 learners. The overarching goal of the Plus 50 Initiative is to support community colleges' ability to substantively and continuously engage in helping plus 50 learners lead purposeful lives through education, work, and service. To reach this goal, the initiative focuses on developing and expanding the program offerings of the pilot colleges, striving to reach more plus 50 students by expanding plus 50 offerings to additional community colleges, and putting the interests of plus 50 students at community colleges on the public agenda. Another aspect of the initiative's goal to support the expansion of plus 50 programs is growing the number of community colleges offering this programming beyond the initial grantee cohort. A long-term goal of the initiative is that 300 community colleges will implement and sustain plus 50 programs. This evaluation seeks to quantify the extent to which pilot colleges have expanded their offerings for the plus 50 student. Description of Evaluation Methods is appended. (Contains 64 exhibits and 7 footnotes.) [This paper was prepared by the Learning for Action Group.]
The Plus 50 Initiative: Standards of Excellence
Author: American Association of Community Colleges
Date: 2010-10-00
Type: Reports - Descriptive
Subjects: Community Colleges,Program Development,Program Effectiveness,Program Implementation,Guidelines,Older Adults,Adult Students,Adult Learning,Educational Development,Labor Force Development,Career Development,Standards,Best Practices,Pilot Projects,National Programs,Volunteers,Needs Assessment,Academic Support Services,Marketing,Stakeholders,Faculty Development,Partnerships in Education,School Community Relationship,Student Centered Curriculum,Access to Education,Accessibility (for Disabled)

The American Association of Community Colleges' (AACC) Plus 50 Initiative (2008-2011), funded by The Atlantic Philanthropies, was created to build the capacity of community colleges nationwide to develop programming that engages the plus 50 learner. The Initiative supported a pilot group of 13 two-year institutions to develop or expand college offerings in three areas: workforce training and career development; learning and enrichment; and volunteering. It was later expanded to include affiliate colleges that were paired in learning partnerships with experienced Plus 50 colleges. This document contains the collective wisdom of the Plus 50 grantee colleges on the essential elements of a successful Plus 50 program: what community colleges should strive for in developing and implementing their own programming. These Standards of Excellence are not prescriptive--there is ample room for innovation. Instead, they are guidelines for the basic building blocks that should be in place for a program to have the desired impact on its clients: providing plus 50 learners with the knowledge, skills, and resources that support purposeful lives through education, work, and service. For each standard, this document provides (1) a definition, (2) an explanation for how this Standard of Excellence creates impact among plus 50 learners, and (3) a list of the "foundational elements:" actions or components required to most effectively develop this Standard of Excellence. Each Standard also features one promising practice derived from program innovations at the grantee colleges. (Contains 2 footnotes.) [This paper was prepared by the LFA Group.]
Plus 50: Year One Evaluation Report
Author: American Association of Community Colleges
Date: 2009-11-00
Type: Numerical/Quantitative Data
Subjects: Community Colleges,Participant Satisfaction,Program Implementation,Program Effectiveness,Evaluation Methods,Program Evaluation,Educational Practices,Interviews,Worksheets,Student Surveys,Questionnaires,Sustainability,Enrollment,Older Adults,Adult Students,Adult Learning,Educational Development,Labor Force Development,Career Development,Pilot Projects,National Programs,Volunteers,Baby Boomers

The American Association of Community Colleges' (AACC) Plus 50 Initiative is a three-year initiative launched in June 2008 and funded by The Atlantic Philanthropies. It was created to support a pilot group of two-year institutions to develop or expand campus programs that engage plus 50 learners. The initiative focuses on three types of programmatic implementation: workforce training and career development; learning and enrichment; and volunteering. Programs also include the services and supports that allow plus 50 learners better access to community college offerings. AACC engaged the Learning for Action (LFA) Group to conduct the Plus 50 evaluation. LFA developed a mixed-method evaluation designed to collect both quantitative and qualitative data to assess the initiative and support continuous improvements over the course of the three-year initiative. The primary elements measured include grantees' implementation progress, participant satisfaction, and capturing lessons learned and promising practices from the first year of the initiative. To measure the many components of the initiative, LFA collected data using several methods: conducting interviews with program staff at each of the grantee colleges and with AACC staff; asking grantees to complete program implementation data collection worksheets; and partnering with grantees to administer participant surveys for the students taking part in Plus 50 programming. Findings from the evaluation are discussed in this report. Appended are: (1) Description of Evaluation Methods; and (2) Evaluation Instruments. (Contains 74 exhibits and 32 footnotes.) [This report was prepared for the Plus 50 Initiative and The Atlantic Philanthropies by LFA Group. For &quot;The Plus 50 Initiative: Executive Summary of the Year One Evaluation Report,&quot; see ED523965.]
American Association of Community Colleges 2011 Fact Sheet: Building a Nation of Learners by Advancing America's Community Colleges
Author: American Association of Community Colleges
Date: 2011-00-00
Type: Reports - Descriptive
Subjects: Community Colleges,Nonprofit Organizations,Advocacy,Program Descriptions,Two Year College Students,Student Characteristics,Organizational Objectives,Educational Policy,National Organizations

The American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) is the primary advocacy organization for the nation's community colleges, representing nearly 1,200 two-year, associate degree-granting institutions and more than 11 million students. Founded in 1920, AACC is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit association. AACC is governed by a 32 member board of directors, elected for 3-year staggered terms. This paper presents several facts about AACC for 2011. [For "American Association of Community Colleges 2010 Fact Sheet," see ED513942.]
Plus 50: Impact Report
Author: American Association of Community Colleges
Date: 2010-11-01
Type: Numerical/Quantitative Data
Subjects: Program Evaluation,Student Personnel Services,Enrollment,School Community Relationship,Sustainability,Partnerships in Education,Student Attitudes,Student Surveys,Interviews,Worksheets,Community Colleges,Program Effectiveness,Program Implementation,Older Adults,Adult Students,Adult Learning,Educational Development,Labor Force Development,Career Development,Pilot Projects,National Programs,Volunteers,Academic Support Services

The American Association of Community Colleges' (AACC) Plus 50 Initiative (2008-2011), funded by The Atlantic Philanthropies, was created to build the capacity of community colleges nationwide to develop programming that engages the plus 50 learner. The Initiative supported a pilot group of 13 two-year institutions to develop or expand college offerings in three areas: workforce training and career development; learning and enrichment; and volunteering. It was later expanded to include affiliate colleges that were paired in learning partnerships with experienced Plus 50 colleges. AACC engaged LFA Group (LFA, &quot;Learning for Action&quot;) to conduct the Plus 50 evaluation. LFA developed a mixed-method evaluation designed to collect both quantitative and qualitative data to assess the Initiative and support continuous improvements over the course of the three-year Initiative. Results in this report focus primarily on the 13 pilot grantees; however, the impact on affiliate colleges is discussed as well. (Contains 22 exhibits and 11 footnotes.) [This paper was prepared by the Learning for Action Group.]
The Plus 50 Initiative: Executive Summary of the Year One Evaluation Report
Author: American Association of Community Colleges
Date: 2009-10-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Community Colleges,Participant Satisfaction,Program Implementation,Program Effectiveness,Evaluation Methods,Program Evaluation,Educational Practices,Interviews,Worksheets,Student Surveys,Questionnaires,Sustainability,Enrollment,Older Adults,Adult Students,Adult Learning,Educational Development,Labor Force Development,Career Development,Pilot Projects,National Programs,Volunteers,Baby Boomers,Student Personnel Services,Academic Support Services

The American Association of Community Colleges' (AACC) Plus 50 Initiative is a three-year initiative launched in June 2008 and funded by The Atlantic Philanthropies. It was created to support a pilot group of two-year institutions to develop or expand campus programs that engage plus 50 learners. The initiative focuses on three types of programmatic implementation: workforce training and career development; learning and enrichment; and volunteering. Programs also include the services and supports that allow plus 50 learners better access to community college offerings. AACC engaged LFA Group to conduct the Plus 50 evaluation. LFA developed a mixed-method evaluation designed to collect both quantitative and qualitative data to assess the initiative and support continuous improvements over the course of the three-year initiative. The primary elements measured include grantees' implementation progress, participant satisfaction, and capturing lessons learned and promising practices from the first year of the initiative. To measure the many components of the initiative, LFA collected data using several methods: conducting interviews with program staff at each of the grantee colleges and with AACC staff; asking grantees to complete program implementation data collection worksheets; and partnering with grantees to administer participant surveys for the students taking part in Plus 50 programming. Findings from the evaluation are discussed in this report. (Contains 8 exhibits and 8 footnotes.) [This report was prepared for the Plus 50 Initiative and The Atlantic Philanthropies by the Learning for Action (LFA) Group. For the full report, &quot;Plus 50: Year One Evaluation Report,&quot; see ED523962.]
Studies of a Latent Class Signal Detection Model for Constructed Response Scoring II: Incomplete and Hierarchical Designs. Research Report. ETS RR-10-08
Author: DeCarlo, Lawrence T.
Date: 2010-03-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Test Items,Responses,Essay Tests,Scoring,Models,Perception,Bias,Theories,Language Tests,Mathematics Tests

A basic consideration in large-scale assessments that use constructed response (CR) items, such as essays, is how to allocate the essays to the raters that score them. Designs that are used in practice are incomplete, in that each essay is scored by only a subset of the raters, and also unbalanced, in that the number of essays scored by each rater differs across the raters. In addition, all of the possible rater pairs may not be used. The present study examines the effects of these factors on parameter recovery and classification accuracy using simulations of a latent class model based on signal detection theory (SDT). Many tests also include more than one CR item, which introduces a nested or hierarchical structure into the design, in that raters are nested within essays (i.e., there are multiple raters per essay) and essays are nested within examinees (i.e., each examinee provides two or more essays). A hierarchical rater model (HRM) has previously been developed to recognize the nested structure. A version of the HRM that incorporates a latent class signal detection model in the first level, referred to as the HRM-SDT model, is presented. Parameter recovery in the HRM-SDT model is examined in simulations. The model is applied to data from several ETS tests. Appended are: (1) Balanced and Unbalanced Designs Used in the Simulations; (2) Parameter Estimates, Bias, Percent Bias, and MSE; (3) Evaluation of the Estimated Standard Errors for d and the Latent Class Sizes; and (4) Evaluation of Parameter Estimates: HRM-SDT Model. (Contains 24 tables and 2 figures.)
A Summary of Models and Standards-Based Applications for Grade-to-Grade Growth on Statewide Assessments and Implications for Students with Disabilities. Research Report. ETS RR-10-14
Author: Buzick, Heather M.
Date: 2010-06-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Disabilities,Student Improvement,Accountability,Models,Scores,Scaling,Educational Indicators,Federal Programs,Measurement,Testing Accommodations,Difficulty Level,Longitudinal Studies,Alternative Assessment,State Standards,Standardized Tests

Recently growth-based approaches to accountability have received considerable attention because they have the potential to reward schools and teachers for improving student performance over time by measuring the progress of students at all levels of the performance spectrum (including those who have not yet reached proficiency on state accountability assessments). While the use of growth in accountability holds promise for students with disabilities, measuring changes over time in their academic performance is complex. This paper summarizes models and approaches that use individual student test scores from multiple years for 3 different purposes: determination of adequate yearly progress under the federal accountability system, research on individual growth trajectories, and evaluation of the contribution of teachers and schools to student learning. Practical challenges in measuring and modeling growth for students with disabilities are then discussed. Finally, 3 areas in need of research on the measurement of growth from large-scale annual accountability assessments are identified and described: testing accommodations, test difficulty, and understanding the longitudinal characteristics of the population of students with disabilities. (Contains 4 tables, 1 figure and 4 notes.)
A Comparison of Methods for Estimating Conditional Item Score Differences in  Differential Item Functioning (DIF) Assessments. Research Report. ETS RR-10-15
Author: Moses, Tim
Date: 2010-06-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Test Bias,Statistical Analysis,Computation,Scores,Comparative Analysis,Accuracy,Regression (Statistics),Data,Data Analysis,Effect Size,Statistical Significance,Sample Size

This study compared the accuracies of four differential item functioning (DIF) estimation methods, where each method makes use of only one of the following: raw data, logistic regression, loglinear models, or kernel smoothing. The major focus was on the estimation strategies' potential for estimating score-level, conditional DIF. A secondary focus was on assessing the accuracy of strategies' overall DIF effect sizes and statistical significance tests. A real data simulation was used to evaluate the estimation strategies with 6 items representing DIF and No DIF situations, and with 4 sample size combinations for the reference and focal group data. Results showed that the logistic regression estimation strategy was the most highly recommended strategy in terms of the bias and variability of its estimates and the power of its statistical significance test. The loglinear models strategy had flexibility advantages, but these advantages only offset the greater variability of its estimates and its reduced statistical power when sample sizes were large. The kernel smoothing estimation strategy was the least accurate of the considered strategies due to estimation problems when the reference and focal groups differed in overall ability. Appended are: (1) Differential Item Functioning (DIF) Estimates Using Raw Data; (2) Differential Item Functioning (DIF) Estimates Using Logistic Regression; (3) Differential Item Functioning (DIF) Estimates Using Loglinear Models; and (4) Differential Item Functioning (DIF) Estimates Using Kernel Smoothing. (Contains 12 figures and 10 tables.)
When Can Subscores Be Expected to Have Added Value? Results from Operational and Simulated Data. Research Report. ETS RR-10-16
Author: Sinharay, Sandip
Date: 2010-08-00
Type: Information Analyses
Subjects: Scores,Correlation,Reliability,Item Response Theory,Test Theory,Data Analysis

Recently, there has been an increasing level of interest in subscores for their potential diagnostic value. Haberman (2008) suggested a method based on classical test theory to determine whether subscores have added value over total scores. This paper provides a literature review and reports when subscores were found to have added value for several operational data sets. Then this paper provides results from a detailed simulation study that examines what properties subscores should possess in order to have added value. The results indicate that subscores have to satisfy strict standards of reliability and correlation to have added value. Augmented subscores (Haberman, 2008; Wainer et al., 2001) were found to have added value more often. The appendix provides more details about the method of Haberman (2008). (Contains 2 tables, 8 figures and 10 notes.)
A Comparative Analysis of Three Unique Theories of Organizational Learning
Author: Leavitt, Carol C.
Date: 2011-09-14
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Learning Theories,Experiential Learning,Learning Processes,Comparative Analysis,Models,Action Research,Literature Reviews,Organizations (Groups),Interdisciplinary Approach

The purpose of this paper is to present three classical theories on organizational learning and conduct a comparative analysis that highlights their strengths, similarities, and differences.  Two of the theories -- experiential learning theory and adaptive -- generative learning theory -- represent the thinking of the cognitive perspective, while the third theory --assimilation theory -- coincides with the behavioral school of thought on organizational learning.  The three criteria to be used in the comparative analysis include: 1) the learning process, or how learning occurs in each theory; 2) the learning target, or who experiences the learning; and 3) the learning context, or the antecedents and conditions that promote a learning organization.  Because theory building in this discipline has a history of approaches that fragment rather than assimilate new theory (Lahteenmaki, Toivonen, & Mattila, 2001, p. 113), a new prototype theory will be introduced that effectively integrates the important themes, principles, and practices of organizational learning into a more holistic model.
Effective Use of Correctives in Mastery Learning
Author: DeWeese, Sean V.
Date: 2011-02-14
Type: Information Analyses
Subjects: Mastery Learning,Intervention,Instructional Effectiveness,Formative Evaluation,Cooperative Learning,Tutoring,Peer Teaching,Computer Assisted Instruction,Educational Games,Instructional Materials,Concept Mapping,Grouping (Instructional Purposes)

Mastery learning is a formative assessment strategy that involves the use of specific interventions, called correctives, to address the specific comprehension needs of the learner.  Effective correctives are crucial for the effectiveness of mastery learning, so it is important that teachers make good decisions about what activities and strategies are used to address gaps in student knowledge.  Correctives are defined as any instruction that present the concepts differently than originally presented, involve students in learning in different ways, and provide students with successful learning.  Because of the time constraints inherent in the mastery learning process, not all instructional strategies can be used for correctives.  The purpose of this review is to explore the available research and provide teachers the information to choose the most effective strategies and apply them in the most successful way.  Tutoring, peer-tutoring, and cooperative learning are recommended for involvement strategies.  Computer-based instruction, digital games, concept maps, and flashcards are explored as approaches to change presentation styles.  Specific procedures for the appropriate ways and times to use each strategy are presented.