Performance-Based Compensation: Design and Implementation at Six Teacher Incentive Fund Sites

Examines preliminary outcomes for student achievement, stakeholder support, recruitment and retention, and changes in school cultures; success factors; challenges; and the role of states and districts in implementation and financial sustainability

Rush to Judgment: Teacher Evaluation in Public Education

The troubled state of teacher evaluation is a glaring and largely neglected problem in public education. Co-director Thomas Toch and Robert Rothman of the Annenberg Institute for School Reform examine the causes and consequences of the crisis in teacher evaluation, as well as its implications for the current debate about performance pay

The Current Status of School Counseling Outcome Research

Wendy McGannon has taken the lead in developing a review and analysis of The Current Status of School Counseling Outcome Research. Some basic information related to the NCLB mandates are reviewed in terms of how they impact the school counseling profession and counselor accountability. Types of research are described and a distinction is made between research and evaluation. Additionally, this paper includes a discussion of evidence-based practice and an explanation of how all of these topics are relevant to school counselors and school counseling programs at this time. This includes a brief history of the school counseling movement from the mental health model to Comprehensive Developmental Guidance, and then to the American School Counseling Association’s (ASCA) National Model and data-driven decision-making

Using Preschool to Close the Socioeconomic Math Achievement Gap

Socioeconomic status (SES) heavily influences students’ academic performance, creating an achievement gap in core subjects like reading and mathematics. This thesis will describe the socioeconomic achievement gap as it relates to mathematics specifically, discuss the problem’s causes, and propose how preschool programs should be implemented more prevalently as a solution to close the gap. Children with low socioeconomic statuses enter school with lower math proficiency due to their limited math exposure in their early years and the quality of their home learning environments. This thesis will propose an expansion of preschool programs as a solution to this problem to help mediate the proficiency in foundational math concepts of low-SES students prior to school entry

Evaluation of the ArtsSmarts Strategy: Impacts and Sustainability

The purpose of this report is to provide: 1) an analysis of findings from a survey, interviews and focus groups regarding ArtsSmarts projects funded by the J.W.McConnell Family Foundation across Canada in 2002-2003 and 2) to support advocacy work to obtain long term funding and support for sustainability of the ArtsSmarts approach. The report focuses on the impact of the projects on students, the education system, the community and the arts community addressing key "spheres of Influence" in the educational system

It’s Not Brain Science… Or Is It? How Early Second Language Learning Can Impact Future Achievement

Capstone paper from 2015 spring MPA program. Instructed by Allen Zagoren.We live in a global economy, yet U.S. citizens lag far behind in the knowledge of other countries’ languages, cultures, customs, geographies and peoples. Equipping the next generation with foreign language skills as well as knowledge of other cultures and customs will not only provide increased career opportunities for individuals but also aid in the future success of the U.S. economy. The U.S. educational system does not stress the learning of language beyond English: K-12 curriculum is rigidly mandated, budgets are tight, class time and teacher training is limited, and language programs are often among the first to be cut during budget crises. There is a time period when a child’s brain is developing and most receptive to learning, and that is early childhood. If the seed were planted in a child before he/she enters kindergarten to learn the basics of a foreign language and culture, perhaps that knowledge could be nourished throughout the rest of their lives, preparing those children to embrace cultural differences, live and compete more successfully in an evolving and diverse world, and be better equipped for later education. Besides examining the current state of foreign language education in the U.S. and how learning occurs, the benefits of foreign language learning in relation to business and human relations are examined in this paper. Multiple solutions to solving the foreign language deficit are mentioned including a proposal for an early-learning language program

Defining Youth Outcomes for STEM Learning in Afterschool

This report presents the results of a study to obtain consensus from afterschool experts on appropriate and feasible youth outcomes for STEM learning in afterschool. It presents a compelling set of developmental outcomes, indicators of progress toward these outcomes, and types of evidence that could be collected to demonstrate the impact of STEM programming in afterschool

High-Stakes Assessment: Is a Christian Ethic of Care Possible?

The No Child Left Behind Act, the 2002 reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), has fundamentally changed the landscape of education in the United States. Amidst the current debate over reauthorization of ESEA, it is vital that Christian educators consider the moral implications of continuing and expanding current policies, especially as they relate to high-stakes assessment and its impact on students and teachers. The focus of the article is the challenge a high-stakes environment poses for educators who truly desire to demonstrate a Christian ethic of care in their teaching and what Christian teacher education can do to respond effectively to that challenge